Fragrant and sweet cinnamon cupcakes with cream cheese frosting that adds just the right amount of rich tangy goodness. Moist cinnamon muffins with a hint of warmth from the cinnamon spice and topped with a silky smooth cinnamon cream cheese frosting, making these the most irresistibly delicious cupcakes.
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🌟 Why this is the best recipe
- The texture: These brown sugar cinnamon cupcakes with cream cheese frosting have the best moist texture that is delicately flavored with spice, and then the smooth and silky frosting on top makes them even better.
- The simplicity: You won't need any special ingredients or kitchen equipment to make this easy cupcake recipe, just basic items you'll probably already have in your pantry.
- The taste: These super delicious cupcakes have the most amazing fragrant flavor, and then the cinnamon cream cheese frosting on top is super smooth, rich and decadent. It's a perfect flavor combination.
- They are quick to make - You can make and bake these cupcakes and be ready to enjoy them in under an hour!
📝 Ingredient notes
This homemade cinnamon cupcake recipe is made entirely from scratch and doesn't use a cake mix to ensure the most perfectly moist texture and the best flavor.
For the cinnamon cupcakes
- Unsalted butter: I always use unsalted butter in baking recipes to control both the quality and quantity of salt. Try to get butter with 82% fat content and take it out of the fridge a little before use to bring it up to room temperature. Did you know you could even make your own homemade butter?
- White granulated sugar: For these easy cinnamon cupcakes, I use a combination of both white and brown sugars. You can read my sugar guide to learn more about what sugar does in baking.
- Brown sugar: Brown sugar gives a deeper, richer taste and caramel undertones.
- Egg: The egg helps bind together all the other ingredients together, and also adds moisture, richness and a bit of leavening. My egg guide goes into detail on eggs and their multitasking qualities!
- All-purpose flour: AP flour or plain flour as it is sometimes known is a great all-rounder in baking items like cupcakes, muffins and brownies. To learn more about flour and its uses in baking, read my flour guide.
- Cinnamon: This adds a delicate and warm spice and cinnamon flavor to the cupcake batter.
- Baking powder: Baking powder is a chemical leavening agent frequently used in baking, and helps these brown sugar cupcakes rise. For more info check my baking powder article.
- Baking soda and white vinegar: This combination is a baking hack to create the most amazingly moist and tender sponge texture.
- Salt: Salt acts as a flavor enhancer, and also balances the sweetness.
- Milk: I make this easy recipe with whole milk to add more tenderness to the sponge. Take the full-fat milk out of the fridge a little in advance so that it's at room temperature when you make the cupcakes.
🛒 You’ll find detailed measurements for all ingredients in the printable version of the Recipe Card at the bottom of this post
For the cinnamon cream cheese frosting
- Cream cheese: Use high-quality, full-fat cream cheese (33% fat content or above), in frostings, I recommend Philadelphia.
- Mascarpone: Again, use full-fat mascarpone cheese (41% fat content or higher) for the perfect rich flavor and thick and creamy texture. You could also use heavy cream (or double cream) that is very cold and at least 36% fat. If mascarpone is not available for you, check my mascarpone substitute article which also has a homemade mascarpone recipe.
- Powdered sugar: Sieve the sugar before use to remove any lumps and ensure a silky smooth finish.
- Ground Cinnamon: Use finely ground cinnamon powder so that the cinnamon flavor can incorporate fully into the cream cheese frosting
🛒 You’ll find detailed measurements for all ingredients in the printable version of the Recipe Card at the bottom of this post
👩🍳 How to make this recipe
1. How to make cinnamon cupcakes
- Preheat your oven to 175 C / 347°F (no fan)
- Cream the butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl using an electric hand mixer until they are pale and fluffy.
- Add the eggs slowly whilst continuing to whip the mixture, but do not overbeat.
- Sift the dry ingredients (flour, salt, cinnamon, and baking powder) together in a separate mixing bowl.
- In 4 stages, add some of the milk, then a portion of the dry ingredients, then more milk and so on until it's all incorporated. Make sure to finish with the dry ingredients. Use a rubber spatula to fold each portion in.
- Mix the vinegar and baking soda together and fold them into the cupcake batter straight away.
- Spoon or pipe the mixture into the cupcake pan.
- Bake for 25 minutes 175 C / 347°F (no fan) or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
💡 Top Tip: This batch will make 6 large cupcakes. Fill each of the cupcake cases or cupcake liners until they are ¾ full to get the right cupcake height once they have baked.
2. How to make cinnamon cream cheese frosting
I am using my popular cream cheese frosting without butter recipe to frost these cinnamon cupcakes that is super fluffy without being overly sweet.
- Whip the powdered sugar, cream cheese and mascarpone together using the electric hand mixer for 2-3 minutes until fluffy and smooth.
- Divide the cream cheese frosting into two portions and fold the ground cinnamon into one of them.
- If you prefer, you can add a teaspoon vanilla extract to the second portion of frosting to enhance the flavors further.
💡 Top Tip: Do not overwhip the cream cheese and mascarpone, or it can separate and go runny.
3. How to assemble
- To pipe your frosting, place the 2 different flavors of frostings next to each other onto a piece of kitchen foil so that when piped you get a marble effect.
- Roll it up and place it into a piping bag fitted with a round nozzle tip.
- Pipe the cinnamon cream cheese frosting on top of each cupcake, and garnish with a cinnamon stick.
- Store the cupcakes in the fridge and consume them within 2-3 days. For more information read my how to store and freeze cupcakes baking guide.
💡 Top Tip: Feel free to use a different piping nozzle, eg. wilton 1m or a french star tip can be a great idea.
✨ Flavor variations & Substitutions
Add some pumpkin pie spice to make these cupcakes even more warm and fragrant.
Take them up a notch with a caramel filling or a spoonful of stewed apple to make apple cinnamon cupcakes. If you like fun botanical frosting, why not try these succulent cupcakes from Isabelle?
Swap out the cream cheese frosting for mascarpone frosting, Nutella frosting, or try my whipped chocolate ganache.
If you are baking around a dietary restriction or preference and need to make some ingredient swaps, I have several guides to help you. Read my egg substitution guide, or my article about how to use butter substitutes.
If you loved the cinnamon swirl cupcakes, try these Biscoff cupcakes with Biscoff buttercream or apple pie cupcakes for similarly delicious flavors.
Would like to try some other easy cupcakes? These fruity pebble cupcakes from Sara are for you!
🎓 Expert tips
- Take your butter, milk and eggs out of the fridge before use to ensure they are all at room temperature.
- Do not overbeat the cream cheese frosting, or it can go runny rather than thick and creamy.
- Cool the cupcakes in their tins on a cooling rack before turning them out and decorating.
Equipment
Always weigh the ingredients for these easy cinnamon swirl cupcakes with cream cheese frosting using a digital scale for accuracy. Baking is a science and needs precision.
Oven temperatures can vary, so I recommend using a digital oven thermometer to make sure you bake at the right heat.
I use a cupcake tin that makes 6 large cupcakes, the perfect size for an indulgent snack or sweet dessert.
Use a piping bag and Wilton 2A Round nozzle tip to pipe the cinnamon cream cheese frosting on top of your cupcakes.
❓Recipe FAQs
Baking cupcakes with milk, eggs and butter will make them super moist, and the special ingredient of vinegar mixed with baking soda makes cupcakes incredibly tender too. However, even with the best recipe, cupcakes can turn out to be dry if you over bake them so make sure to take them out of the oven as soon as they are baked.
If you overmix the cupcake batter you will knock the air out, and this can affect the cupcake texture and make them dense rather than light, moist and fluffy. Your baking powder may also have been out of date. Or, perhaps the ingredient measurements were off, make sure to use a digital scale.
