Cinnamon Cupcakes
Each bite of these cinnamon cupcakes is filled with warm, cinnamon spice goodness that delicately melts in your mouth and evokes thoughts of home-baked nostalgia.
Servings: 12 cupcakes
Calories: 513kcal
Ingredients
Cinnamon Cupcakes
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1¼ cups granulated sugar, divided into 1 cup and ¼ cup
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- ⅓ cup sour cream
- ⅔ cup whole milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
Cinnamon Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a standard muffin pan with paper cupcake liners. Set aside.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the unsalted butter that has been melted and cooled and 1 cup of the granulated sugar. Using a handheld mixer, on medium speed, beat together the butter and sugar for 1 to 2 minutes or until light and fully combined.
- Add the large egg, sour cream, whole milk, and vanilla extract to the butter mixture. Beat for an additional minute or until the wet ingredients are fully combined.
- To the bowl of wet ingredients, add all the dry ingredients. Beat on medium speed until all the ingredients are fully combined and the batter is smooth. Do not overmix your batter. It will be a thick batter.
- Using a small cookie scoop, add about 1½ to 2 tablespoons of batter to each paper cupcake liner.
- In a small bowl, stir together the remaining ¼ cup granulated sugar and ground cinnamon. Reserve 2 teaspoons of the cinnamon sugar mixture to use as a garnish on the cream cheese frosting. With the remaining cinnamon sugar mixture, add about a teaspoon to each of the partially filled cupcakes. Be sure to sprinkle the cinnamon sugar evenly over the batter in each cupcake cup.
- Divide the remaining batter (approximately 1 heaping tablespoon of batter per cupcake) evenly into each of the cupcake cups. Try to spread the batter to fully cover the layer of cinnamon sugar.
- Using a toothpick, gently swirl the cinnamon sugar and batter together. Do not overwork the batter. You want to try to keep a layer of cinnamon sugar and not blend it in fully to the batter.
- Bake for 24 to 26 minutes or until lightly golden on the edges and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the cinnamon cupcakes to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once your cinnamon cupcakes have cooled completely, you can frost your cupcakes with the cream cheese frosting and sprinkle the reserved cinnamon sugar mixture over the frosted cupcakes.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- While the cupcakes are baking and cooling, you can make your frosting by creaming together, in a large mixing bowl, the room temperature cream cheese and unsalted butter using a handheld mixer on medium speed.
- To the bowl of cream cheese and butter, add the sifted powdered sugar, one cup at a time, and beat until all the powdered sugar has been fully incorporated and no lumps remain.
- Add the heavy cream, vanilla extract, and salt and beat, on medium-high speed, for an additional 2 to 3 minutes or until your cream cheese frosting is thick and fluffy.
- Cover your bowl of cream cheese frosting with a piece of plastic wrap and refrigerate until the frosting firms. Once it has chilled, you can transfer it to a large piping bag fitted with a large piping tip. You want your frosting to be chilled enough (usually about an hour or two) so that it can hold its shape when piped onto the cooled cinnamon cupcakes.
Notes
- Oven temperatures vary and may need to be recalibrated periodically to ensure they are accurate. Make sure to check your cupcakes at the lower end of the recommended baking time.
- You can make your cream cheese frosting up to 48 hours ahead of time. You will need to keep it tightly covered and refrigerated until ready to use. You can use a handheld mixer, on medium speed, for 1 to 2 minutes to re-whip the cold frosting to make it pipeable or spreadable when frosting the cinnamon cupcakes.
- Make sure that your cream cheese is at room temperature, so you don’t end up with lumps in your frosting.
Nutrition
Calories: 513kcal | Carbohydrates: 69g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 83mg | Sodium: 245mg | Potassium: 109mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 52g | Vitamin A: 848IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 64mg | Iron: 1mg