Eggnog Latte Cupcakes

Moist, fluffy eggnog cupcakes topped with coffee frosting taste just like a Starbucks eggnog latte! Made with a box of cake mix, these eggnog latte cupcakes are an easy holiday dessert for Christmas parties.

I love baking with holiday flavors, don't you? You might also like these eggnog muffins, eggnog bundt cake, and my pumpkin spice latte cupcakes.

This post and recipe were first published in December 2011. It was updated and republished in December 2025.

Jump to:

• What Makes This Eggnog Cupcakes Recipe So Good
• Ingredients Needed to Make These Cupcakes
• How to Make Eggnog Latte Cupcakes
• BruCrew Tips
• How to Store Eggnog Cupcakes
• More Eggnog Recipes
• Recipe

It's the most wonderful time of the year, and we're making sweet, fluffy eggnog latte cupcakes topped with swirls of fluffy coffee frosting.

One of my favorite drinks of the season is an eggnog latte. I look forward to that and a peppermint mocha every winter. Recreating those warm and festive latte flavors in a cupcake was so much fun.

Using eggnog in place of the liquid in a box cake mix adds the perfect eggnog flavor to a batch of vanilla cupcakes. These eggnog cupcakes bake up so light and fluffy! 

I'm already thinking about freezing some eggnog so I can enjoy these cupcakes a little bit longer this year! Plus, I want to make more of these eggnog donuts for breakfast and another eggnog pie for dessert.

• Vanilla Cake Mix: Pick out your favorite standard-sized box of vanilla cake mix from the baking aisle.
• Eggs: If you think of it, bring these to room temperature.
• Eggnog: You can make these cupcakes with a carton of store-bought eggnog, or if you have a recipe that you love, feel free to use homemade.
• Oil and Sour Cream: Two ingredients that bring loads of moisture to these eggnog cupcakes. Choose a neutral oil, like vegetable or canola oil. If you don't have sour cream, Greek yogurt is a good substitute.
• Rum Extract and Nutmeg: To build on the eggnog-inspired flavors. You can replace rum extract with real rum if you'd like. I'd recommend a dark or spiced rum in this case. Use cinnamon in place of nutmeg if needed.

Homemade Coffee Frosting

Creamy coffee frosting on top of the cupcakes was the perfect way to add the flavors of the Starbucks drink to this easy holiday dessert. To make it from scratch, you will need:

• Instant Coffee: Freshly dissolved in hot water. This can be regular instant coffee or instant espresso powder, whichever you prefer.
• Butter: I use softened unsalted butter, but salted butter will work here, too.
• Shortening: Vegetable shortening, like Crisco, gives the frosting structure and makes it more stable at room temperature.
• Cream Cheese: Brought to room temperature. Be sure to use cream cheese in bricks, not the bagel smear in tubs.
• Rum Extract: Balanced out with a bit of salt to flavor the frosting. Again, you can use real rum here if you prefer.
• Powdered Sugar: Also called confectioners' sugar.
• Heavy Cream: You could use half-and-half or milk. Coffee creamer also makes a good substitute for heavy cream in frosting recipes.

1. Combine the cupcake ingredients. Combine the cake mix and cupcake ingredients in a bowl, then mix slowly for 1 minute. Then, increase the speed and beat for 2 minutes until you have a smooth batter.
2. Fill the pan. Next, portion the cupcake batter between the wells of a lined cupcake pan. I usually fill them about ⅔ full.
3. Bake. Bake these eggnog cupcakes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the cupcakes completely before frosting.
4. Make the frosting. Beat the butter, shortening, and cream cheese. Once fluffy, mix in the coffee, rum extract, and salt. Slowly beat in the powdered sugar, then add the heavy cream and whip the frosting until it's light and creamy.
5. Decorate the cupcakes. Use a piping bag fitted with a 1M piping tip, or a ziplock bag with the corner snipped off. Pipe swirls of coffee frosting onto the cooled cupcakes. Dust the tops with ground nutmeg, and enjoy!