Spiced Sweet Potato Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Soft, lightly spiced sweet potato cupcakes topped with a cinnamon cream cheese frosting and toasted pecans. Richer and less watery than the pumpkin version.
Servings 18 cupcakes
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar packed
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 1 cup sweet potato puree roasted and mashed, or canned
- ⅓ cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour spooned and leveled
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon salt
For the Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 oz cream cheese full fat, softened
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar sifted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ cup chopped pecans toasted, for garnish
Instructions
Make the Cupcakes
- Heat the oven to 350F and line two muffin pans with 18 paper liners. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt together and set aside.
- Beat the softened butter with both sugars on medium-high for 3 to 4 minutes, until pale and fluffy, scraping the bowl once.
- Beat in the eggs one at a time. Add the sweet potato puree, milk, and vanilla and mix on low until combined. The batter may look curdled and will smooth out with the flour.
- Add the dry ingredients in three additions on low, mixing just until each disappears. Stop as soon as the last streak of flour is gone.
- Fill each liner two thirds full and bake 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs. Cool in the pan 5 minutes, then cool completely on a rack.
Frost and Finish
- Beat the softened butter alone for 1 minute, then add the cream cheese and beat 1 to 2 minutes until completely smooth.
- Add the powdered sugar a cup at a time on low, then the vanilla and cinnamon. Beat on medium 2 minutes until light and holding a soft peak.
- Pipe or swirl the frosting onto the fully cooled cupcakes and press toasted chopped pecans into each top.
Notes
- Roast, do not boil: boiled sweet potato carries water into the batter and weighs the crumb down.
- Room temperature ingredients: butter, eggs, cream cheese, and milk should all be at room temperature before you start.
- Cool completely before frosting: cream cheese frosting melts on a warm cupcake.
- Storage: refrigerate frosted cupcakes up to 5 days, or freeze unfrosted up to 3 months.