Easy Small Batch Cinnamon Cupcakes (VIDEO)
These Easy Cinnamon Cupcakes are infused with cinnamon and orange zest with a creamy cinnamon buttercream frosting. This small batch recipe makes 6 regular-sized cupcakes perfect for fall, Thanksgiving, and the holiday season!
🍰 Why You Will Love This Recipe
- Small batch of 6 cupcakes.
- Fluffy & moist.
- Not too sweet.
- Bakes in 20 minutes.
- Lunch box and freezer friendly.
- Perfect for Thanksgiving dessert.
- A cozy holiday cinnamon cupcake recipe.
- A small batch of cupcakes is sometimes all you want and need, right?
Cinnamon Cupcakes Recipe
These 6 easy cinnamon cupcakes are great to make for your weekly snack, to enjoy over the weekend with family and friends, or for school fundraisers.
They’re also lunch box friendly to take to school and work along with my easy mint chocolate cupcakes.
These cozy cinnamon cupcakes are also perfect for the fall season, Thanksgiving, and the festive holiday season!
You’ll be glad to know these vanilla and cinnamon cupcakes aren’t too sweet either. Using just the right amount of sugar in the vanilla cake and not even 2 cups in the buttercream frosting.
Make sure these are also wonderfully fluffy as the secret to fluffy cupcakes is to cream the butter and sugar together for long enough to incorporate enough air into the cupcake batter to guarantee soft and fluffy cupcakes.
To ensure your cupcakes turn out and remain moist, we’ll be including extra virgin olive oil, butter, eggs, and milk. The oil in particular makes cupcakes super moist thanks to the higher fat content.
I’ve included freshly grated orange zest into the batter and frosting as orange pairs beautifully with the cinnamon. The addition of orange with cinnamon and vanilla creates a perfect fall cupcake recipe!
If you’re interested in more easy cupcake and cake recipes, try these:
- Small Batch Vanilla Cupcakes.
- Classic Chocolate Cupcakes.
- Gluten Free Chocolate Peppermint & Meringue Cupcakes.
- Basic 8 Inch Vanilla Cake.
- Easy Chocolate Orange Cake.
📋 Ingredient Notes
Below are the ingredients that you need to make these easy cinnamon cupcakes:
Plain flour – is also known as all purpose flour in the US. Check to see how to correctly measure flour for best results.
Baking powder – helps the cake to rise in the oven. Ensure your baking powder has not expired, here’s how to test it.
Salt – use fine salt, such as a fine sea or Kosher salt.
Ground cinnamon – use ground cinnamon.
Orange zest – use a zester, not a regular grater, to finely zest the rind of the orange.
Unsalted butter – needs to be soft at room temperature before starting for best results.
Granulated sugar – use either golden/raw or white granulated.
Egg – needs to be at room temperature before starting for best results. If it’s too cold, it won’t emulsify properly with the remaining ingredients.
Milk – whole milk works best.
Extra virgin olive oil – to create super moist cupcakes. I recommend using olive oil as it’s subtle in flavor.
Vanilla – use any type of vanilla extract.
Icing sugar – is also known as confectioners sugar. Use regular, soft, or pure icing sugar, all work.
How to make cinnamon cupcakes
How to make delicious cinnamon vanilla cupcakes from scratch in 9 easy steps!
A full and detailed recipe card is at the bottom of this post.
Step one: In a medium size mixing bowl, add flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and orange zest. Whisk until well combined. Set aside.
Step two: In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar for 1 minute.
Step three: Add egg and beat for 20 seconds.
Step four: Pour in milk, oil, and vanilla. Beat until well combined.
Step five: Add the flour mixture and beat until incorporated. Ensuring not to over-beat.
Step six: Spoon the batter into the paper cups, filling each 3/4 of the way full.
Step seven: Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean and they’re lightly golden. Allow cupcakes to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Step eight: In a large mixing bowl, Beat together the butter, icing sugar, milk, cinnamon, and orange zest until well combined and creamy.
Step nine: Spread frosting onto cooled cupcakes and dust with a little extra ground cinnamon if desired. Serve and enjoy!
💭 Tips For Recipe Success
Bring the cold ingredients to room temperature before starting – your butter, egg, and milk must be at room temperature for best results and to properly emulsify with the other ingredients.
Measure your flour correctly – use my handy guide here to find out how to measure basic baking ingredients for recipe success.
Don’t over-beat the batter – mix until the flour is incorporated. Use a spatula to gently fold in any remnants of flour around the sides of the bowl. If you over-beat, your cupcakes won’t come out as soft and fluffy.
To dust frosting with cinnamon – I like to use a small sieve or fine mesh tea strainer with the ground cinnamon inside to dust over the cupcakes.
⏲️ How to store cinnamon cupcakes
Store frosted cinnamon cupcakes in a sealed airtight container, at room temperature, for 3-4 days. Transfer to the refrigerator for a further 1-2 days if needed to keep them fresh from inside humid temperatures.
