Dulce de Leche Pumpkin Cupcakes

Hello friends! Today I will show you how to make these delicious Dulce de Leche Pumpkin Cupcakes. Fluffy Pumpkin Cupcakes, filled with Dulce de Leche, and topped with a velvety and silky Pumpkin Dulce de Leche Russian Buttercream!

This post is in partnership with Eagle Brand® Sweetened Condensed Milk, a dear brand I have been working with for a while, and my favorite brand of condensed milk ever. All opinions are my own!

Make sure to watch the video on this page or on YouTube, showing you exactly how to make these Dulce de Leche Pumpkin Cupcakes.

Eagle Brand® and I partnered up this time to bring you a special Friendsgiving dessert!

Cupcakes are the perfect dessert for sharing! Specially when they are so cute, and filled with dulce de leche!

I have used a can of Eagle Brand® Sweetened Condensed Milk. There are several ways you can go about making dulce de leche from scratch.

Down below, I explain the oven method on making dulce de leche from a can of sweetened condensed milk.

It’s pretty easy, you pour the condensed milk in an oven proof pan, then bake over a water bath for a few hours, stirring in between, until thick and caramelized.

And after baking this is what it will look like.

Dulce de leche is not the same as regular caramel. It’s much richer, super rich, creamy, and unlike anything else in the world!

And it goes amazing with pumpkin! Which is why I made these Dulce de Leche Pumpkin Cupcakes!

These fluffy Pumpkin Cupcakes filled with Dulce de Leche could only be complimented by the most amazing frosting ever: Dulce de Leche Pumpkin Russian Buttercream.

Russian Buttercream is a sweetened condensed milk based frosting.

You could make Russian Buttercream by only adding sweetened condensed milk and butter. However, I like to add flavoring, like in these Chocolate Cupcakes, I made a delicious Chocolate Russian Buttercream by adding melted chocolate. Which I also used to frost this Walnut Chocolate Cake.

For today’s frosting, we will add pumpkin puree and dulce de leche.

Russian Buttercream is quickly becoming my favorite, the more and more I experiment with new variations and flavors.

And of course, it’s very important to use good quality sweetened condensed milk when making this frosting, since it is one of the main ingredients!

As you probably know, if you’ve hanged out here on my blog for a while, Eagle Brand® is my ultimate favorite! And I have tons of sweetened condensed milk recipes here on the blog, proof that I am a fan/expert!

Another super important tip when making the Russian Buttercream, is to ensure the butter is at the right temperature, which should be room temperature (68 to 72ºF).

If the butter is too warm, the buttercream won’t come together, and will remain soupy and runny.

And if the butter is too cold, it will form lumps in the buttercream.

In case that the buttercream is too runny, sometimes it’s just a matter of whipping it longer, until it comes together. However, if you have been whipping for several minutes and the frosting is still runny, insert the bowl of buttercream in the fridge for 5 to 10 minutes, and then continue to whip after that, and it should come together.

To fill the Dulce de Leche Pumpkin Cupcakes, I found it better to place the dulce de leche in a piping bag, instead of spooning the dulce de leche in there. It makes the job much easier and cleaner.

After filling the cupcakes to the top, I piped a ring of frosting around the edges, leaving a hole in the middle, so I could pipe more dulce de leche in there, because why not?!

If you also like dulce de leche, check out these recipes:

• Dulce de Leche Mocha Cupcakes
• Dulce de Leche Cake
• Dulce de Leche Cupcakes
• Chocotorta
• Dulce de Leche Truffles (churros brigadeiro)
• Alfajores
• Alfajor Cupcakes
• Dulce de Leche Thumbprints

And many more! Type “dulce de leche” on the search bar of the website to see all the recipes!

And since these Dulce de Leche Pumpkin Cupcakes also feature pumpkin, the ingredient of the moment, here are some more pumpkin recipes you may enjoy:

• Pumpkin Cupcakes
• Pumpkin Chocoflan
• Pumpkin Macarons
• Chocolate Pumpkin Cupcakes
• Pumpkin Tiramisu
• Pumpkin Creme Brûlée
• Chocolate Pumpkin Mini Cheesecakes

If you make these Dulce de Leche Pumpkin Cupcakes leave a comment below, or tag me on instagram, I love seeing your creations! Thank you for reading!

Dulce de Leche Pumpkin Cupcakes

Camila Hurst

These Pumpkin Cupcakes are filled with Dulce de Leche, topped with a Pumpkin Dulce de Leche Russian Buttercream that is absolutely creamy and delicious!

