Pumpkin Spice Hi-Hat Cupcakes

 Pumpkin spice cupcakes dipped in chocolate

As a frosting enthusiast (some would say frosting freak), hi-hat cupcakes are my weakness. My ideal frosting:cake ratio is pretty much 1:1, so  you can see why cupcakes topped with towering swirls of frosting would appeal to me! And the beautiful, shiny chocolate glaze that covers the frosting is a delicious bonus.

What are hi-hat cupcakes?

Traditional hi-hat cupcakes are chocolate cupcakes topped with marshmallow frosting, covered with a thin chocolate glaze. This recipe gives them a fall twist by starting with a moist pumpkin cake, stuffing them with salted caramel filling, and finishing with big swirls of smooth and creamy pumpkin spice buttercream frosting. After a nice dip in semi-sweet chocolate, the cupcakes are finished with nuts, sprinkles, or whatever else you’d like.

If you love all things pumpkin, don’t miss our Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake, Patterned Pumpkin Roll, and Pumpkin Fudge. And you can find much more pumpkin recipe inspiration in our list of the best pumpkin recipes!

🧾 What You’ll Need

Ingredients

Here are a few of the ingredients you’ll need and some tips to keep in mind as you make these cupcakes. (Links are affiliate links and I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.)

• Pumpkin puree: Make sure you are buying pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling. Pie filling has added sugar and other ingredients, and it won’t work for this recipe.
• Pumpkin Pie Spice: Pumpkin Pie Spice is definitely pumpkin’s BFF. This blend of  cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and allspice adds the perfect touch of warmth and coziness to the recipe. If you don’t have any, you can swap in regular cinnamon to add similar fall flavor vibes.
• Orange and yellow gel food coloring: I like Americolor brand orange gel and yellow gel food coloring.
• Thick salted caramel: You’ll want to use a thick jarred caramel sauce, not the thin kind that comes in a squeeze bottle. My personal favorite is Trader Joe’s Caramel Sauce.
• Decorative sprinkles: You can top these cupcakes with chopped toasted nuts or sprinkles, like these cute Mini Fall Leaf Sprinkles.
• Semi-sweet chocolate: Chopping up a chocolate bar will give you the best results–I’m a big proponent of Trader Joe’s pound plus bars, if those are available to you. Otherwise, go for high-quality chocolate chips like Guittard–they’ll give you the best flavor. 

Equipment

You’ll want to have these equipment basics to make this recipe. (Links are affiliate links and I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.)

• Muffin or Cupcake Pan: I recommend using a standard-sized cupcake pan for this recipe.
• Cupcake liners: I used Wilton Color Cups orange ombre cupcake liners in these pictures.
• Piping bag:you’ll want a piping bag and a large round piping tip to decorate these cupcakes.

📋 Instructions

Here’s a quick photo guide showing how to make pumpkin hi-hat cupcakes. You can find the full printable instructions in the recipe card down below.

Cut and Fill the Cupcakes

• Bake pumpkin spice cupcakes, and let them cool completely.
• Use a sharp paring knife to cut a cone-shaped hole out of the top of the cupcakes.
• Scoop a spoonful of salted caramel sauce into the hole, coming almost all the way to the top.
• Cut the bottom off of the cupcake cone, and replace the top of the cupcake on top of the caramel.

Add frosting and prep the chocolate glaze

• Pipe the frosting in one big decorative swirl on top of each cupcake.
• Place the cupcakes in the refrigerator (or freezer) until completely chilled. The success of this recipe depends on the frosting being very cold and solid!
• Prepare the glaze: combine semi-sweet chocolate and vegetable oil. Microwave to melt the chocolate, and whisk until smooth and well-mixed.

Dip the cupcakes in the glaze

• Hold a chilled cupcake by the base and dunk it in the warm chocolate glaze.
• Lift it out of the glaze and hold it over the cup, letting the excess glaze drip back into the cup.

Sprinkle and Enjoy

• While the glaze is still wet, add sprinkles to the top if desired. Then place the cupcakes in the refrigerator to let the glaze set.
• Enjoy!

💭 Variations

• If you’re not a caramel fan, you can omit the salted caramel filling, or use chocolate ganache or hot fudge sauce instead.
• For the chocolate glaze, I highly recommend using chopped chocolate bars instead of chocolate chips. Chocolate chips are much thicker when they melt, so the glaze won’t be as thin and pretty. If you need to use chips, keep an eye on the texture, and add a bit of extra oil if needed to get a good dipping consistency.
• I went with fun fall sprinkles, but toasted pecans or gingersnap crumbs would also be really good!

💡 Tips and FAQs  

My #1 tip for success is to be very mindful of the temperature of your components. The frosting needs to be very cold when you dip it, otherwise it can melt in the chocolate or fall off the cupcake. Likewise, the chocolate should be fluid and slightly warm, but not at all hot to the touch.

🎃 More Pumpkin Recipes

• Pumpkin Fudge
• Pumpkin Bread Truffles
• 2-Ingredient Pumpkin Brownies
• 3-Ingredient Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Pumpkin Chocolate Mousse Cake
• Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars
• Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes