Cinnamon cupcakes are easy homemade cupcakes swirled with a brown sugar cinnamon roll filling. They are soft and tender, made with simple ingredients and quick to make. A not-too-sweet cinnamon buttercream frosting gives them the perfect finishing touch.
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Where are all my fall weather fans? While fall weather isn't my favorite, I definitely love the flavors of fall. And cinnamon is right up there! It's warm and cozy and inviting.
You will love these easy cinnamon swirl cupcakes because they are soft and moist and super easy to make, much like my churro cake and snickerdoodle cookie bars. The cupcakes take about 15 minutes of prep time and taste like you spent a lot more time in the kitchen. If you are a lover of cinnamon rolls, the brown sugar cinnamon swirl filling might just make you swoon {just like my cinnamon roll sugar cookies}!
And these aren't just vanilla cupcakes with cinnamon in the batter; we've got three layers of cinnamon so the flavor shines in every bite!
💗why you will love these cinnamon swirl cupcakes
- Full of flavor ~ with cinnamon in the cupcake batter to the layers of brown sugar and cinnamon filling in the cupcake to the cinnamon buttercream frosting; this easy cupcake recipe is bursting with flavor.
- Texture ~ with sour cream in the batter we get a moist and fluffy cupcake.
- Easy ~ the from scratch batter comes together quickly with melted butter and two bowls. No mixer needed {but I do recommend a mixer for the buttercream}. And homemade cupcakes taste so much better than a box mix!
📝ingredients and substitutions
Please scroll to the printable recipe card at the end of this post for the full list of ingredients and baking directions.
- All-purpose flour ~ adds structure. If not using a kitchen scale, be sure to use the spoon and level method. {Fluff the flour in the container, then spoon it into your measuring cup and level it off with the back of a knife}.
- Baking powder and baking soda ~ add some height to the cupcakes.
- Kosher salt ~ helps to balance the flavors. If you only have table salt, use half the amount.
- Ground cinnamon ~ used in the cupcakes, brown sugar cinnamon filling and the cinnamon buttercream frosting.
- Brown sugar ~ used for the cinnamon roll swirl filling.
- Granulated sugar ~ brings sweetness and some structure.
- Eggs ~ 2 large eggs needed. Having the eggs at room temperature will provide the best results.
- Sour cream ~ making cupcakes with sour cream brings extra moisture, which results in a tender and soft cupcake. For super moist cupcakes, use full fat sour cream and bring it to room temperature.
- Vanilla ~ adds a nice balance of flavor to the cupcakes. For the best cinnamon cupcakes, use pure vanilla extract.
- Milk ~ brings moisture to the baked cupcakes; I use 1%, but 2% or whole milk also work. Having the milk at room temperature will give you the best cupcakes.
- Unsalted butter ~ brings richness to the cinnamon cupcakes. The butter gets melted and slightly cooled before adding to the cupcake ingredients. If you only have salted butter, leave out the kosher salt.
- Heavy cream, confectioners' sugar {not shown} ~ for the cinnamon buttercream.
👩🏻🍳how to make easy homemade cinnamon cupcakes
Start by making the cinnamon roll swirl: add the brown sugar and ground cinnamon to a bowl and mix thoroughly.
Melt the butter and set aside to cool slightly. Preheat the oven to 350°F and prepare a 12 count muffin pan {my USA muffin pan is my favorite} with cupcake liners. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, kosher salt and ground cinnamon.
In a large bowl, whisk the granulated sugar, eggs, vanilla and sour cream until well combined. Then whisk in the milk.
Once combined whisk in the melted and cooled butter. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix until just fully combined. The batter is on the thick side.
Add 2 tablespoons of cupcake batter to the 12 liners {I use a size 30 scoop}.
Now add ½ teaspoon of the cinnamon roll swirl mixture and top with another 2 tablespoons of batter and another ½ teaspoon of the cinnamon roll swirl mixture. Then take a toothpick and make a circular swirl in each liner to create the cinnamon roll swirl.
