These gluten free pumpkin cupcakes are soft, cozy, and so easy to make with a boxed gluten free yellow cake mix. They’re a simple fall treat that feels homemade and special, but they don’t require much since they use a boxed cake mix as a base. The pumpkin puree makes the cupcakes moist and gives them that warm fall flavor, while the brown butter maple frosting makes them taste extra rich and bakery-worthy. If you love easy pumpkin desserts, this is such a good shortcut recipe to keep around for fall parties, potlucks, Thanksgiving dessert tables, or a cozy weekend baking project.
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Ingredients for Gluten Free Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Frosting
*I used an Aldi gluten free yellow cake mix for these cupcakes, and it made 12 cupcakes just like the box said it would. The recipe below is written for that size cake mix, but I’ve also included notes for adjusting the pumpkin, oil, milk, and vanilla if you use a different gluten free yellow cake mix.
For the Pumpkin Cupcakes
- 1 box Aldi gluten free yellow cake mix
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup oil
- 1/4 cup milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
For the Brown Butter Maple Frosting
- ¾ cup unsalted butter
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 3 to 4 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 to 3 tablespoons milk or heavy cream, as needed
- ¼ tsp salt, optional, to cut the sweetness
*This will frost about 16 cupcakes generously. If you have a cake mix that makes 24 cupcakes, I would go with 1 cup butter, 4 cups powdered sugar, 4 tablespoons maple syrup, plus 1-3 tablespoons milk to adjust the texture and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
Instructions
Make the Pumpkin Cupcakes
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a cupcake pan with paper liners.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the gluten free yellow cake mix, pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, milk, vanilla extract, and pumpkin pie spice. Mix until the batter is smooth and fully combined. The batter should be thick but scoopable.
3. Let the batter rest for 5 to 10 minutes before baking. This gives the gluten free flour blend time to hydrate and can help improve the texture of the cupcakes.
4. Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake liners, filling each liner about 2/3 full.
6. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes, or until the tops spring back lightly when touched and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
7. Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for about 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
Make the Brown Butter Maple Frosting
1. Place the butter in a light-colored saucepan over medium-low heat.
2. Melt the butter, then continue cooking, stirring often, until it foams and turns golden brown. You should see little brown bits at the bottom of the pan, and the butter should smell nutty and toasted.
3. Immediately pour the browned butter into a heat-safe bowl, scraping in the browned bits with a rubber spatula. Let it cool until it becomes soft-solid again. You can refrigerate it to speed this up, but check it often so it does not get too hard.
4. Once the browned butter is soft but no longer melted, beat it with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Add powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons maple syrup, vanilla extract, and salt (if using). Beat until combined.
5. Add milk or heavy cream, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the frosting reaches your desired consistency. If the frosting is too soft, add more powdered sugar. If it is too thick, add a little more milk or cream. For a stronger maple flavor, add the remaining tablespoon of maple syrup, but keep in mind that maple syrup will soften the frosting.
Beat the frosting for 1 to 2 minutes, until light and fluffy.
Frost the Cupcakes
Make sure the cupcakes are completely cool before frosting.
Pipe or spread the brown butter maple frosting onto each cupcake. I like to use the Wilton 1M star tip for piping cupcakes.
Pro Tips
Do not add pumpkin on top of the full box directions.
Pumpkin puree adds moisture, so you usually do not want to add it on top of all the milk/water listed on the cake mix box. For the Aldi gluten free cake mix I used, the box called for 3/4 cup milk, 1/3 cup oil, 2 eggs, and 2 teaspoons vanilla. To make pumpkin cupcakes, I used 1 cup pumpkin puree, kept the eggs and vanilla the same, reduced the oil slightly to 1/4 cup, and reduced the milk quite a bit to 1/4 cup.
Adjust quantities for your cake mix.
This recipe was tested with an Aldi gluten free yellow cake mix that makes 12 cupcakes. If you use a larger gluten free mix, such as one that makes 24 cupcakes, you may need to scale some things up. As a general starting point:
- keep the eggs and vanilla the same as the box directions
- add pumpkin puree (1 cup for 12 cupcakes and up to 2 cups for 24 cupcakes)
- slightly reduce the oil
- reduce the milk/water more significantly. (you can always add more a tablespoon at a time if you think it’s too dry)
The batter should be thick but scoopable, not thin and pourable.
Check the batter texture.
