This recipe for Cinnamon Cupcakes is the Christmas bake you’ve been looking for. Soft fluffy cinnamon sugar-swirled cupcake frosted with a delicious dulce de leche frosting.
If you’re baking in October without spices, then we need to have a chat! Adding spices to bakes is an absolute must this time of year and these fluffy cupcakes swirled with a cinnamon dulce de leche frosting as just, incredible. Perfect for holiday baking.
If you’re looking for the perfect Christmas bake for your family, try out this recipe for a Christmas Pavlova Wreath, or this Cherry Trifle, or this recipe for a Pistachio Tiramisu.
If you’d like to make the little cookies as shown on these cupcakes, find the recipe for the biscuit base here and just add a little ground ginger and cinnamon.
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Ingredients
To make this cinnamon cupcake recipe you will need the simple ingredients listed below. Be sure to always use fresh room temperature ingredients when baking cupcakes.
- Sunflower oil
- Granulated white sugar
- Extra-large eggs
- Self-raising flour
- Salt
- Whole milk
- Vanilla extract
- Ground cinnamon
- Unsalted butter
- Powdered sugar
- Dulce de leche
Sunflower oil – for this recipe I recommend using sunflower oil, but you can also use any other neutral-tasting vegetable oil.
Extra-large eggs – for this recipe I have used extra-large eggs. These eggs weigh about 56 grams out of their shell. If you don’t have extra large eggs, rather weigh the eggs you do have and then work out if more eggs need to be added. Always use room temperature eggs when baking.
Self-raising flour – if you can’t find self-raising flour use a combination of cake flour and baking powder. Sift together 290 grams of cake flour and two tablespoons of baking powder. Continue with the recipe as instructed.
Dulce de Leche – for this recipe I used tinned dulce de leche, which is added to the frosting. You can make your own by boiling a tin of condensed milk. Be sure that the tin is always covered with water while doing this.
See the recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Follow the instructions below to make these cinnamon cupcakes. First, you will make the cinnamon and vanilla cupcakes and then the cinnamon buttercream frosting.
Instructions for cupcakes
STEP 1: Beat eggs, sugar, and oil. Add the oil, eggs, and sugar to a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until combined, about 2 minutes.
STEP 2: Add dry ingredients. Sift together the salt, cinnamon, and flour then add the flour mixture to the egg and sugar mixture. Beat at low speed until just combined.
STEP 3: Add milk and vanilla. In a jug combine the milk and vanilla, and slowly pour this into the cupcake batter with the mixer's motor running at low speed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again, making sure it is lump-free.
STEP 4: Make the cinnamon sugar. Combine the extra sugar and ground cinnamon in a small bowl, and ensure it is well-mixed.
STEP 5: Fill the cupcake liners. Fill each cupcake liner a third of the way up with the cupcake batter. Sprinkle a tablespoon of the cinnamon sugar mixture over the batter, and pour more cupcake batter over this to fill them ⅔ of the way up the liner. Use a skewer to swirl through the cinnamon sugar.
STEP 6: Bake. Bake in a preheated oven at 180C (350F) for 12 – 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack.
Instructions for frosting
STEP 1: Beat butter and icing sugar. In a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add the butter and icing sugar. Beat at medium speed until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs.
STEP 2: Add milk and vanilla. In a jug combine the milk and vanilla, with the mixer's motor running at low speed slowly add the milk mixture. Continue until it has all been added. Then increase the speed of the mixer to medium-high. Beat until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl often.
STEP 3: Add dulce de leche. With the mixer's motor running at medium-low speed, add the dulce de leche to the frosting and beat to combine. Scrape down the bowl and beat again at medium-high speed.
STEP 5: Decorate. Fill a prepared piping bag with the caramel and cinnamon frosting and pipe a swirl onto each cupcake. Decorate the top of each cupcake with a mini gingerbread cookie. Enjoy!
