Our new family favorite is these super simple Butterscotch Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting. Filled with the warm, buttery flavor of butterscotch and topped off with Fall’s favorite spice; cinnamon! Totally delicious and not overly sweet, the whole neighborhood will love these!
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Tips for making perfect cupcakes
- Do NOT over mix your batter. As soon as the streaks of flour are gone, turn the mixer off. Over mixing creates a “breadier”, tough cupcake. No one wants that.
- Room temperature is very important. While it may seem unnecessary, mixing ingredients together when they’re cold will cause your batter to split and give you an uneven bake.
- Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full. Over filling will cause your cupcakes to spill and burn. Under filling will . . . well, you just get a tiny cupcake, and who wants that?
Can I make gluten free butterscotch cupcakes?
Absolutely! I used Namaste gluten free flour blend from Costco and Bob’s Red Mill. Both turned out delicious and light. No other modifications need to be made to the recipe.
How to store cupcakes
Unfrosted cupcakes are easy to store and will stay soft and fluffy for a few days. Just cover tightly with saran wrap or in a zip top bag and leave at room temperature. After a few days, place in the refrigerator for up to a week to stay fresh. If you want to freeze your cupcakes, just wrap individually and store in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Allow cupcakes to come to room temperature, then simply frost and serve.
Frosting can also be saved in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. Allow to come to room temperature in order to spread or scoop into a zip top bag, snip the corner and pipe the frosting in pretty pillows on top. And I always like to add a little something on the frosting. For these cupcakes I sprinkled a little mix of cinnamon and sugar. So pretty!
Ingredients for cupcake perfection
- Butterscotch Chips – The best way to get real butterscotch cupcake flavor is to go straight to the source. Browned butter can give a hint of this flavor, but for a real punch of flavor, nothing beats butterscotch chips.
- Sour Cream – Sour cream in cakes lends a lot of moisture without causing it to be dense.
- All-Purpose Flour or Gluten Free Flour Blend – There’s no need for cake flour, just plain flour will work great! The cupcakes pictured were made with Namaste gluten free flour.
How to make butterscotch cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line a cupcake pan with liners. This recipe makes 12-14 cupcakes
- Melt butterscotch chips with 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil in a microwave at 30 second increments, stirring each time, until smooth. The mixture would seize a little bit with the heat, so I added another teaspoon of oil and it smoothed right out. Set this aside to cool a little.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. This will take about 3 minutes on medium speed.
- Add room temperature eggs, vanilla and room temperature sour cream. Beat until smooth, about 1 minute.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
- Pour the cooled butterscotch chips into the stand mixer and beat until mostly smooth, about 1 minute. (The batter may appear to be split a little, it will come together as you add the flour.)
- Slowly add the flour mixture with the mixer running on low.
- As soon as the flour is mixed in, turn off the mixer. Do NOT over mix. Over mixing will develop the gluten and result in a tough, flavorless cupcake. Blech.
- Fill the cupcake liners about 3/4 full. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until the center springs back when lightly touched.
There you go! Delicious Butterscotch Cupcakes! The frosting takes just a few minutes to whip up and you’re ready for an amazing little treat! This recipe has become a neighborhood favorite!
Looking for fall recipes? Try these!
- Grain Free Granola
- Easy Pumpkin Bread
- Pork Loin with Apricot Balsamic Sauce
- Pork Tenderloin with Fig Sauce
- Orange Cranberry Bliss Cookies
Love this Butterscotch Cupcake recipe? Try these other delicious sweet cake recipes!
Toasted Pecan Cake with Maple Frosting 
Decadent Black Forest Cake
Butterscotch Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Butterscotch Cupcakes
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter 1 stick
- 1/2 cup butterscotch chips melted
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup sour cream room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour or gluten free flour blend
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1/2 cup cream cheese softened
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- 2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a cupcake pan with liners. Set aside.
- Melt butterscotch chips with 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil in a microwave at 30 second increments, stirring each time, until smooth. Set aside. Add another teaspoon of oil if the mixture seizes.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. 3 minutes on medium speed.
- Add eggs, vanilla and sour cream. Beat until smooth, about 1 minute.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
- Pour the cooled butterscotch chips into the stand mixer and beat until mostly smooth, about 1 minute. (The batter may appear to be split a little, it will come together as you add the flour.)
- Slowly add the flour mixture with the mixer running on low.
- As soon as the flour is mixed in, turn off the mixer. Do NOT over mix.
- Fill the cupcake liners about 3/4 full. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until the center springs back when lightly touched.
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
- In a medium bowl, sift together the powdered sugar and cinnamon.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment, mix together the cream cheese, butter and vanilla for about 2 minutes, until light and fluffy.
- Turn the mixer off and add 1/2 the powdered sugar/cinnamon mixture. Stir until fully combined. Add the rest of the powdered sugar.
- Whisk frosting on high for about 1 minute, until mixture is fully combined and light and fluffy.
- Scoop frosting into a zip top bag and snip one corner. (Or use a piping bag and your favorite tip.) Squeeze a dollop of frosting in the center of each cupcake. Top it off with butterscotch chips or your favorite fall sprinkles. ENJOY!
Notes
Nutrition
Oh hi! Do you know if this recipe would work fine in a regular cake pan?
I did not try it, but it should work great! I would use 2 8″ round pans. Enjoy!