Description
These jaw-droopingly MOIST vegan pumpkin cupcakes are soft, tender, and perfectly spiced and topped with a silky vegan cream cheese frosting! Adapted from my easy vegan pumpkin muffins, these pumpkin cupcakes are made in one bowl with a few simple ingredients, no eggs, no dairy, and topped with a pumpkin truffle!
Ingredients
Scale
Pumpkin cupcakes:
- 2 cup (250 g) all purpose flour or gluten free 1:1 baking flour
- 3/4 tbsp pumpkin spice blend
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 3/4 cup (225 g) pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 2/3 cup (130 g) organic granulated sugar
- 2/3 cup (130 g) light brown sugar
- 2 tbsp dairy free yogurt or applesauce, room temperature
- 2/3 cup (150 g) avocado oil or neutral oil
- 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup (60 mL) dairy free milk, room temperature
- 1 batch Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1/2 batch vegan caramel
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 350F and line a 12-tin muffin pan with cupcake liners. Measure out all ingredients before beginning.
- Make the batter: In a medium bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, sugar, brown sugar, dairy free yogurt, oil, and vanilla extract. Then add in the spices, baking soda, baking powder, and sea salt. Pour in the flour and dairy free milk as you whisk JUST combined.
- Bake: Spoon the pumpkin cupcake batter evenly among 12 cupcake liners, filling to about 3/4 of the way full. Bake the pumpkin cupcakes for 25-27 minutes, or until the toothpick comes out clean.
- Let cool completely before frosting. While the cupcakes are baking and cooling, you can make the caramel. To cool the caramel faster, pour it into a square baking pan
- Make the cream cheese frosting: When you’re ready to frost, combine the vegan butter and vegan cream cheese in a large bowl with a hand mixer on high speed. Beat the two until light and fluffy. Add in about 1 cup of powdered sugar and continue beating, adding in additional sugar until it’s a thick frosting. Add in the vanilla extract and beat until well combined.
- Pipe the frosting: Spoon some of the cooled caramel into the piping bag and press the walls of the piping bag together to smear the caramel around. Then spoon the frosting into piping bags and frost each individual cupcake. See blog post for making pumpkin cupcake toppers.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Gluten free: I recommend using King Arthur’s Gluten Free Measure for Measure flour blend. It’s the one I always use when making these cupcakes.
To make the pumpkin toppers: see blog post for all instructions!
