Description
The BEST Vegan Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with a moist pumpkin sponge and buttercream pumpkin decoration. Vegan, no-egg, no-dairy.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Ingredients for the cupcakes
- 250g of plain / all purpose flour
- 300g of golden caster sugar
- 3 + 1/2 teaspoons of pumpkin spice
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder
- 1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
- 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed + 3 tablespoons of water
- 340g of pumpkin puree
- 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar
- 65ml of sunflower oil
Ingredients for the buttercream
- 150g of dairy-free block butter
- 380g of icing sugar
- 2 teaspoons of pumpkin spice
- Orange food gel
- Brown food gel or cocoa powder
- Dairy-free milk (if needed)
Instructions
Method (cakes)
- Preheat your oven to 180ºC fan and line two cupcake tins with cupcake cases.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, pumpkin spice, baking powder and baking soda. Mix to combine.
- In a separate bowl, combine the the flaxseed with the water, stir and leave aside to jellify for 5 minutes until thickened.
- Add the thickened flax into the dry along with the pumpkin puree, apple cider vinegar and oil. Mix until a smooth batter, don’t over-mix!
- Use spoons or an ice-cream scoop for ease to fill the cupcake cases 3/4 full with the batter. The cupcakes with rise a-lot so make sure not to over fill the cases.
- Place the cupcakes into the centre of the preheated oven and bake for 20-22 minutes. You will know they’re ready when you put a knife or skewer down the centre of the cupcake and it comes out clean and they’re springy to the touch.
- Once baked, place the cupcakes on a cooling rack and allow to cool fully before icing.
Method (buttercream)
- In a large mixing bowl, add in the dairy-free butter, whip until creamy. I use a stand mixer with a balloon whisk attachment, a hand mixer will work great too.
- Sift in the icing sugar, pumpkin spice and orange food gel. Whip for 5 minutes on high speed until the buttercream becomes pale and fluffy in texture. If it’s too runny, add in a few more chunks of butter to get it to the right consistency. You might need a splash of milk.
- Separate a-little buttercream into a separate bowl and colour brown with brown food gel or some cocoa powder. Transfer both orange and brown buttercreams into separate piping bags and snip off the tips.
- For the stalk, pipe a line of the brown buttercream into the silicone mould, then swirl over the orange to fill the entire pumpkin mould. Use an off-set spatula to smooth out the top and neaten (refer to video for example).
- Turn a cupcake upside down and press into the buttercream to stick. Make sure it’s centeral to the pumpkin.
- Place in the freezer for at least 20 minutes.
- Once the pumpkin feels firm, carefully release the buttercream pumpkin from the mould by popping it out, being careful not to move the cupcake.
- Allow to come back to room temperature before enjoying.
Notes
To store: Store these cupcakes in an air-tight / sealed container in the fridge. As they contain fresh pumpkin puree, it’s best to enjoy them within 1-2 days of making.
Cupcakes can be stored in an air-tight / sealed container at room temperature overnight before frosting the next day.
What dairy-free butter to use? My go-to are Flora Plant Butter and Naturli Vegan Block.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20-25 minutes
- Category: cupcakes
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American