Home  »  Recipes  »  Cupcakes  »  

Sweet Potato Cupcakes with Marshmallows

Published , Last updated by Stef
Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

Sweet potato cupcakes are a perfect fall treat! I top them with mini marshmallows to recreate the flavor of a sweet potato casserole.

A group of sweet potato muffins
These fall cupcakes with marshmallows are a great autumnal treat that taste just like sweet potato casserole!

Sweet potato is one of those amazing foods that is both healthy and delicious. While pumpkin desserts like my pumpkin cupcakes are all the rage in the fall, I’m a sucker for sweet potato!

I make a variation of these sweet potato cupcakes every single year. The marshmallow-topped version is always the most popular with both kids and adults.

These cupcakes are moist, loaded with spices, and sweetened with a mix of sugar and maple syrup. I included them in my list of favorite fall cupcakes and I put them up there among my best cupcakes for Thanksgiving.

Eating sweet potato muffins
The whole family will love this sweet potato dessert.

They also freeze really well (before you put the marshmallows on) and you can pop them out to enjoy for snack time any day!

Table of Contents show

Ingredients

can of sweet potato puree
Sweet potato puree is a must-have in your pantry for fall cupcake flavors!

The recipe requires pantry staples like flour, salt, baking soda, and oil. There are a few other special ingredients to take note of:

  • Canned sweet potato puree – Canned sweet potato puree [paid link] should be easy to find in most grocery stores. You can also use homemade sweet potato puree or leftover mashed sweet potatoes. If your mashed sweet potatoes have already been sweetened, you’ll want to reduce the amount of sugar in the recipe.
  • Nutmeg and cinnamon – I put a full tablespoon of cinnamon and two teaspoons of nutmeg into the batter. This gives the cupcakes a nice spiced flavor. If you like other spices, you can add them as well. Try adding ginger, allspice, or cloves.
  • Maple syrup – The maple flavor pairs really well with sweet potato. I recommend using pure maple syrup, but if you only have maple-flavored syrup in the house, that will work as well.

How It’s Made

Cupcakes

Tip: If you’re a novice baker, I recommend you look over my post on making the perfect cupcake before beginning.

Start by whisking together your dry ingredients – flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt. Set that bowl aside.

In another bowl, beat the sugar, sweet potato puree and eggs until smooth.

adding eggs to sweet potato muffins
Making these autumn cupcakes is a great activity to do with your family!

Add in the oil, maple syrup, and vanilla and mix until smooth. 

Slowly, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Be careful not to overmix as it will make the cupcakes gummy.

Fill liners 3/4 full. The easiest way to fill liners is to use an ice cream scoop.

Stef and Myles filling cupcake liners
This is one of our favorite fall cupcake recipes because of how sweet and festive it is!

Bake at 350 F for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean.

Decorating

If you just place mini marshmallows on top of the cupcakes, they will, of course, fall off. I experimented with different ways of attaching the marshmallows and finally settled on using something sticky and edible. I found that corn syrup works best, but you can also try using honey (it doesn’t work quite as well) or, if you want to use frosting, you can pipe frosting onto the cupcakes and set the marshmallows in the frosting.

To use the corn syrup, brush the top of each cupcake with a little bit of corn syrup using a pastry brush. Then, stick the marshmallows to the corn syrup. 

Topping muffins with marshmallows
Topping cupcakes with marshmallows is an easy way to replace frosting.

Place the sweet potato cupcakes under the broiler for about three minutes or until the marshmallows are lightly browned. They go from browned to burnt very quickly. It helps to keep the oven door open during broiling so you can watch them very closely.

While the marshmallows are still hot, gently push together any that may have moved during broiling.

Tip: Decorate a test cupcake before doing the whole batch so that you can get the hang of decorating them.

Sweet potato muffins
These sweet potato fall cupcakes take all the flavors of your favorite autumn desserts and pack them into one little sweet potato dessert.

Expert Tips and FAQs

Variations

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I’ve made these cupcakes a bunch of different ways.

I love topping them with crumbs instead of marshmallows. You can make the crumb topping just like I do in my peach muffins.

Adding crumbs to peach muffins
Top your fall cupcakes with a sweet and buttery crumb topping instead of marshmallows.

Another variation is to add 1/2 cup of candied pecans to the recipe. I love the crunch from the nuts! You can buy your own or make homemade candied pecans.

You can also top the cupcakes with brown sugar icing. The brown sugar flavor combined with the sweet potato is a big win!

Sweet potato muffins with brown sugar icing
If you don’t want to top your cupcakes with marshmallows, you can also use an appropriate fall frosting like brown sugar icing, cream cheese frosting, or toasted marshmallow frosting.

Lastly, instead of topping the sweet potato cupcakes with marshmallows, you can use toasted marshmallow frosting.

FAQs

How can I store these cupcakes?

The cupcakes will keep at room temperature for three days in an airtight container. They can also be frozen (without the marshmallows) and will last for months in the freezer.

What can I do to make sure that the cupcakes turn out perfectly?

I always recommend you bake a test cupcake to make sure that they won’t overflow and that they dome perfectly. Read my post about making perfect cupcakes for more information.

What happens when you bake a marshmallow?

For the most part, they’ll get a bit melty and if there are several bunched together, they’ll probably melt into each other. Unless you put cupcakes with marshmallows under a broiler, they probably won’t take on too much color unless you’re baking at a very high temperature.

How do you make sweet potato puree from scratch?

If you’re not able to find sweet potato puree in the store or prefer to make your own, you can either make your own using a simple recipe like this one or use leftover mashed sweet potatoes! Just be aware that you’ll want to use less sugar for your cupcakes if the mashed potatoes already have sugar.

Did you make this recipe? Leave a review!
A group of sweet potato muffins
Print Pin
5 from 2 votes

Sweet Potato Cupcakes with Marshmallows

These sweet potato cupcakes topped with mini marshmallows taste just like sweet potato casserole!
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 24 cupcakes
Calories 230kcal
Author Stefani

Ingredients

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • 15 ounces sweet potato puree
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 tablespoons corn syrup
  • 8 ounces mini marshmallows
US Customary – Metric

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 F.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt and set aside.
  • In a large bowl, combine the sugar, sweet potato puree, and eggs. Beat until smooth.
  • Mix in the oil, maple syrup, and vanilla extract.
  • Slowly add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix until fully incorporated. Do not overmix or your cupcakes will develop a gummy texture.
  • Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full.
  • Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
  • Remove cupcakes from tins and set on a cooling rack to cool to room temperature.
  • Set cooled cupcakes on a cookie sheet lined with a silicone mat.
  • Use a pastry brush to brush the tops of the cupcakes with corn syrup – this will make the marshmallows stick.
  • Stick mini marshmallows all over the tops of the cupcakes.
  • Place the cupcakes under a broiler for about three minutes or until the marshmallows are lightly browned. They go from browned to burnt very quickly. It helps to keep the oven door open during broiling so you can watch them very closely.
  • While the marshmallows are still hot, gently push together any that may have moved during broiling.

Notes

  • Canned sweet potato puree [paid link] should be easy to find in most grocery stores. If you have your own homemade sweet potato puree in the house or leftover mashed sweet potatoes, you can also use those. If your mashed sweet potatoes have already been sweetened, you’ll want to reduce the amount of sugar in the recipe.
  • If you like other spices, you can add them as well. Try adding ginger, allspice, or cloves.
  • I suggest using pure maple syrup, but if you only have maple-flavored syrup in the house, that will work as well.
  • If you don’t want to use corn syrup, you can try attaching the marshmallows with honey (it doesn’t work quite as well). Or, you can frost the cupcakes and place the marshmallows on top of the frosting.
The cupcakes will keep at room temperature for three days. They can also be frozen (without the marshmallows) and will last for months in the freezer.

Nutrition

Calories: 230kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 27mg | Sodium: 215mg | Potassium: 126mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 34g | Vitamin A: 3445IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 24mg | Iron: 1mg
Have you tried this recipe?Click here to leave a comment and rating!