This Vanilla Cinnamon Sugar Swirl Cupcakes recipe is often requested for social gatherings. These cupcakes are light, fluffy, and full of cinnamon deliciousness.
After all these years of making different types of cupcakes, these are the ones people remember! Surprisingly easy to make, these cupcakes don't disappoint!
The Vanilla Cinnamon Sugar Swirl Cupcakes Recipe
You will find real cinnamon throughout the cupcake. Swirled inside the cupcake itself and generously mixed into the buttercream frosting. By adding a light dusting of cinnamon on top of these cupcakes, it gives it a beautiful finishing touch.
The Right Amount of Cinnamon
Cinnamon can be tricky - sometimes you can add just too much and it's overwhelming. Certainly, this is not the case with this recipe. Although it has cinnamon spice throughout the cupcake, it is more subtle than overpowering.
Also, making and baking these cupcakes will awaken your senses with the enticing scent of vanilla throughout your home.
Cinnamon Swirl Cupcakes
To create the delicious cinnamon flavor in these cupcakes start by lining your cupcake pans. Once they are lined, scoop 1 tablespoon of batter into the liners and top it with ¼ teaspoon of the cinnamon-sugar mixture and repeat the steps until the cupcake liners are halfway full.
Bake the prepared cupcakes in the oven for 16 to 18 minutes. There should be minimum crumbs when inserting a toothpick into the center of the cupcakes. Allow these cupcakes to cool completely before attempting to frost them.
If you frost them while the cupcakes are still warm the frosting will melt and slide off the cupcake. Be patient!
Ingredients in Vanilla Cinnamon Sugar Swirl Cupcakes
- All purpose flour
- Granulated Sugar
- Ground cinnamon
- Baking soda
- Baking powder
- Salted butter, room temperature
- Egg whites
- Vanilla extract
- Sour cream
- Milk
- Shortening
- Confectioner's sugar
How To make Vanilla Cinnamon Cupcakes
Preheat the oven and prepare the muffin tins- Preheat the oven to 350°F and cupcake liners to the tins.
Mix the dry ingredients- Mix together the flour, cinnamon, granulated sugar, baking soda, and baking powder together in a bowl.
Combine the wet ingredients- Beat the room temperature butter, egg whites, sour cream, vanilla extract, and milk. Beat until the mixture is smooth.
TIP: A hand mixer is a great kitchen tool to quickly make your cupcake and cake batters.
Blend the ingredients - Combine the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix until blended. Avoid overmixing.
Make the cinnamon sugar- In a small bowl, combine the cinnamon and the granulated sugar. Set aside.
Fill the cupcake liners- Drop one tablespoon of batter into the cupcake liners and triple ¼ teaspoon of the cinnamon-sugar mixture on top of the batter.
Repeat these steps until the liners are halfway full. Top off the cupcake batter with a little more cinnamon sugar.
Bake the cupcakes- Bake the cupcakes for 16-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Oven temperatures will vary.
Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.
Spruce Up Your Cupcake
I believe that making a cupcake shouldn't be difficult. A cupcake can easily be made by baking a vanilla cupcake and frosting it with buttercream. Well, that's how simple this recipe is! It's an extra step for the cinnamon - it's as simple as that.
These cupcakes don't take a lot of work but they succeed in elevating your everyday cupcake. No one will even know how little work it took to make them. 😉 Additionally, they're a lot of fun to make and they definitely spark creativity.
RELATED: Red Velvet Cupcakes
A Favorite to Those Near and Dear
My mother requests these Vanilla Cinnamon Sugar Swirl cupcakes for her birthday every year. In fact, she doesn't even have to ask, she just expects them. They're a real treat for friends and loved ones, they'll love them so much they'll request them time after time!
I'd had a lot of great feedback on Pinterest from those who have tried this cupcake and absolutely love it! In fact, they make it for special occasions, too!
📖 Recipe
Vanilla Cinnamon Sugar Swirl Cupcakes
A vanilla and cinnamon base cupcake with a vanilla and cinnamon buttercream frosting.
Ingredients
- 2 cup all purpose flour
- 1 ¼ cup sugar
- 1 ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup salted butter, room temperature
- 3 egg whites
- 2 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup sour cream
- ½ cup milk
Cinnamon Sugar Mixture
- 2 tablespoon cinnamon
- ⅓ cup sugar
Vanilla Cinnamon Sugar Frosting
- ½ cup butter, softened
- ½ cup shortening
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 3 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoon milk
Instructions
For cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Mix together flour, cinnamon, sugar, baking soda, and baking powder in mixing bowl. I use my electric mixer.
- Add butter (room temperature), egg whites, sour cream, vanilla, and milk - Mix until smooth (no lumps).
- Add cupcake liners to cupcake pan.
- Combine cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl.
- Place 1 tablespoon of batter into each cupcake liner
- Sprinkle ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon sugar mixture on top of cupcake batter.
- Repeat steps until liners are half way full.