To make cakes without frosting a day ahead – make just the cakesfollowing the recipe instructions, do not make the frosting. Cool and store cupcakes in a sealed airtight container, at room temperature, overnight, or for 48 hours. Make the frosting as per the recipe instructions and spread it onto the cupcakes. Serve!
Freeze cupcakes without frosting – allow cakes to cool completely after baking. Wrap them individually in plastic cling wrap and place them all into an airtight sealed container or large freezer-friendly zip lock bag. Freeze for up to 2 months.
To defrost frozen cupcakes without frosting – remove them from the freezer and transfer them to the refrigerator, still wrapped in the container/bag, and allow them to thaw overnight. The next day, remove from the container/bag and unwrap each. Place them on a plate/board and sit them on your kitchen bench to come to room temperature. To frost, follow the recipe instructions to make the frosting and spread it onto the thawed cupcakes. Enjoy!
💬 Recipe FAQ’s
The secret to fluffy cupcakes is to cream the butter and sugar together for 1-2 minutes until light and fluffy. This incorporates enough air into the cupcake batter to guarantee light, soft and fluffy cinnamon cupcakes.
To make super moist cupcakes, include oil. Olive oil is used in these easy cinnamon cupcakes to make and keep them super moist, thanks to the higher fat content in the oil.
Yes! Make these cupcakes 1-2 days ahead of time without the frosting by following the recipe instructions up to the frosting. Cool and store unfrosted cupcakes in a sealed airtight container, at room temperature, overnight, or for 48 hours. Make the frosting as per the recipe instructions and spread it onto the cupcakes. Serve!
Yes! Freeze cupcakes without frosting by allowing the cakes to cool completely after baking. Wrap them individually in plastic cling wrap and place them all into an airtight sealed container or large freezer-friendly zip lock bag. Freeze for up to 2 months.
Yes! Make and frost the cupcakes as per the recipe instructions. Make room in your freezer then place your frosted cupcakes into the freezer for several hours until the frosting has frozen. After the frosting is frozen, wrap them individually in plastic cling wrap and place them all into an airtight sealed container or large freezer-friendly zip lock bag. Freeze for up to 2 months.
If you enjoy this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐️ star rating and a comment review below. I love to hear what you think and it’s much appreciated. Thank you! Your email address will not be published. Sam x
Easy Small Batch Cinnamon Cupcakes
Ingredients
Cake
- 3/4 cup (115g) plain/all purpose flour, scoop & leveled
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp fine salt, or Kosher salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 Tbsp finely grated orange zest
- 70 g unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/3 cup golden or white granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature, (approx. 55g-60g in shell)
- 1/4 cup whole milk, at room temperature
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Frosting
- 40 g unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 3/4 cups (250g) icing/confectioners sugar
- 2 Tbsp whole milk
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, plus extra to dust on frosted cupcakes
- 1/2 Tbsp finely grated orange zest
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC (356ºF). Line a 6-hole muffin/cupcake baking pan with regular-sized paper cups.
- In a medium size mixing bowl, add flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and orange zest. Whisk until well combined. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, using either electric hand beaters or a stand mixer with the paddle attached, add softened butter to the bowl.
- Beat butter for a few seconds to break it up and it begins to turn creamy. This makes it easier on your beater when the sugar is added.
- Add sugar and beat with the butter for 1 minute until pale and creamy. Scraping down the sides as needed.
- Add egg and beat for 20 seconds. Scrape down the sides as needed.
- Pour in milk, oil, and vanilla. Beat for 20 seconds until well combined. Scrape down the sides again.
- Add the dry flour mixture and beat until incorporated, about 30 seconds. Ensure not to over-beat, just until the flour has combined then turn off the beater. If some excess flour is still visible around the sides of the bowl, gently fold it in with a spatula. If you over-beat, the cakes won’t be as soft and fluffy.
- Spoon and evenly distribute the batter into the paper cups, filling each 3/4 of the way full. The batter will make 6 even cupcakes. NOTE: I use a small ice cream scoop and place 2 scoops full into each cup.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean and they’re lightly golden.
- Remove from oven and allow cupcakes to cool in pan for 5 minutes.
- Carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Frosting
- In a large mixing bowl, add softened butter. Use either electric hand beaters or a stand mixer with the paddle attached, beat butter for a few seconds to break it up and it begins to turn creamy.
- Add icing sugar, milk, cinnamon, and orange zest. Beat for 30 seconds – 1 minute until well combined and creamy. Scraping down the sides as needed.
- Spread frosting onto cooled cupcakes and dust with a little extra ground cinnamon if desired.
- Serve and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
If you enjoy this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐️ star rating and a comment review below. I love to hear what you think and it’s much appreciated. Thank you! Your email address will not be published. Sam x
used almond milk and an egg straight from the fridge and they came out great! thanks for the recipe!
Hi Charle, I’m so happy to hear the cupcakes were a success for you using almond milk and a cold egg! Thanks for sharing your experience, Sam 🙂