Spice Cupcakes Recipe

Moist and delicious spice cupcakes come together quickly and easily from basic pantry staples, making them perfect for dessert, bake sales, and pot lucks!

Endlessly adaptable, this is the kind of recipe you can keep simple or change up based on your own preferences and what is in the pantry to make it a bit different each and every time you bake it.

This simple, vintage recipe is also incredibly frugal requiring no special or expensive ingredients to whip up making it easy to bake up for most any occasion.

Buttermilk

The buttermilk adds moistness and flavor that is important in these cupcakes. Obviously, actual buttermilk is perfect if you have it on hand.

You can do the sour milk trick with regular milk and vinegar if you don’t have buttermilk for a similar flavor.

The powdered buttermilk available in grocery store baking aisles also works wonderfully and is what I choose most of the time for ease.

Spices, including Cocoa

The recipe includes basic spices which also includes cocoa powder. The cocoa powder should be considered a spice here – these are not designed to be a chocolate cupcake. The bitterness of the cocoa powder balances out the sweetness of the dessert and also provides color.

You can use the spices as written in the recipe or switch it up based on what you have available and prefer. You could easily use pumpkin pie spice or apple pie spice instead. Use more cinnamon, less nutmeg, etc.

Simply make sure to have the same measurements of spice in your final batter for the best ratio of flavor.

Frosting Choices

I used an orange frosting in the cupcakes pictured. However, you could use any frosting you prefer.

A simple vanilla or chocolate frosting would be amazing. Coffee frosting too would be tasty. A spice frosting to continue on with the spice would also be delicious.

There’s no right or wrong – add whatever frosting you like, keep light or pile it high – go with your gut.

Optional Additions

If you’d like to make the cupcakes a bit more hearty, consider adding up to 1 cup of dried fruits like raisins or chopped nuts.

How to Serve

Keep it simple and serve these with your favorite hot or cold beverages for a simple weeknight dessert.

You could decorate the frosting with sprinkles, chopped nuts, chopped chocolate, etc. to serve as a part of a dessert buffet if you’d like to make it a bit fancier.

How to Store

Keep any leftover cupcakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator (to accomodate for a butter frosting). The cupcakes should stay fresh up to 5 days when stored this way.

The cupcakes do freeze well. Simply put baked and cooled cupcakes into freezer bags and freeze. You can freeze them frosted or unfrosted.

You could bake them ahead of time, let thaw on the counter and then frost prior to serving for an easy, quick dessert as needed.

Becuase they do freeze well, feel free to make a double batch. Eat some now, save some for later.

Use up any frozen cupcakes within 6 months for best flavor.