Vegan Pumpkin Cupcakes

4.98 from 36 votes

Rich and moist vegan pumpkin cupcakes topped with a velvety pumpkin spice frosting and crushed pecans. Perfect for fall baking.

Prep Time20

Cook Time25

Total Time45

Course: Cupcakes, Dessert

Cuisine: American

Diet: Vegan

Servings:

Calories: 379kcal

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a cupcake tray with 12 muffin liners.
Sift all purpose flour into a mixing bowl and add light brown sugar, white granulated sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and pumpkin pie spice.
Prepare your flax egg by mixing 1 Tbsp of ground flax seed meal with 3 Tbsp Hot Water and allowing to sit for a minute to become gloopy.
Add the flax egg, pumpkin purée, oil, vinegar and vanilla to the mixing bowl and mix into a thick batter. Don't overmix.
Divide the batter evenly between the muffin liners in the cupcake tray.
Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cupcakes comes out clean.
Let the cupcakes cool for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
Prepare your frosting by adding the vegan butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and soy milk to the bowl of an electric mixer. Start on slow speed and gradually increase the speed until thick and smooth. When you reach the right consistency add in the pumpkin pie spice and mix in on slow until just mixed.
Pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes and decorate with pumpkin pie spice and crushed pecan nuts.

Weigh your flour for the most accurate results. If you have a food scale then weigh your flour for the best, most accurate results. If you don't have a food scale then use the spoon and level method. Spoon the flour into your measuring cup and then level off the top with a knife. Don't scoop the flour and don't pack it into the cup.
Canned or fresh pumpkin. You can use canned or fresh pumpkin purée. Canned is easiest, but if you want to use fresh pumpkin purée, that works great too! To make your own you just bake peeled and cubed pumpkin in the oven for around 30 minutes at 350°F (I've also done it at 390°F). Don't add any oil or spices, just bake it plain. When it's soft and cooked, then either mash it with a potato masher or put it into the food processor and purée it. If it's a little 'wet' then stand it in a strainer so any excess water can drain off.
Muffin liners. These cupcakes rise very high! They're beautifully tall. So for this reason I prefer to use muffin liners rather than cupcake liners because they tend to be higher on the sides and support these tall cupcakes best.
Storing and Freezing: Keep them covered at room temperature where they will stay fresh for 2-3 days or covered in the fridge where they will last for up to a week. They are also freezer friendly for up to 3 months.