Cake mixes can vary, especially gluten free cake mixes. The batter should be thicker than regular cake batter, but still easy to scoop into cupcake liners. If it seems extremely stiff, add milk 1 tablespoon at a time. If it seems very thin, bake one test cupcake before filling the whole pan.
Let the gluten free batter rest before baking.
A short rest helps the gluten free cake mix absorb the moisture from the pumpkin, milk, oil, and eggs. Even 5 to 10 minutes can help the cupcakes bake up with a better texture.
Keep some oil in the recipe.
Pumpkin adds moisture, but it does not replace fat completely. If you remove too much oil, the cupcakes can turn out dense, rubbery, or muffin-like instead of soft and cupcake-like. Keeping some oil helps these gluten free pumpkin spice cupcakes stay tender.
Cool the browned butter before making frosting.
The browned butter needs to cool back to a soft-solid consistency before you make the frosting. If it is still melted, the frosting can become loose or greasy.
FAQs
Can I use a different gluten free yellow cake mix?
Yes, but you may need to adjust the liquid amounts. This recipe was tested with an Aldi gluten free yellow cake mix that makes 12 cupcakes. If your gluten free cake mix makes 24 cupcakes, the exact amounts may not be the same.
Instead of following the recipe blindly, compare the box directions. In general, keep the eggs the same, add at least a cup of pumpkin puree (maybe 2 cups for a 24 cupcake box mix), reduce the milk/water, and only slightly reduce the oil. Pumpkin adds moisture, but it does not replace fat the same way oil does.
Would this work with Pillsbury gluten free yellow cake mix?
It should work, but if the Pillsbury gluten free yellow cake mix makes 24 cupcakes, I would adjust this to use: 2 cups pumpkin puree, keep the eggs close to what the box calls for, use about 1/3 cup oil (since it calls for it anyway), and start with about 1/3 cup milk. Then check the batter. If it is too thick to scoop, add milk 1 tablespoon at a time.
How do I know how much pumpkin, oil, milk, and vanilla to use with a cake mix?
Start with the cake mix box directions. The eggs are usually best kept the same because they help the cupcakes hold together. The oil should usually be reduced only a little bit. The milk or water is what you reduce the most because pumpkin puree already adds moisture.
Vanilla can usually stay the same as the box directions. It adds flavor but does not significantly change the batter texture.
Can I use water instead of milk?
Yes. Milk adds a little more richness, but water should still work. If your cake mix originally calls for water, you can use water in place of the milk in this recipe.
Can I use melted butter instead of oil?
You can, but oil usually gives boxed cake mix cupcakes a softer texture, especially with gluten free mixes. Melted butter adds flavor, but it can make the cupcakes a little firmer once they cool. Since the frosting already has brown butter flavor, oil is a good choice for the cupcake batter.
Do these cupcakes need to be refrigerated?
Because the frosting is butter-based, the frosted cupcakes can usually sit at room temperature for a short time if your kitchen is cool. For longer storage, refrigerate them in an airtight container. Let them sit at room temperature before serving so the frosting can soften.
What can I use instead of brown butter maple frosting?
Cream cheese frosting, cinnamon buttercream, vanilla buttercream, or maple cream cheese frosting would all be delicious. But the brown butter maple frosting adds a rich, nutty flavor that pairs especially well with pumpkin desserts.
These gluten free pumpkin spice cupcakes are such an easy way to turn a boxed cake mix into a cozy fall dessert. The pumpkin puree adds moisture and flavor, the pumpkin pie spice makes them warm and seasonal, and the brown butter maple frosting gives them that extra-special finish.
If you need simple pumpkin desserts for a fall party, potluck, Thanksgiving table, or weekend baking day, these cupcakes are a great recipe to try. They’re easy, pretty, and full of cozy fall flavor without the stress of baking gluten free cupcakes completely from scratch.
Gluten Free Pumpkin Cupcakes with Brown Butter Maple Frosting
Ingredients
For the Pumpkin Cupcakes
- 1 box Aldi gluten free yellow cake mix *See notes for how to adjust for other cake mixes
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup oil
- 1/4 cup milk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
For the Brown Butter Maple Frosting
- ¾ cup unsalted butter **See notes for adjusting amounts for larger cake mixes
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 3 - 4 Tbps maple syrup
- 1 - 3 Tbsp milk or heavy cream as needed
- ¼ tsp salt optional, to cut the sweetness
