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This is the best cinnamon cupcakes recipe! Moist cinnamon roll cupcakes with cream cheese cinnamon cupcake frosting, dusted with a perfect cinnamon sugar topping! And to make it even easier, we're making our cinnamon cupcakes with cake mix! They're an upgrade to a traditional vanilla cupcake and a MUST for cinnamon lovers!
Servings: 12 cupcakes
Calories: 641kcal
Equipment you may need
- pastry bag and tips
Ingredients
- baking spray
- 1 box (432 g) cake mix - (15.25 oz) white, vanilla, or yellow cake
- 1 cup (237 ml) milk - room temperature
- ¾ cup (170 g) salted butter - melted and cooled
- 4 large eggs - room temperature
- ½ cup (110 g) brown sugar - dark or light is fine
- 2 tablespoon (16 g) ground cinnamon
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 oz (227 g) cream cheese - softened to room temperature
- ½ cup (114 g) salted butter - softened to room temperature
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) pure vanilla extract
- 4½ cups (540 g) powdered sugar - measured by weight with a kitchen scale or with the spoon-and-level method
- 1 ½ teaspoon (3 g) ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉ (180℃) and line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners. Spray liners lightly with baking spray.baking spray
- In a large bowl, combine cake mix, eggs, milk, and melted butter. Use an electric mixer to mix on medium heat for 2-3 minutes or until mixture is light and fluffy.1 box cake mix, 1 cup milk, ¾ cup salted butter, 4 large eggs
- In a separate small bowl, stir together brown sugar and cinnamon.2 tablespoon ground cinnamon, ½ cup brown sugar
- Scoop a tablespoonful of batter into prepared cupcake liners and smooth the top. Top with 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and brown sugar mixture.
- Repeat two more times until you have three layers of each, with the cinnamon and brown sugar on top. Muffin liners should be about ⅔ full.
- Bake in preheated oven for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick entered into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
- Allow cupcakes to cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely before adding frosting.
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
- In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat softened cream cheese and butter until smooth.8 oz cream cheese, ½ cup salted butter
- Mix in vanilla extract and cinnamon until combined.1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, 1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Gradually add powdered sugar while continuing to mix until you've achieved your desired consistency. Beat an additional 1-2 minutes. Frost onto cooled cupcakes (see notes for optional cinnamon-sugar topping)4½ cups powdered sugar
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Video
Notes
Cinnamon-Sugar Topping: To make a cinnamon sugar dusting for the tops of your frosted cupcakes, just stir together ½ cup of granulated sugar and 2 tbsps of ground cinnamon in a small bowl. Sprinkle or dust as much as you like over your cupcakes!
Soften ingredients quickly: To bring your butter or cream cheese to room temperature quickly, unwrap it and place on a microwave-safe plate. Microwave on high for 15-20 seconds, rotating every few seconds, until slightly softened.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 frosted cupcake | Calories: 641 kcal | Carbohydrates: 92 g | Protein: 6 g | Fat: 29 g | Saturated Fat: 17 g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2 g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8 g | Trans Fat: 1 g | Cholesterol: 133 mg | Sodium: 546 mg | Potassium: 135 mg | Fiber: 1 g | Sugar: 73 g | Vitamin A: 981 IU | Vitamin C: 0.1 mg | Calcium: 179 mg | Iron: 1 mg
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