Bake for 16-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean. Try to test in an area that doesn't have the cinnamon swirl.
🧁pro tips for the best cupcakes
Use room temperature ingredients. Depending on the temperature of your kitchen you will want to pull out the milk, sour cream and eggs about 2 hours before baking. {My kitchen is on the cooler side, so I usually go 2-3 hours before baking}.
I've been making this cinnamon roll cupcake recipe for years and have cheated and not brought my ingredients to room temperature. This will work, but for the BEST texture I highly recommend bringing the cold ingredients to room temperature.
Don't over mix the batter. When cake and cupcake batter is over mixed, it creates a more dense cake crumb. We are going for fluffy and moist!
Use good liners. These Paper Chef liners are my very favorite and the only brand I use in my kitchen. {not sponsored, just a fan!}
Use a cookie or ice cream scoop to get even amounts of batter into each liner. This helps the cupcakes to bake uniformly. I use a size 30 scoop and don't overfill it for this recipe {it's just a tad over 2 tablespoons}.
For the best, moist and tender cupcakes, don't over bake them. Remove them from the oven when a toothpick or cake tester comes out with just a few moist crumbs.
variations
- Chocolate cinnamon cupcakes ~ use the frosting recipe from this chocolate chip cupcake recipe.
- Cinnamon cupcakes with apple filling ~ you could use your favorite apple pie filling or the apple crisp filling from this apple crisp shorbread bar recipe. I would chop the apple pieces a little smaller and you likely won't need more than a half recipe. You can see my Baileys cupcakes post if you need help with how to fill cupcakes.
- Cinnamon cupcakes with salted caramel frosting ~ use the frosting from my brown butter cupcakes recipe.
Remember to pin this recipe to Pinterest! Use the button on the recipe card or the share buttons on the side or bottom of this page.
frequently asked questions
This can happen for several different reasons. The one that gets me most frequently is over-mixing the batter. When the batter is over-mixed it incorporates too much air. When the cupcakes bake the air escapes and can create the sunken effect.
To avoid over-mixing the batter, stop mixing when the flour in the batter just comes together.
If your leavening agents {baking soda and baking powder} have expired it can also cause baked goods to sink in the middle as the correct chemical reaction won't occur.
Oven temperature can also play a part. If your oven runs hot, it can cause the cupcakes to rise too quickly and then fall flat. I use this oven thermometer to keep track of my oven temperature. And occasionally test using my Thermoworks Square Dot as well.
I think the biggest secret is not over baking them. It is better to err on the side of under baking them; look for a few moist crumbs on your toothpick instead of a clean toothpick when checking for doneness.
The best cinnamon swirl cupcakes are also made with sour cream, which helps them stay moist.
how to store
Cupcakes can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for 2-3 days. They can also be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, but they will be more prone to drying out.
The cinnamon roll cupcakes can be frozen in an airtight container for 2-3 months. Allow to defrost at room temperature before serving. I freeze mine with buttercream all the time!
Remember to snap a picture and tag me @twosugarbugs on Instagram if you make these Cinnamon Cupcakes. It warms my heart to see you bring these recipes to life! Thank you for being here and happy baking!
more cupcake recipes to enjoy
If you make this recipe {or any recipe!} from two sugar bugs please come back and leave a review and a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star rating. I read every comment, and I LOVE hearing from you!
Cinnamon Cupcakes
recipe created and tested by:
I highly recommend using weight (metric) measurements when available for more accuracy and the best results.
Please note
When using 2x or 3x ingredients, the grams DO NOT adjust, you will have to manually do that.
