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
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 ¼ cups 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°F 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.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate based on third-party calculations. Actual values may vary due to ingredients, measurements, and serving sizes.
© Mama Needs Cake
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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.
This looks so yummy. I must have to try it. Thank you for sharing it.
These look amazing! Can’t wait to try them!
that looks delicious…i’ll tell my mom to make me this
i’ll definitely tell my mom to make me this
ooo these look so good! Penzey’s makes a great vanilla sugar that I bet would be great in this recipe too!
I have half of these ingredients in my kitchen already. I know what I’ll be making for dessert this weekend!
ooo these look and sound so good! My siblings and I are filling this week with baking and I think this is definitely something to add to our list!
My mouth is watering just looking at these! Not only that, but your icing skills are on point! Thanks so much for sharing this yummy recipe!
Everyone loves what you guys are usually up too.
This type of clever work and exposure! Keep up the amazing works guys I’ve added you
guys to blogroll.
This girl wants those cupcakes. I will definitely try the recipe as soon as possible.
Ooof! These do look delicious indeed! Thanks for sharing the recipe. It looks fairly simple to make...and I love cinnamon...so what's there to lose?! 😉
Make a dozen cupcakes. Eat a dozen cupcakes. I enjoyed looking but best not make them!
These look like a dreamy little treat! I love vanilla and cinnamon together!
I love cinnamon anything and these cupcakes look absolutely delicious! Perfect for brunch too!
These look like a dreamy little treat! I love vanilla and cinnamon together!
I love cinnamon anything and these cupcakes look absolutely delicious! Perfect for brunch too!
What delicious looking cupcakes - big cinnamon fan so these would go down a treat in my house!
This is definitely my kind of cupcake recipe! Loving that added cinnamon and vanilla... yum!
I really love all desserts with cinnamon, so these sound just perfect!
What delicious looking cupcakes - big cinnamon fan so these would go down a treat in my house!
This is definitely my kind of cupcake recipe! Loving that added cinnamon and vanilla... yum!
I really love all desserts with cinnamon, so these sound just perfect!
These cupcakes look delicious. Cinnamon and Vanilla are two of my favorite flavors and I'm sure they taste amazing mixed together!
Yum! These cupcakes look absolutely delicious! Saving this recipe for later!
I love cinnamon. These sound amazing!
Yum! These cupcakes look absolutely delicious! Saving this recipe for later!
looks great!
I want to try this and I have everything needed besides the sour cream. Is there a substitution that would work?
Hi Andrea,
You can substitute the sour cream for Greek yogurt in baked goods! However, I've never made this recipe with the substitution. 🙂
Did you use unsalted butter for the butter cream? Looks so yummy!!
Hi Lauren,
Yes, I did use unsalted butter. 🙂
I adore cakes and desserts with cinnamon! These cupcakes look wonderful! Pinning for later!
I adore cakes and desserts with cinnamon! These cupcakes look wonderful! Pinning for later!
This looks so delicious! I am going to get the ingredients and try this with my daughter because she loves to bake things!
I hope your daughter enjoys baking them!
I think she will. She spends more time in the kitchen than anywhere else. Once we actually make them I will share the experience with you!
Good morning! Is it detrimental to substitute the shortening in the frosting with more butter?
Thanks!!!
You absolutely can substitute the shortening for more butter! It will give the frosting a heavier taste. 🙂 Hope that helps!
Could I substitute the all purpose flour for a gluten free mix (Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free)?
Yes, you can substitute with a 1:1 ratio but add 1 tsp of xanthan gum to the batter to replace the gluten. Hope that helps!
Wow... delish... i added more cinnamon in my frosting cause i just wanted it stonger tasting ?
So happy to hear you liked these cupcakes! They're a family favorite!
Ummmmmm YUM!!! I added marshmallows on top because I made the cupcakes at winter and the marshmallows made it feel like a hot chocolate winter cupcake. Would make again anytime 🙂
Ummmmmm YUM!!! I added marshmallows on top because I made the cupcakes at winter and the marshmallows made it feel like a hot chocolate winter cupcake. Would make again anytime 🙂
That combination sounds absolutely delicious!
The butter for the frosting...is that also salted butter?
You can use either if you prefer but I do make the frosting with salted.
The frosting cake out really runny, what should i do?
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.
Like!! I blog quite often and I genuinely thank you for your information. The article has truly peaked my interest.
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
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. 🙂
Hi, what if I don't have sour cream, can I leave it out?
Yes, you can leave it out. However, the texture of the cupcake will change.
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.
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. 🙂
These turned out SO GOOD. This is honestly my new favorite cupcake recipe. The frosting is soooooooo yummy!!
Soooo yummy. And very easy to make all in one bowl. We absolutely love them.
Hi! Do you know if this could be made in a 9x13 cake pan instead of cupcakes? Thank you!
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!
I made these fir my husbands birthday and he loved them!
Didn’t work for me. Why did they get stu k to the liners?
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.
Any change you could sub cream cheese for the shortening in the frosting?
You can! It will be Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting and it would be really good with these cupcakes. 🙂
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. 🙂
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!
We love cupcakes, and this recipe was delicious; the family loved them 🙂
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!
I hope she absolutely loves them! 🙂
I am so excited to give these a try! These cupcakes look delicious! Thanks for the share!
So yummy!!
It was good and had most of the ingredients at home