- Sprinkle a little more cinnamon sugar mixture on top of half-filled liners
- Bake for 16-18 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with minimal crumbs
- Allow to cool for a few minutes
- Remove cupcakes and continue cooling on wire rack.
For the Frosting
- Mix room temperature butter and shortening until smooth.
- Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla, mix until well blended
- Add powdered sugar one cup at a time and mix until well blended. (Mixture will be stiff)
- Mix in cinnamon until well blended.
- Add in milk 1 tablespoon at a time. Add until right consistency.
- Pipe cupcakes with frosting.
- Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar if desired.
Notes
Wait until cupcakes are completely cool before frosting.
This recipe is easily doubled and the frosting recipe is great on other cupcake batters as well!
Tip: If you want cupcakes with tall frosting, prepare 2 batches of frosting.
Like this recipe? Check out my Caramel Drizzled Brown Sugar Vanilla Cupcakes!
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
16Serving Size:
1 gramsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 436Total Fat: 19.8gSaturated Fat: 10.3gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 34mgSodium: 117mgCarbohydrates: 63.9gFiber: 1.3gSugar: 49.8gProtein: 3g
Dana is an experienced recipe creator who crafts easy and delicious recipes for all levels of home cooks.
Her recipes range from classic comfort foods to healthy and nutritious meals, and she is always on the lookout for new and exciting ways to bring flavor and variety to the table.
dess says
The frosting cake out really runny, what should i do?
Dana says
You can add extra powdered sugar to thicken frosting any time that frosting comes out too runny. My (guess) is that either the butter was too soft or too much milk was added. If you don't want the additional sugar, you can also add cornstarch to the mix to thicken it without the extra sweetness.
Shab N says
Hi, can I please have metric measurements for the ingredients? Also can I double the recipe and can I colour the frosting with gel food colours? Thanks in advance
Dana says
Hi Shab!
Here is the metric conversion 🙂
250 grams sugar
1¾ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
113 grams salted butter
3 egg whites
2½ tsp vanilla extract
113 grams sour cream
118 ml milk
Cinnamon Sugar Mixture
2 tbsp cinnamon
66 grams sugar
Vanilla Cinnamon Sugar Frosting
113 grams softened butter
95 grams shortening
480 grams powdered sugar
3 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp milk
You absolutely can double the recipe! It is more consistent to make the cupcakes in separate batches but you can easily double the frosting. Gel food colors are perfect for coloring frosting. 🙂
Can says
Hi, what if I don't have sour cream, can I leave it out?
Dana says
Yes, you can leave it out. However, the texture of the cupcake will change.
Ashlyn says
Making for a baby shower. Do you think it would look too weird if I dyed the frosting blue because of the cinnamon? I'm probably just gonna test some out before I commit to the whole batch of frosting but wanted to ask.
Dana says
Maybe try some blue nonpareils? That way you can control how blue they are without affecting the icing. Blue cupcake wrappers would give a nice pop of color as well. 🙂
Jess says
These turned out SO GOOD. This is honestly my new favorite cupcake recipe. The frosting is soooooooo yummy!!
Amber says
Soooo yummy. And very easy to make all in one bowl. We absolutely love them.
Joani says
Hi! Do you know if this could be made in a 9x13 cake pan instead of cupcakes? Thank you!
Dana says
I have never done it but you can convert cupcake recipes to cake recipes easily! For this recipe, I would keep the oven temperature the same and bake for 25 minutes. Keep an eye on the bake time though, you can check with a toothpick in the center of the cake. It if comes out clean, the cake is done. If it is still wet, continue baking the cake until the toothpick does come out clean. I hope that helps!
Kristie says
I made these fir my husbands birthday and he loved them!
Sadie says
Didn’t work for me. Why did they get stu k to the liners?
Dana says
There could be a few reasons. One could be the types of liners you are using. Or, the liners could have been overfilled or the cupcakes could have not been cooled long enough to peel away from the wrappers easily.
Jeannine Hewitt says
Any change you could sub cream cheese for the shortening in the frosting?
Dana says
You can! It will be Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting and it would be really good with these cupcakes. 🙂
Hanah Keller says
Hi!I am 12 and I made this recipe. I had changed a few of the ingredients due to improvisation but they turned out very yummy. Instead of using sour cream, I used 1/2 cup of mayo. I know that sounds weird but you could barely tell. With the cinnamon and sugar mix I swirled it into the individual cups to make it have a swirly look and the cupcakes turned out like a baked good version of cinnamon toast crunch. I recommend trying this recipe. 🙂
Dana says
Mayo is great in cakes! It creates a very moist texture. Chocolate mayonnaise cake is a fun cake to give a try. :).
Thank you for sharing your experience and I'm very glad you liked the recipe!
amy liu dong says
My niece is going to celebrate her birthday this coming month, and this is a perfect gift for me to give her as she loves cinnamon cupcakes so much. It looks delicious!
Dana says
I hope she absolutely loves them! 🙂
Ann says
I am so excited to give these a try! These cupcakes look delicious! Thanks for the share!
Noodle (Natalie) Howe says
So yummy!!