Cinnamon roll cupcakes- Moist sour cream cake batter with a cinnamon sugar swirl and top with cream cheese frosting. They are truly cinnamon rolls but in cupcake form!
These Cinnamon roll cupcakes were perfected and tested 7 times until I was satisfied knowing that the cupcake tasted like a cinnamon roll but also tasted like a cupcake. The cake had to be soft, fluffy, and moist like a cupcake and the cinnamon-sugar swirl had to be strong. I first tested with a vanilla cupcake and thought wow I nailed it. I added some cream cheese frosting and asked my husband to try it and he said it tasted like a carrot cupcake without carrots. So I tried again and again. And behold I have the perfect cinnamon roll cupcake for cinnamon lovers.
Why make Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes?
- You can have cinnamon rolls for breakfast so why can’t you have a cinnamon roll cupcake? Speaking of breakfast try my cheddar bacon chive scones recipe! You will love it!
- Delicious and easy to make.
Cinnamon Roll cupcakes Key ingredients:
- Flour: I use King Arthur cake flour. All-purpose flour was experimented with in this recipe, but it makes the texture a little too heavy.
- Oil: A plain neutral oil like vegetable oil or canola oil works just fine
- Butter: Unsalted Butter, room temperature. A combination of butter and oil is used in this cupcake batter to create a tasty and moist cupcake.
- Sour Cream: Sour cream provides moisture but will also thicken the cupcake batter vs milk.
- Cinnamon: An essential spice for making cinnamon roll cupcakes
- Brown Sugar: The cupcake batter calls for regular granulated sugar, but the cinnamon sugar mixture is made with brown sugar and cinnamon. The brown sugar and cinnamon create the same texture and flavor as cinnamon buns.
- Cream Cheese: Full-fat Philadelphia cream cheese is recommended.
How to: Cinnamon roll cupcakes
Cupcake Batter
In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or a large bowl add the unsalted butter, oil, and sugar to the bowl and cream.
Add the egg and vanilla extract to the bowl and mix making sure to scrape the sides of the bowl. In a medium bowl add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, whisk the dry ingredients together, and then add it to the wet ingredients.
Mix the batter on low speed until just combined and then add in the sour cream. Continue to mix until the sour cream is just barely mixed in and then add in the hot milk.
Scrape the sides of the bowl again to make sure the batter is thoroughly mixed. The batter should be thick.
With a small bowl add in the brown sugar and cinnamon and mix and set to the side until needed.
Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners and then scoop and spread a tablespoon of batter into the bottom of every cupcake liner. Add a heaping teaspoon of the brown sugar-cinnamon mixture on top of the cupcake batter and then add another scoop of batter on top of the filling to cover it.
My personal favorite is adding another teaspoon of the filling right on top of the cupcakes again just to make sure I get the strong brown sugar cinnamon flavor just like regular cinnamon rolls.
Bake the cupcakes in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 16 minutes. The edges of the cupcakes should just be golden brown. The cupcakes are ready when the tops of the cupcakes spring back when lightly touched or if a toothpick inserted in the middle is clean.
Cream Cheese Frosting
While the cupcakes are cooling prepare the cream cheese frosting. In a large bowl add the butter and cream cheese together and whip on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl and then add the vanilla extract and powdered sugar. Whip on high speed for 2 minutes and then place into a piping bag and set aside for the cooled cupcakes.
Once the cupcakes have fully cooled down pipe the cream cheese frosting on the entire top of the cupcakes just like a cinnamon roll.
Cupcakes are best enjoyed and served the same day but can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
Enjoy!
Simple Tips:
Don’t overbake the cupcakes, overbaking will cause the cupcakes to dry out
Overmixing the cupcake: Once the flour mixture is added to the wet ingredients mix as minimally as possible to avoid developing the gluten
Don’t skip out on the hot milk! The hot milk helps create a tender and soft cake. Read more here about the hot milk method.
