Use up some of that end-of-summer courgette glut with this light and fluffy spiced courgette cupcake recipe topped with cream cheese frosting.
Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
- Spiced courgette cupcakes – rainy-day baking
- Ingredients for the spiced courgette cupcakes
- Ingredients for the cream cheese frosting
- How to make spiced courgette cupcakes
- How to make the cream cheese frosting
- Tips for baking with courgettes
- Tips for making cream cheese frosting
- Pin this courgette cupcakes recipe for later
- Other courgette bakes you might like
Spiced courgette cupcakes – rainy-day baking
With these shorter, colder days and the return of the seasonal rain and gales, I’m all about comfort food. After a glorious summer spent adventuring, I now feel like making cakes and desserts. Give me the carbohydrates! Combine this with the abundance of courgettes appearing in my veg box, and I bring you the inspiration behind these spiced courgette cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.
Think carrot cake, but without the raisins and nuts and using grated courgettes instead of carrots.
It works, honestly. Trust me.
These cupcakes are not as heavy as you might expect. They are light, airy, warmly spiced cupcakes with a tower of delicious buttery cream cheese frosting; a delicious Autumnal treat, if I do say so myself! They’re perfect for sharing over a cuppa with a neighbour before the kids return from school (thanks Shona for the much-needed girl chat!) or even as a lazy second breakfast on a Saturday morning with an espresso.
After-school snack verdict from The Teenager: “These cupcakes were really good, Mum. They didn’t taste like courgettes at all!”
Ingredients for the spiced courgette cupcakes
- Courgettes – can be quite watery when baking, so the trick is to drain the excess water from the grated vegetables before adding them to your bake.
- Butter – besides adding flavour to cupcakes, butter helps baked goods rise. Creaming butter and sugar together creates an aerated mixture that provides lift before, during and after baking.
- Light brown soft sugar – provides a subtle sweetness to baked goods and is perfect for cakes seeking a softer texture and flavour.
- Caster sugar – a popular sweetener with a texture finer than granulated. It is fine enough to dissolve easily in the batter but large enough to create air pockets when creamed with butter.
- Eggs – provide emulsification and structure to the bake, creating a smooth, well-mixed batter. They also bind the ingredients together so the cake doesn’t crumble apart. I always use free-range Shetland eggs when available.
- Plain flour – the basis of every good light and fluffy cake. Flour provides the cake’s structure when the proteins interact in the presence of liquid to form gluten.
- Baking powder – an essential leavening agent that creates a lighter bake that’s not overly dense.
- Bicarbonate of soda – an alkaline raising agent that balances the pH of the bake.
- Mixed spices – a generous quantity of cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg create a deliciously fragrant and warming bake. Grind your own spices from scratch for a better flavour.
- Vanilla bean paste – vanilla’s aromatic and floral notes enhance nearly everything it touches, including the sweetness perception of baked goods. Substitute with vanilla extract if you don’t have paste.
- Buttermilk – the acidity of buttermilk provides a tangy flavour that balances the sweetness of the bake and activates the bicarbonate of soda, producing the gas that makes the batter rise.
Ingredients for the cream cheese frosting
- Butter – in addition to adding rich creaminess and depth of flavour to the frosting, butter adds some stability to the frosting.
- Full-fat cream cheese – here in the UK, we can only source cream cheese in tubs, so make sure it is very cold before you add it to the frosting. In the USA, allow brick cream cheese to soften before using.
- Vanilla bean paste – used as a flavour enhancer and to improve the sweetness perception of the frosting. Substitute with vanilla extract if you haven’t got the paste.
- Icing sugar – aka powdered sugar or confectioner’s sugar dissolves instantly in liquid, making it perfect for frostings.
- Pistachios or walnuts – garnish your cupcakes with chopped pistachios or walnuts, if desired.
How to make spiced courgette cupcakes
- Cream together butter and sugars until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, with a spoonful of flour, and beat well.
- Sift over the dry ingredients.
- Add the buttermilk and vanilla and mix well.
- Fold in the grated courgettes.
- Spoon into 12 cupcake cases and bake for 20-25 minutes in a preheated 350°F/180°C/160°C fan/gas 4 oven.
How to make the cream cheese frosting
- Cream room temperature butter until whipped.
- Mix in the cold cream cheese.
- Add the vanilla bean paste.
- Sift over the icing sugar and gently fold in.
- Add more icing sugar until the frosting reaches your desired consistency.
- Chill until needed.
Click here for the full printable recipe instructions.
Tips for baking with courgettes
- Courgettes can be quite watery when baking, so the trick is to drain the excess water from the grated vegetables before adding them to your bake. Grate the vegetable onto a clean dish towel or paper towel, top with another one and leave to drain while you prepare your cake batter.
- The smaller the courgette, the better the flavour.
