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Pumpkin cupcake with maple frosting sitting on a wire cooling rack.

Pumpkin Ale Cupcakes

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 5 reviews
  • Author: Jessie
  • Prep Time: 30 min
  • Cook Time: 30 min
  • Total Time: 1 hour
  • Yield: 16-18 Cupcakes 1x
  • Category: Dessert
  • Cuisine: American

Description

Easy pumpkin cupcakes with pumpkin ale and a maple fudge frosting.


Ingredients

Scale

FOR THE PUMPKIN CUPCAKES:

  • 2/3 cup pumpkin purée
  • 1/2 cup pumpkin ale
  • 1/4 cup melted coconut oil (coconut oil in its liquid form - you can also use canola/vegetable oil or melted butter)
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 3/4 cups flour (measured correctly by scooping and leveling)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

FOR THE MAPLE FROSTING:

  • 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • 2 Tablespoons pumpkin ale (optional - leave this out and use extra hot water if you prefer)
  • 1 teaspoon maple extract
  • 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar (you may need a little more or a little less)
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1/4 cup hot (nearly boiling!) water (you may not use it all)

Instructions

FOR THE PUMPKIN CUPCAKES:

  1. Heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and line two muffin tins with cupcake liners.
  2. In a large bowl or stand mixer, combine pumpkin purée, pumpkin ale, melted coconut oil, eggs, and sugar. Stir or whisk to combine.
  3. Add the rest of your cupcake ingredients: flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and vanilla. Mix until ingredients are just combined.
  4. Use a cookie scoop (I like this one) to scoop batter into cupcake liners. (If you don't have a scoop, put 3-4 Tablespoons of batter into each liner, until they're about 2/3 of the way full).
  5. Bake cupcakes at 375 degrees F for 15-17 minutes or until a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean.
  6. Remove cooked cupcakes to a wire rack and let cool completely (usually 30 minutes or so) then top with Maple Pumpkin Ale Frosting (recipe below!)

FOR THE MAPLE FROSTING (MAKE THIS ONCE PUMPKIN CUPCAKES HAVE COOLED):

  1. In a medium-sized bowl, stir together the melted butter, pumpkin ale (optional), and maple extract.
  2. Stir in the powdered sugar and a pinch of salt. The sugar will quickly absorb the liquid and will begin to clump - this is what you want!
  3. Add hot water (I heat it in my electric tea kettle - the hot water will help keep the butter nice and melty so you can stir everything together) a Tablespoon at a time, stirring in between each addition, until frosting reaches a fudge-like consistency. If you add a little too much water, don't worry - just add a bit more powdered sugar to even it out. The frosting will thicken as it cools, so it's best to work quickly here.
  4. Spread frosting onto cooled cupcakes. To make the swirls like you see in these photos, spoon a dollop of frosting onto your cupcake and use the back of a spoon to gently swirl it into shape, applying more pressure at the center to create an indent. We also topped these cupcakes with some extra cupcake we crumbled up.

Notes

To melt coconut oil into its liquid form, scoop 1/4 cup of solid, room-temperature coconut oil into a microwave-safe glass measuring cup, then microwave for 15-20 seconds at a time, stirring in between, until it's in its liquid form. Give it a stir and then check the measurement - you may need to add a little more coconut oil or pour a bit out to bring the liquid to the correct amount. Melted butter and liquid coconut oil can be used interchangeably in this recipe - use what you have on hand! We've used unrefined virgin coconut oil from 365/Whole Foods, Nutiva, and Carrington Farms and like them all.

Use a pumpkin beer that you enjoy drinking! We've been baking these with a Southern Tier Pumking lately. Something deep and rich will lend the most flavor to these cupcakes. If you'd like to omit the beer, you can certainly leave it out and make some adjustments like increasing coconut oil and reducing flour, but the texture will vary and they may not taste as good - so if you're looking for plain pumpkin cupcakes, I recommend checking out some of the great beer-free recipes available online!

No pumpkin beer available? We've had great luck making these pumpkin cupcakes with Sam Adams Boston Lager! The final flavor is VERY similar (and just as delicious!)

If your frosting thickens too quickly, zap it in the microwave for a few seconds or stir in a splash more hot water to bring it back to a spreadable consistency. The frosting will thicken as it cools, resulting in a rich and fudgy topping. These cupcakes are also great with cream cheese frosting or vanilla (or maple!) buttercream.

No maple extract? You can use pure maple syrup instead if you like - it won't have quite as intense of a maple flavor and will lend quite a bit of sweetness, so you may want to add a bit of extra maple syrup and an extra pinch of salt. You can also add 1/4 cup or so of cream cheese to your frosting to help balance out the sweetness if you like - just taste and add more powdered sugar as you need it to get to the right consistency.

Ingredients and Equipment. We used this Cookie Scoop to scoop our batter, a Cake Tester to check for doneness, and our favorite Muffin Tin and Cupcake Liners from Wilton! The flavor and color of Maple Extract will vary by brand - we tend to like this Maple Extract from McCormick or Mapeleine

For directions on storing and freezing cupcakes, make sure to check out our guide to freezing cupcakes!