Frequently Asked questions:
Cinnamon Swirl Cupcakes:
To create a swirled cinnamon cupcake just follow the instructions and then take a toothpick insert it into the raw cupcake batter and swirl it around 2 or 3x until desired. The top of the batter will also look swirled.
How can I prep these cinnamon roll cupcakes the day before?
Follow the recipe and bake them as instructed but don’t pipe the cream cheese frosting on top of the cupcakes. Instead, store the unfrosted cupcakes in an airtight container leave them at room temperature and frost the cupcakes the next day. Refrigeration makes the cupcakes stale.
Is a muffin tin the same as a cupcake tin?
Yes, they are all the same! They can also be called a muffin pan. Cupcakes tins are versatile and can be used in many different ways to create a delicious recipe.
Can I bake this into a cake?
This cinnamon roll cupcake recipe can fit into an 8x8in square pan. Recipe can also be doubled to fit into an 9×13 cake pan. Add half of the batter and spread it into the bottom of the pan and then add the brown sugar cinnamon mixture. Top it off with the remaining cake batter and then swirl with a toothpick. This will achieve a beautiful swirl between the layers of the cake mix. Just bake and frost once cooled.
Cinnamon Roll Cupcake Recipe
Equipment
- 1 USA CUPCAKE PAN
Ingredients
Cinnamon roll cupcake batter
- 1/4 cup oil
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter room temp
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 large egg room temp
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cup cake flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup sour cream room temp
- 1/4 cup milk
Cinnamon Roll Filling
- 6 tbsp brown sugar
- 5 tsp cinnamon
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1 8oz cream cheese package
- 2 sticks butter 8oz
- 2 cup confectioners sugar
Instructions
Cinnamon Roll Cupcake Batter
- In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or a large bowl add the unsalted butter, oil, and sugar to the bowl and cream.
- Add the egg and vanilla extract to the bowl and mix making sure to scrape the sides of the bowl. In a medium bowl add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, whisk the dry ingredients together, and then add it to the wet ingredients.
- Mix the batter on low speed until just combined and then add in the sour cream. Continue to mix until the sour cream is just barely mixed in and then add in the hot milk.
- Scrape the sides of the bowl again to make sure the batter is thoroughly mixed. The batter should be thick.
- With a small bowl add in the brown sugar and cinnamon and mix and set to the side until needed.
- Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners and then scoop and spread a tablespoon of batter into the bottom of every cupcake liner. Add 2 teaspoons of the brown sugar-cinnamon mixture on top of the cupcake batter and then add another scoop of batter on top of the filling to cover it. Sprinkle the tops with more of the brown sugar cinnamon.
- Bake the cupcakes in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 16 minutes. The edges of the cupcakes should just be golden brown. The cupcakes are ready when the tops of the cupcakes spring back when lightly touched or if a toothpick inserted in the middle is clean.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- While the cupcakes are cooling prepare the cream cheese frosting. In a large bowl add the butter and cream cheese together and whip on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl and then add the vanilla extract and powdered sugar. Whip on high speed for 30 seconds just until the frosting is combined.
- In a small bowl add 1/2 cup of the cream cheese frosting and add 1.5 teaspoons of cinnamon. Mix the frosting and then place into a piping bag.
- Lay a large piece of saran wrap on a clean work surface and add cream cheese frosting in the middle spreading it like a log. Cut an end to the cinnamon frosting piping bag and pipe a long line next to the cream cheese frosting. Roll the frosting up and form the roll into the shape of a piping bag.
- Place the rolled frosting large piping bag with a large ground tip and cut the end of the plastic wrap and the end of the piping bag.
- Once the cupcakes have fully cooled down pipe the cream cheese frosting on the entire top of the cupcakes just like a cinnamon roll.
- Cupcakes are best enjoyed and served the same day but can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
- Enjoy!
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Hey there’s no sugar amount in the cake batter ingredients… I’m already mixing, and now I don’t know what to dooooooo 🤦♀️
Hi Laura! I apologize! I just fixed it. If you ever need to reach me message me on instagram at Ofjensweets. I can actually see and get notified of the message and help you out faster.