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Churro cupcakes are perfectly moist cinnamon cupcakes topped with a cinnamon cream cheese frosting and then dusted with cinnamon sugar. They pack all the flavors of a Mexican churro in a delicious cupcake.
What’s better than one amazing dessert? Combining two desserts into one! If you have ever bitten into a warm, crunchy churro, then you know how amazing the churro flavor is. For me, the best part is the cinnamon sugar mixture coating the churro dough.
These delicious churro cupcakes are a fun twist on classic churros, made with fluffy cinnamon cupcakes that are topped with a rich cinnamon cream cheese frosting and then dusted with that same amazing cinnamon sugar mixture.
As a bonus, you can add churro pieces to the top of each cupcake because you can never have too many churros!
What are Churros?
Churros are a traditional Mexican dessert made with a pastry dough that is deep-fried and then tossed with cinnamon sugar. They’re a very popular street food throughout Mexico and commonly served with chocolate sauce or caramel sauce for dipping.
Flan is another traditional Mexican dessert!
Why You’ll Love These Churro Cupcakes
- Perfect dessert combination of churros and cupcakes
- Simple ingredients
- Easy to make with just 20 minutes of prep time
What You’ll Need for Churro Cupcakes
Move over homemade churros! This churro cupcake recipe has all the churro goodness packed inside moist cupcakes. Get the full measurements and directions in the recipe card below.
Cinnamon Cupcakes
- Unsalted butter: Don’t forget to bring it to room temperature.
- Granulated sugar
- Egg whites
- Sour cream
- Milk: Skim, 1% or 2%
- Vanilla extract
- All purpose flour
- Cinnamon
- Baking powder
- Salt
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
- Cream cheese: Remember to leave time for it to soften.
- Unsalted butter: Set it out ahead of time or microwave in 7 second intervals until soft, but not melted.
- Vanilla extract
- Powdered sugar
- Cinnamon
- Cinnamon sugar: For dusting the cupcakes
Optional: Churro pieces for the top of the cupcakes.
How to Make Churro Cupcakes
This is a great recipe for special occasions like Cinco de Mayo or just because! Get the full recipe and ingredients in the recipe card below.
Cupcakes
Prepare. Preheat the oven to 350º F. Line a muffin pan with muffin liners.
Wet ingredients. In a medium bowl, combine the butter and sugar, and beat using an electric mixer for 1-2 minutes until fluffy. Add in the egg whites, sour cream, milk, and vanilla extract. Beat lightly with the electric mixer.
Dry ingredients. In a separate large bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Sift the dry ingredients together, this will help produce extra fluffy cupcakes. Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, a few spoonfuls at a time. Mix until just incorporated. Fill the muffin liners 1/2 full.
Bake for 17-19 minutes at 350º F or until a few moist crumbs remain on a toothpick when inserted into the center. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before adding the frosting.
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
Beat butter and cream cheese. Place room-temperature unsalted butter and cream cheese in a mixing bowl. Use an electric mixer on medium and beat together for 1-2 minutes until whipped and fluffy.
Finish it off. Add in the vanilla extract, powdered sugar, and cinnamon, and beat again on low for 1-2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl until everything is incorporated.
If the frosting is too thick, add a splash of milk or heavy cream and beat until creamy.
Pipe it. Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with an open star piping tip (similar to a Wilton 1M). Pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar over the cupcakes. Top with churro pieces if desired.
Tips for the Best Churro Cupcakes
Properly measure the flour. Use a spoon to scoop the flour into the measuring cup. Then use a butter knife to level off the excess flour perfectly. Do not stick the measuring cup into the bag of flour, and do not pack the flour into the cup – both will result in an increase in flour, making your cupcakes dry.
Don’t overfill the muffin liners. Only fill them halfway full!
Use a piping bag when you frost cupcakes. For best results, use a piping bag with a piping bag and tip as directed in the recipe card below. In a pinch you can use a ziploc bag with the corner tip cut, but you won’t get the same look.
Substitutions & Variations
- Gluten Free Churro Cupcakes: You can make these cupcakes gluten free by using King Arthur’s Gluten Free measure for measure flour. Substitute the flour as a one-for-one replacement.
- Sauce it up. If you love the chocolate or caramel sauce that traditional churros are dipped in, you could drizzle the sauce over the cupcakes. Just be sure it’s not warm so it doesn’t melt the frosting!
- Fill it up. If you love extra frosting, you could scoop out the center of the cupcake and add more frosting inside.
How to Store Churro Cupcakes
If you are frosting the cupcakes within 48 hours of baking them, store the unfrosted cupcakes in an airtight container on the counter. Once they are frosted, store the cupcakes in an airtight container on the counter for up to 3 days.
How to Freeze Churro Cupcakes
You can freeze frosted or unfrosted cupcakes using the following method:
- Freeze them on a baking sheet.
- Once frozen, wrap each in plastic wrap and place in a freezer-safe container.
- To thaw, remove the plastic wrap and place inside a large container, then place them in the fridge overnight.
More Cupcake Recipes
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Churro Cupcake Recipe
Ingredients
Cinnamon Cupcakes
- 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature (1/2 cup)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large egg whites
- ½ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup milk, skim, 1% or 2%
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cup all purpose flour
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1 stick unsalted butter, softened (1/2 cup)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 4-5 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- Cinnamon sugar, for dusting the cupcakes
- Optional: Top the cupcakes with churro pieces.
Instructions
Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350º F. Line a muffin pan with muffin liners.
- In a mixing bowl combine the butter and sugar, beat using an electric mixer, 1-2 minutes until fluffy. Add in the egg whites, sour cream, milk, and vanilla extract. Beat lightly with the electric mixer.
- In a separate mixing bowl combine the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Sift the dry ingredients together, this will help produce extra fluffy cupcakes. Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients a few spoonfuls at a time. Mix until just incorporated. Fill the muffin liners 1/2 full.
- Bake for 17-19 minutes at 350º F or until a few moist crumbs remain on a toothpick when inserted into the center. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before adding the frosting.
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
- Place room temperature unsalted butter and cream cheese in a mixing bowl. Use an electric mixer on medium and beat together for 1-2 minutes, until whipped and fluffy.
- Add in the vanilla extract, powdered sugar, and cinnamon, beat again on low for 1-2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl, until everything is incorporated.
- If the frosting is too thick, add a splash of milk or heavy cream, beat until creamy.
- Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with an open star piping tip (similar to a Wilton 1M). Pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar over the cupcakes. Top with churro pieces if desired.