Hint: For the perfect-shaped cupcake never overfill your cupcake liners!
Equipment
For this recipe, you will need x2 12-hole cupcake pan, 24x paper liners, a disposable piping bag, a piping nozzle, and an electric mixer.
I prefer using a stand mixer or electric hand mixer to make the buttercream as they help ensure a fluffy frosting.
Storage
Cupcakes cool quickly so try to frost them the same day that they are baked. This helps prevent them from drying out. If you don’t have time to decorate the cupcakes the same day as baking them, store them in an airtight container or cover the cupcake trays in plastic wrap until the next day.
Once the cupcakes are frosted keep them in an airtight container at room temperature for about 3 days out of direct sunlight. If the weather is particularly hot, choose to store them in the fridge and bring them to room temperature before eating them.
To freeze these cupcakes, place any leftover cupcakes in a freezer-safe airtight container and freeze them for up to three months.
Top tip
- Always use fresh room-temperature butter to make a creamy buttercream.
- Test the actual temperature of your oven with an oven thermometer.
- Never overfill the cupcake cases, ⅔ of the way up is fine.
- Only decorate once the cupcakes have cooled completely.
- Use the frosting as soon as you are done whipping, otherwise whip it again.
FAQ
This is a runny batter and I use a jug to pour the batter into the cupcake cases. For a perfect cupcake, don't fill the cases more than ⅔ of the way up.
If you don’t have self-raising flour, use a combination of all-purpose flour and baking powder. For this recipe use 290 grams of flour and two tablespoons of baking powder.
If your cupcakes have a strange shape, baked over the edge of the liners or sunken – this could be that you overfilled your cupcake liners or that your oven was set at the wrong temperature.
I hope you give these easy cinnamon cupcakes a go! and if you do try this recipe please leave a comment and star rating below, also don't forget to send photos of your delicious cupcakes to me on Instagram @with_love_kitty
Happy Baking
With Love,
Kitty
📖 Recipe
Cinnamon Cupcakes
Equipment
- 2x 12-hole cupcake pan
Ingredients
Cinnamon Cupcakes
- 120 ml sunflower oil
- 250 grams granulated sugar
- 3 extra-large eggs
- 290 grams self-raising flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 270 ml whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cinnamon Sugar Swirl
- 100 grams granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Cinnamon Buttercream
- 500 grams icing sugar
- 160 grams unsalted butter
- 40 ml whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 100 grams dulce de leche
Instructions
Cinnamon Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and line two cupcake trays with cupcake papers.
- Add the oil, eggs, and sugar to a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until combined, about 2 minutes.
- Sift together the salt, cinnamon, and flour then add the flour mixture to the egg and sugar mixture. Beat at low speed until just combined.
- In a jug combine the milk and vanilla, and slowly pour this into the cupcake batter with the mixer's motor running at low speed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again, making sure it is lump-free.
- Combine the extra sugar and ground cinnamon in a small bowl, and ensure it is well-mixed.
- Fill each cupcake liner a third of the way up with the cupcake batter. Sprinkle a tablespoon of the cinnamon sugar mixture over the batter, and pour more cupcake batter over this to fill them ⅔ of the way up the liner. Use a skewer to swirl through the cinnamon sugar.
- Bake in a preheated oven for 12 – 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack.
Cinnamon Buttercream
- In a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add the butter and icing sugar. Beat at medium speed until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs.
- In a jug combine the milk and vanilla, with the mixer's motor running at low speed slowly add the milk mixture. Continue until it has all been added. Then increase the speed of the mixer to medium-high. Beat until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl often.
- With the mixer's motor running at medium-low speed, add the dulce de leche to the frosting and beat to combine. Scrape down the bowl and beat again at medium-high speed.
- Fill a prepared piping bag with the caramel and cinnamon frosting and pipe a swirl onto each cupcake. Decorate the top of each cupcake with a mini gingerbread cookie. Enjoy!
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