To get fluffy cupcakes we need to use leavening agents to give rise to the sponge, but we need tenderness too. In this easy cupcake recipe, we use baking powder, eggs and butter which all have leavening qualities, and we also use a mixture of vinegar and baking soda which have tenderizing qualities as well.
Store cinnamon cupcakes with cream cheese frosting in the fridge in an airtight container and consume them within 2-3 days.
It is best to freeze these cupcakes before piping on the cinnamon cream cheese frosting. Wrap the cupcakes in plastic food wrap, and then foil. Defrost thoroughly and then frost before enjoying.
🧁 More muffin and cupcake recipes
Have you tried this recipe?
Please leave a 5-star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating on the recipe card and consider leaving a comment as well! I would love to hear about how your dessert turned out and your feedback also helps other Readers!
Cinnamon Cupcakes (VIDEO)
Ingredients
For the brown sugar cinnamon cupcakes
- 100 g (½ cups) Unsalted butter room temperature
- 50 g (¼ cups) Granulated sugar
- 50 g (¼ cups) Brown sugar
- 1 Egg room temperature
- 135 g (1 cups) All purpose
- ½ teaspoon Cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon Baking powder
- ¼ taspoon Salt
- 100 g (⅓ cups) Whole milk room temperature, full fat (3%)
- ½ teaspoon White vinegar
- ½ teaspoon Baking soda
For the Cinnamon cream cheese frosting
- 300 g Cream cheese full fat (33%+) eg. Philadelphia
- 100 g Mascarpone full fat (41%+). Can be substituted with the same amount very cold! 36% heavy cream
- 50 g Powdered sugar sifted
- 1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
US customary cup measurement is an indicative figure only. Measure the ingredients with a digital scale by weight (gram). Baking is art but also science which requires precision and accuracy.
Instructions
For the brown sugar cinnamon cupcakes
- Heat oven to 175 C / 347°F (no fan)
- With an Electric hand mixer whip room temperature butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy then whip the egg in. Do not overbeat
- Start adding the dry and wet ingredients into the batter in the following 4 steps: wet, dry, wet, dry. With a Rubber spatula fold each time
- Mix vinegar and baking soda together in a small bowl, it will be super bubbly. Immediately fold the mixture into the cupcake batter. This is the secret ingredient to keep the cupcakes moist without the taste of vinegar of course!
- Spoon or pipe the mixture into Cupcake pan till approx. ¾. This batch makes 6 large cupcakes
- Bake for 25 min or until a skewer inserted comes out clean then let them cool on a cooling rack before decorating
Cream cheese frosting
- Whip all ingredients (cold) except cinnamon with an electric hand mixer for 2-3 minutes
- When the frosting reaches a fluffy, pipeable consistency, stop right there and do not overmix. If you continue beating the frosting, it will separate and gets runny
- Divide the frosting into two and fold ground cinnamon into one of them. Leave the other one without cinnamon, perhaps add a small amount of vanilla extract
Assembling
- Place the 2 different flavors of frostings next to each other onto a kitchen foil, then roll up the kitchen foil and place it into a piping bag fitted with a round nozzle tip
- Pipe frosting on top, then decorate with a cinnamon stick
- Store refrigerated for 2-3 days
Notes
- Use always unsalted butter in dessert recipes, but make sure you add the salt stated in the recipe as that will balance the sweetness
- The egg, butter, and milk should be used at room temperature to make the cupcakes
- Use full-fat milk and high-quality cream cheese and mascarpone when making the cream cheese frosting
- Digital scale is required for a consistent, happy baking experience:)
- Always pre-heat your oven and consider using a digital oven thermometer for the best results
- Each oven is different so you might need to adjust the baking time slightly
- Do not overbake your cupcakes as that can result in dry texture
- It is very important that while whipping up the cream cheese frosting, you do not over beat it as it can become runny
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