Incredible Recipe Duncan Hines Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

Last Updated on January 6, 2023

These Duncan Hines pumpkin spice cupcakes are astonishingly easy to make and drool-worthy when paired with the luscious cream cheese frosting!

To make this recipe, you only need a few simple ingredients that you probably already have at home. And, what we also love about this recipe is that you can use any cake mix flavor that you like and simply add some pumpkin pie spice. It is very easy, extremely quick, and will save you the effort of weighing out a bunch of ingredients.

What Is Duncan Hines?

Duncan Hines is a well-known American manufacturer of baking premixes. We are absolutely obsessed with them because of the wide range of products they offer.

You can have a look at their brownie mixes, cake mixes, muffin mixes, frostings, fillings, and much more! This allows you to experiment with a ton of recipes while also saving a ton of time and money!

Today, we will be using their signature spice cake mix to make these delicious Duncan Hines pumpkin spice cupcakes. This cake mix boasts classic pumpkin spice flavors like cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice.

For this recipe, you will only need a few ingredients. The pumpkin puree helps add that authentic pumpkin flavor that many other recipes often lack. And, because this cake mix already includes the pumpkin spice flavors, a simple addition of vanilla extract helps add that final touch!

What You Will Need To Make These Duncan Hines Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

Ingredients for the Duncan Hines pumpkin cupcakes

• 1 box (15.25 ounce) Duncan Hines Signature Spice Cake Mix
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 1/4 cup canola or sunflower oil
• 1/3 cup milk or cream
• 1 cup smooth pumpkin puree
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Ingredients for the cream cheese frosting

• 16 ounces full-fat cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup salted butter, softened
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 6 cups powdered or confectioners’ sugar, sifted

Equipment

• Cupcake pan
• Cupcake liners (or non-stick baking spray)
• 2 large mixing bowls
• Whisk (hand or electric)

Step By Step Instructions For Making Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes Using Cake Mix

Step 1: Prepare the equipment for the cupcakes

First, preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Then, line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners. We love using black ones to add to the warm autumn theme of these cupcakes. You can also use reusable silicone cupcake liners, or simply spray the pan with non-stick baking spray.

Step 2: make the cupcake batter and bake the cupcakes

Whisk together the eggs, oil, milk, and vanilla extract. Then, add the Duncan Hones cake mix to the liquid ingredients and whisk them together well. You can use a hand whisk or an electric mixer.

Mix until you have a smooth and uniform batter. It shouldn’t be too thick or thin – this batter should have a regular cupcake batter consistency.

Fill the cupcake liners with the batter until they are about two-thirds (2/3) full for the perfect fluffy cupcakes.

Bake the cupcakes in your preheated oven for roughly 18-22 minutes. To test whether your cupcakes are done, use a toothpick or cake testing needle. It should come out clean (without any batter on it).

Step 3: Make the cream cheese frosting

While the cupcakes are baking and cooling, make the cream cheese frosting. To start, cream together the softened cream cheese and salted butter. Make sure to beat them until they are light in color and have a fluffy texture. Whisk in the vanilla extract.

Then, add the sifted powdered sugar and mix until you have a completely smooth frosting. If your frosting is too stiff, you can add a teaspoon of milk or water at a time, beating between additions until you have a perfect consistency.

Step 4: decorate your Duncan Hines pumpkin cupcakes

Fit a piping bag with a piping nozzle of your choice. Fill the piping bag with your homemade cream cheese frosting. Then, once your cupcakes are cooled, pipe some frosting onto each cupcake.

You can have a look at this tutorial to see the different nozzles pipe frosting and the correct technique to use when piping.

Tips And Tricks For The Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes Using Cake Mix

• The cake mix allows you to easily make pumpkin cupcakes with spice cake mix. To intensify the autumn flavors, you can add more pumpkin pie spice mix that you can buy from the store or make at home.
• Using a cake mix also allows you to play around with some of their other flavors. You can use their simple Classic White Cake Mix, or be more daring and try their Perfectly Moist Carrot Cake Mix for this recipe. Even their Perfectly Moist Banana Supreme Cake Mix will work great! All of these are fantastic options that will pair well with the pumpkin puree. Just remember to add about 1-2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice mix as well.