- Keep the skins on for gorgeous little flecks of green in the finished bake, but if you want to hide the vegetables away from fussy eaters, peel them first.
Tips for making cream cheese frosting
- Make sure your butter is room temperature, almost liquid.
- Ensure the cream cheese you use is very cold.
- Cream the butter first, then stir in the cream cheese.
- Do not overmix!
- Sift over the icing sugar and fold in gently.
- If it’s lumpy, push it through a sieve, and no one will be any wiser.
- If it’s too runny, refrigerate for an hour or so to solidify it.
- Failing that, add some more icing sugar, a little at a time until it reaches the desired consistency.
Recipe Difficulty Levels
Easy
Requires basic cooking skills and ingredients you most likely already have in your kitchen.
Moderate
Requires more experience, preparation and/or cooking time. You may have to source special ingredients.
Challenging
Recipes requiring more advanced skills and experience and maybe some special equipment.
Spiced Courgette Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Use up some of that end-of-summer courgette glut with these light and fluffy spiced courgette cupcakes topped with cream cheese frosting.
Print
Pin
Rate
Servings: 12 cupcakes
Calories: 453kcal
Ingredients
For the spiced courgette cupcakes
- 160 grams courgettes grated & drained weight
- 100 grams butter softened
- 90 grams soft brown sugar
- 90 grams caster sugar
- 2 large free-range eggs
- 200 grams plain flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 80 ml buttermilk
for the cream cheese frosting
- 115 grams butter softened
- 300 grams cream cheese
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 300 grams icing sugar see notes
To decorate (optional)
- pistachio nuts chopped
- walnuts chopped
Affiliate Links
This recipe card may contain affiliate ingredient and equipment links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Equipment
Instructions
To make the spiced courgette cupcakes
- Preheat oven to preheated 350°F/180°C/160°C fan/gas 4 and line a 12-hole cupcake tin with paper cupcake cases.
- Grate 160 grams courgettes onto a clean dish towel or paper towel, top with another paper towel and leave to drain while you prepare your cake batter.
- Cream together 100 grams butter90 grams soft brown sugar and 90 grams caster sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add 2 large free-range eggs, one at a time, along with a spoonful of flour, beating well.
- Sift over t200 grams plain flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ground ginger, 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg 1/4 tsp ground cloves.
- Add 1 tsp vanilla bean paste and 80 ml buttermilk and mix well.
- Fold in the grated, drained courgettes.
- Spoon into the prepared cupcake cases.
- Bake in the centre of the oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and springy to the touch.
- Cool completely on a wire rack.
To make the cream cheese frosting
- Beat 115 grams butter until smooth and creamy.
- Add 300 grams cream cheese and 1 tsp vanilla bean paste and mix well.
- Sift over the 300 grams icing sugar.
- Mix gently until combined. Do not overmix.
to decorate
- Frost the cupcakes using a large star-shaped nozzle and decorate with pistachio nuts or walnuts, if desired.
Video
Notes
How to make thick, pipeable cream cheese frosting
The cream cheese frosting recipe quantities listed in this recipe make a thinner cream cheese frosting, the kind you would find on the top of a carrot cake. If you want to make a thicker, pipeable frosting, reduce the butter and cream cheese quantities by half but use the full amount of icing sugar. You may need to add a little extra icing sugar to get the desired consistency, depending on the time of year/humidity. Just keep adding the icing sugar. It’ll work eventually!Tips for baking with courgettes
Courgettes can be quite watery when baking, so the trick is to drain the excess water from the grated vegetable before adding them to your bake. Grate the vegetable onto a clean dish towel or paper towel, top with another one and leave to drain while you prepare your cake batter.Nutrition
Calories: 453kcal | Carbohydrates: 55g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 59mg | Sodium: 318mg | Potassium: 159mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 41g | Vitamin A: 1059IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 69mg | Iron: 1mg
BBQ Lamb and Tzatziki Pitta Recipe
Beautiful photographs and recipe. This looks so wonderful! I love courgette and I love cupcakes so can’t wait to try t hhese!
And now I want a cupcake for breakfast! These zucchini ones look amazing – that frosting – wow –
I love courgette in cakes and muffins, and these muffins are just so moreish. Perfect with my mid morning cuppa!
Wow! This looks delicious. Something that is light, airy and nutritious all together. Who said it should just be pies for the autumn season? This will be a nice addition to the traditional foods served during the autumn season. Thank you for sharing this. 🙂
Oh these cupcakes look amazimg! What a great way to use up a glut of courgettes. I love all the spices in there too and that frosting sounds delicious!
These look so good! x
Thanks for sharing, these look amazing and yummy, great use of courgettes 🙂
These really are delicious. They’re not dry either even after a few days (if they last that long) And the cream cheese frosting is the perfect sweetness – so you can have 2!