GF Pumpkin Cupcakes + Cream Cheese Frosting

It seems as though December has been chimed as “the most wonderful time of the year”. In my opinion, the most wonderful time of the year begins in October, and ends New Years Day. While Halloween isn’t technically a “holiday” I would argue it is. People decorate for it, we have parties for it, and we even cook/bake things for it! Most of those food items being made up of pumpkin of course… So here I have for you, as promised, my second favorite fall treat - after pumpkin pie.

The recipe for the cupcakes have been adapted from the website Live Well Bake Often, in order to accommodate my dietary needs (GF). I give full credit to Danielle, whom the original recipe belongs to, specifically for the cream cheese frosting, as I didn’t alter it.

What You Need For the Cupcakes

  • 1 + 1/2 cups of almond flour

  • 1 tsp of baking powder

  • 1/4 tsp of cinnamon

  • 1 + 1/4 tsp of allspice

  • 1/2 tsp of salt

  • 1 cup of pumpkin puree (canned works, I used fresh)

  • 1/2 cup of olive oil (I know, this is strange for baking, but trust the process!

  • OPTIONAL: If you prefer a richer flavor, sub the olive oil with melted butter. If you choose to do so, melt butter partially and stir until the rest has melted, but do not melt completely - the temp will scramble the eggs in your mix.

  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar

  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar

  • 2 large eggs (free-range!)

  • 1 + 1/2 tsp of pure vanilla extract (NOT vanilla flavoring)

What You Need For the Frosting

Since I want to make it very apparent that I am not attempting to take credit for Danielle’s delicious frosting recipe, I'm leaving the link right here for you all to enjoy. Also, for those of you who aren’t avoiding gluten, feel free to use her original recipe in the link as well!

How to Make

If you’ve chosen to stick with the original recipe on Danielle’s blog, the original directions are there as well. The directions below are the same, the only difference are the ingredients.

  1. Preheat your oven to 350F and line your cupcake pan

  2. In a large bowl, mix together all of your dry ingredients

  3. In a separate bowl, mix the wet ingredients until blended well

  4. Combine your ingredients in the larger bowl until they’re just blended

  5. Scoop the mix into each liner (2/3 way full)

  6. Bake the cupcakes for 20-25 minutes, until the center is no longer wet

  7. Once the cupcakes are cooked through, allow to cool before adding the frosting

Again, the directions and ingredients for the frosting is linked above.I would like to mention, the texture of the frosting is better if refrigerated before use!

Happy Baking!

Emma BriseñoComment