Tips And Tricks For The Cream Cheese Frosting

• We love making cream cheese frosting from scratch. But, you can also use this Duncan Hines Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting to save you even more time. One batch will give you enough frosting to frost at least 24 cupcakes.
• If you are making frosting from scratch, the biggest problem you could potentially run into is lumps. Luckily, they can be spotted (and fixed) relatively quickly. When beating the cream cheese and butter together, make sure this mixture is lump-free by allowing the ingredients to soften at room temperature. If you do see lumps, you will need to slightly heat the mixture over a double boiler or for 10 seconds inside the microwave. Once slightly heated, continue beating. Repeat this step until you have a completely smooth creamed mixture (before adding the powdered sugar).
• You can add some pumpkin pie spice mix to the cream cheese frosting as well. There are also many other flavors (like peanut butter or dark milk chocolate) that you can add to your frosting that will pair well with the pumpkin spice cupcakes.

Servings And Preparation Times

Preparation Time	Baking Time	Servings
20 minutes	22 minutes	18-24 cupcakes

How to Make Cupcakes Look Like Pumpkins?

Cupcakes that look like pumpkins are super cute and are perfect for any fall celebration. To make these pretty pumpkin cupcakes, all you need is a chocolate cake mix (and the ingredients it needs to bake), a can of white decorator icing, orange icing color, green icing color, and a round decorating tip 3.

1. Now all you need to do is prepare your cupcakes by following the recipe on the box instructions.
2. Once your cupcakes are baked, remove them from the oven and leave them to cool on a wire rack in their liners.
3. Add 2/3 of the icing to one bowl, and 1/3 of the icing to another.
4. Add the orange icing color to the bowl with 2/3 of the icing in and dye the other bowl of icing green.
5. Keep mixing until completely combined.
6. You can use decorating tip 3 for the green icing and the orange, you’ll need either 1M, 4B, or 18 (it depends on the style of pumpkin you choose).
7. Add your icing to the piping bags and begin piping.

• Using 1M tip. Pipe a swirl and then switch to green to add the stem, leaves, and tendrils.
• Using tip 18. Pipe a dollop of icing into the middle of the cupcake and use a toothpick to separate it into eighths. Now pipe a zigzag from the edge of the cupcake to the bottom. Repeat around the cake and then pipe a green stem, tendrils, and leaves.
• Using 4B tip. Again, pipe a dollop into the center of the cupcake and use a toothpick to separate it into eighths. Start at the edge of the cupcake and pipe a line toward the center. Do this 7 more times. Now use the green to pipe leaves, stems, and tendrils.

How Long Do Pumpkin Muffins Last in Fridge?

When it comes to pumpkin muffins, it all depends on how and where they’re stored and how long they’ll last. Pumpkin muffins that are stored in an airtight container will last around a week in the refrigerator. However, if they’re stored in an airtight container at room temperature, they’ll only usually last around 3 days.

How Many Calories Are in a Pumpkin Cupcake With Cream Cheese Frosting?

The calories in a pumpkin cupcake with cream cheese frosting will all depend on the size and how much frosting is used. However, the average-sized pumpkin cupcake with cream cheese frosting has around 340 calories. As well as this, it’ll usually contain around 53g of carbohydrates, 14g of fat, 233mg of sodium, 1g of dietary fiber, 41g of sugar, and 4g of protein. However, this is just an average estimate and it could be more or less, depending on the size.

What Can I Top Pumpkin Muffins With?

You can top pumpkin muffins with a selection of different toppings. Some of my favorites include a maple icing glaze or drizzle, cream cheese frosting, or a streusel topping (you may also know this as a brown sugar topping). However, this pumpkin crumb topping is incredible, and I have to share how to make it yourself. All you’ll need is:

• 3/4 cup of all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup of granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup of light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice (homemade or store-bought)
• 6 tablespoons of melted butter

Now all you need to do is:

1. Grab a bowl and add the all-purpose flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and pumpkin spice. Mix well.
2. With a fork, pour in your melted butter and gently mix until crumbs begin to form (it should be crumbly, so don’t mix too much).
3. Before the muffins go into the oven, add a spoonful of your crumb mixture onto to the top of each muffin and then bake in the oven as you usually would.

Final Thoughts On These Delicious Pumpkin Cupcakes With Spice Cake Mix

We couldn’t be more obsessed over these moist Duncan Hines pumpkin cupcakes. Let us know in the comments what you think! And, feel free to share it with someone you’d know will love this recipe too!

Read more about Amazingly Easy Pumpkin Roll Recipe Using Cake Mix.