5 from 2 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 1 hour hr

Cook Time 3 hours hrs 20 minutes mins

Dulce de Leche cooling time 6 hours hrs

Total Time 10 hours hrs 20 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 12 cupcakes

Calories 450 kcal

Ingredients

  

Pumpkin Cupcakes

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 190 grams
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil 113 grams
• 2 large eggs room temperature
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar 50 grams
• 1/2 cup brown sugar 100 grams
• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree 170 grams

Dulce de Leche

• 1 14 oz. can Eagle Brand® Sweetened Condensed Milk 396 grams

Pumpkin Dulce de Leche Russian Buttercream

• 2 cups butter 452 grams
• 1 14 oz. can Eagle Brand® Sweetened Condensed Milk 396 grams
• 1/3 cup pumpkin puree 75 grams
• 1/3 cup dulce de leche 90 grams

Instructions

 

Pumpkin Cupcakes

• Pre-heat the oven to 350F.
• Line a cupcake pan with 12 cupcake liners.
• Start by sifting the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg together in a bowl. Set aside.
• In another bowl, add the vegetable oil and the eggs. Whisk them together for about 60 seconds.
• Add the sugars and whisk until mixture is incorporated.
• Add the pumpkin puree and whisk until incorporated.
• Add the dry ingredients and mix with a spatula until just incorporated.
• Divide the batter between the 12 cupcake tins.
• Bake for 12-15 minutes. When you touch the top of a cupcake lightly with your finger, it should spring back.
• Let the cupcakes cool down before filling and frosting.

Dulce de Leche

• There are several ways to make Dulce de Leche, I will show you how to make it in the oven.
• Pre-heat the oven to 350ºF. Open the condensed milk can and pour the milk in an oven proof pan and cover with foil. Place this pan in a larger pan, and fill the larger pan with water to form a water bath. Bake for about 3 hours. Baking time will vary depending on how much condensed milk you are baking at a time. As you bake, stir every 45 minutes or so, making sure the water from the bottom pan isn’t evaporating. If it evaporates, replace with more water so the dulce de leche doesn’t scorch on the sides of the pan. Remove from the oven when the dulce de leche is thick, the color is a deep caramel shade. The dulce de leche will get even thicker as it cools down once you let it rest in the fridge for a few hours before using it.
• If the dulce de leche is too lumpy, I recommend letting it come to room temperature after baking it, and then placing it in a food processor or blender, and processing it until it becomes smooth, otherwise the frosting will turn out lumpy.

Pumpkin Dulce de Leche Russian Buttercream

• Before starting, make sure the butter is at the appropriate consistency, which should be at room temperature. The butter should have a nice shape, not be too soft, but not cold either. It’s ideal if the butter is from 68 to 72ºF.
• Cream the butter with an electric mixer, at medium-high speed, for 5 minutes.
Turn the mixer off, add the condensed milk, pumpkin puree, and dulce de leche. Cream with the mixer on medium speed for 1 minute until combined.
Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and cream for another 2 to 4 minutes.
You should continue to cream until smooth, thick, and creamy. Sometimes that takes a while, specially depending on the temperature of the butter. Just make sure to beat the mixture with the electric mixer until the frosting has a very thick consistency.

To assemble

• Use a knife or a spoon to remove the center of each cupcake.
• Place the cooled down dulce de leche in a piping bag.
• Pipe some dulce de leche in the center of each cupcake until it reaches the top.
• Place the frosting in a piping bag fitted with the tip of your choice.
• Pipe a ring of frosting around the edges of the cupcake, leaving a hole in the middle.
• Fill the middle with more dulce de leche.
• You can decorate the top with little pumpkin candies like I did.

Storage

• Store the cupcakes in the fridge for up to 4 days, covered.

Notes

Dulce de Leche: You can find more ways of making Dulce de Leche here. Or you can use store-bought. You will need about 1 1/3 cups of dulce de leche for the whole recipe.

Pumpkin Puree: Make sure to use pumpkin puree, not pumpkin filling. Pumpkin puree is made of 100% pumpkin.

Russian Buttercream: If the buttercream is too runny and soupy and not coming together, place the bowl in the fridge for 5 to 10 minutes and then try whipping it again. It could be due to the butter being too warm, which is why it’s important to take the temperature of the butter before starting.

Recipe Time: The time accounted above is considering the dulce de leche is already made. You should make the dulce de leche a day before starting this recipe, if going the homemade route.

Keyword cupcakes, dulce de leche, pumpkin