Ingredients
cinnamon roll swirl
- 3 tablespoons packed brown sugar 38g
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
cupcakes
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted and slightly cooled (113g)
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour 188g
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup granulated sugar 200g
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ¼ cup sour cream room temperature (60g)
- ½ cup milk room temperature (120mL)
cinnamon buttercream
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream 45mL
- 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ cup unsalted butter room temperature (170g)
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 cups confectioners' sugar 240g
Instructions
make the cinnamon roll swirl
- In a small bowl add the brown sugar (3 packed tablespoons/38g) and ground cinnamon (1 ½ teaspoons) and mix thoroughly.
make the cupcakes
- Melt the butter (½ cup/113g) and set aside to cool slightly.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and prepare a 12 count muffin pan with cupcake liners. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour (1 ½ cups/188g), baking powder (½ teaspoon), baking soda (¼ teaspoon), kosher salt (¼ teaspoon) and ground cinnamon (½ teaspoon). Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk the granulated sugar (1 cup/200g), eggs (2 large), vanilla (2 teaspoons) and sour cream (¼ cup/60g) until well combined. Then whisk in the milk (½ cup/120mL) and once combined whisk in the melted and cooled butter (½ cup/113g).
- Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix until just fully combined. The batter is on the thick side.
- Add 2 tablespoons of cupcake batter to the 12 liners (I use a size 30 scoop). Now add ½ teaspoon of the cinnamon roll swirl mixture and top with another 2 tablespoons of batter and another ½ teaspoon of the cinnamon roll swirl mixture. Then take a toothpick and make a circular swirl in each liner to create the cinnamon roll swirl (I make five or six rotations with the toothpick in each cupcake). You will have a small amount of brown sugar cinnamon leftover, which you can sprinkle over the top of the buttercream, if desired.
- Bake for 16-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean. Try to test in an area that doesn't have the cinnamon swirl.
- Allow to cool completely before frosting.
make the cinnamon buttercream
- Mix the heavy cream (3 tablespoons/45mL), vanilla (1 ½ teaspoons) and cinnamon (1 teaspoon) together in a small bowl or measuring cup.
- Using a stand mixer with the whisk attachment (or with a hand held mixer), whisk the butter (¾ cup/170g) and kosher salt (¼ teaspoon) on high for two minutes. Scrape up and down the bowl and add 1 cup/120g of the confectioners' sugar and mix on low until incorporated, then turn the mixer up to medium-high and beat for 1-2 minutes. Add the 2nd cup of confectioners' sugar and and the heavy cream mixture and beat on low until incorporated and then on medium-high 4-5 minutes more.
- Spoon or pipe the frosting onto the top of each cooled cupcake and sprinkle with any leftover brown sugar cinnamon, if desired. I used a Wilton 1M for the look in these photos.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutrition information is based on third-party calculations, is an estimate only and may not be entirely accurate. Actual nutritional values will vary based on brands used and portion sizes.
Kathleen says
Oh that swirl of cinnamon icing, baking these took me back to my childhood. Thank you for (another) great recipe, Tasia!
Tasia says
I'm happy to hear they had a nostalgic vibe for you Kathleen. 🙂
Malisa says
I made this recipe for breakfast this morning. I did make sure that all of my cold ingredients were at room temperature and I followed all of these instructions, making zero changes. The end result of my mixture was quite wet. The batter being JUST combined, was quite lumpy as well. I did do the 16 minutes and they weren’t done and then at 20 minutes they were too done but edible. Overall this recipe was not successful due to each of the issues I stated above.
Tasia says
Hi Malisa, the cupcake batter shouldn't be overly wet, it tends to be on the thicker side. I'm wondering if you used large eggs and how you measured your ingredients? Did your batter look like the photos in this post, it shouldn't be super lumpy. As for baking time, I always give a range as all of our ovens are different and bake times do vary slightly; sounds like maybe 17-18 minutes would have been better in your oven.
Michelle says
My boys were craving a taste of fall and I whipped these up for them -- and they demolished them in a few hours! Guess I'll have to make a larger batch for them soon! The cupcakes were tender, and the cinnamon swirl was heavenly.
Tasia says
Yay! I am so happy you and the boys loved these cupcakes! The cinnamon flavor really does make them perfect for fall.