Vegan pumpkin brownie cupcakes with vanilla maple cinnamon buttercream

We got invited to a dinner party tonight, hosted by our friends, Andy and Jenny. Jenny knows that we are vegan, so she sent me an Italian vegetable stew recipe she wanted to make, just to ensure it was vegan. I looked it over and thought it looked delicious. It turned out to be the perfect hot meal for the patio dinner party. Jenny served fresh artisan bread with the stew and we used oil for dipping.

I decided last minute today to bake something for the party. I was searching for seasonal cupcake flavors. I found pumpkin chocolate chip and pumpkin spice cupcake recipes, then I hit the mother load; pumpkin pie brownie cupcakes.

These cupcakes are great without frosting, but I was determined to take them over-the-top. I found a vanilla maple cinnamon buttercream recipe that worked out perfect.

7 taste-testers said these cupcakes were awesome! They are easy-breezy to make and will be a hit at any holiday party or dinner; vegans and non-vegans approve!

Vegan Pumpkin Pie Brownie Cupcakes
Makes 10 cupcakes
Adapted from Oh She Glows

Ingredients:
Pumpkin Brownie Layer:

• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup + 3 tbsp sugar
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, softened (I used vegetable oil)
• 3/4 cup white kamut flour (I used white flower)
• 1.5 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp cornstarch (or arrowroot/tapioca)
• 1/4 cup dutch processed cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda

Pumpkin Pie Layer:

• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 2 tbsp cornstarch (or arrowroot/tapioca)
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 3 tbsp almond milk
• 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or 1 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ginger, 1/4 tsp nutmeg)
• Shaved chocolate, for garnish

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F and grease a muffin tin (or use paper muffin cups).
2. For brownie layer: In a stand mixer or by hand, mix together the coconut oil, pumpkin, vanilla, and sugar until blended well. Sift in the flour, cocoa powder, cornstarch, baking, soda, sea salt and mix until incorporated. Take about 2 tbsp of the mixture and place in muffin tin. Wet fingers and spread around evenly so it is smooth.

3. For pumpkin layer: In a large bowl mix together the pumpkin, vanilla, and milk. In a small bowl, mix together the cornstarch, sugar, and pumpkin pie spice. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix well until all clumps are gone.  Now add approx 1.5-2 tbsp of the pumpkin pie mixture on top of each brownie in the pan.
Garnish with grated chocolate (I used a lemon zester to grate the chocolate).

4. Bake for 30 minutes at 350F. Remove from oven and cool for 20-30 minutes and then move to the fridge to chill for 1.5 hours.

Vegan Vanilla Maple Cinnamon Buttercream

(adapted from Julie's Vegan Kitchen)

Makes enough to frost 10-12 cupcakes
Ingredients

1/4 c vegan butter

1/4 c vegan shortening (I used earth balance's shortening sticks)

2 c powdered sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 TB maple syrup
cinnamon
Instructions

Cream butter, shortening, and sugar.  Then, add vanilla extract and maple syrup.  Beat until fluffy, adding milk or sugar as needed to achieve desired consistency.

Vegan Quinoa Cocoa Cupcakes With Vegan Chocolate Frosting

My goal is to make 1 batch of vegan baked goods every week. This week, I wanted to find a fun unique vegan chocolate cupcake. I knew I would be limited in my choices, due to the ingredients on hand. I had about 2 cups of cooked quinoa in the refrigerator and came across a cupcake recipe made with quinoa.
I had a feeling the recipe would be a disaster, but knew if it was good, it would be really good. From start to finish, this recipe intrigued me. While mixing the ingredients, the batter was so dry that I thought I did something wrong. I decided to add another tablespoon of oil and 3 more tablespoons of water. This was a good choice because I don't think the cupcakes would have turned out, if I didn't. Next time I make this recipe, I may add more liquids to see how it changes the recipe. The batter was really thick, which makes it easy to put into the cupcake liners. While watching the cupcakes baking in the over, I watched them rise up into the top of the cupcake liners and they looked moist.
I let the cupcakes cool and frosted them with a vegan chocolate frosting recipe. I like the stiffer frosting, so I can use a frosting bag. I will use more powdered sugar the next time I make the frosting, so it gets thicker. I halved the recipe, but probably could have quartered it. I have enough frosting leftover to frost another batch of 12 cupcakes.
Matt loved his cupcake, as did I. Enjoy!


Vegan Quinoa Cocoa Cupcake Recipe
 http://www.vegan-food.net/recipe/1493/Quinoa-Cocoa-Cupcakes/


Ingredients

• 3/4 Cup cooked Quinoa
• 1/3 Cup Vegetable Oil
• 2/3 Cup White Sugar
• 1-1/2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
• 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
• 3/4 Teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
• 1/2 Cup Cocoa Powder
• 1/2 Cup Whole-Wheat Pastry Flour
• 1 Cup White Flour
• 2 Tablespoons Water

METHOD

First, rinse off just over 1/3 cup of dried quinoa. ( It has a bitter coating that must be rinsed off. ) Before baking, pre-cook the quinoa. Place quinoa in a covered pot with about 2 cups of water and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, and simmer approximately 25 minutes. Check to ensure quinoa does not boil dry. Allow to cool. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake tin with paper liners.
In a large bowl, mix all ingredients well.
Bake at 350 degrees for about twenty minutes, or when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Vegan Chocolate Frosting
(You could easily make 1/4 of this recipe and have enough frosting for 1 batch of cupcakes)
http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=6441.0 


Ingredients

    1 cup vegan margarine
    4 cups powdered sugar (make your own if you want - blend sugar and cornstarch)
    2 tablespoon vanilla
    4 tablespoon soy milk
    1/2 cup cocoa powder (or more)
    dash of salt

Directions:

The vegan margarine should be at room temperature when placed in bowl. Blend until mushy, and then add vegan powdered sugar, salt, vanilla, chocolate and soy milk. You can add in more soy milk to make it a bit smoother but not too much. Spread on cake and enjoy.

Vegan cupcakes take over the world!

I still need to feed my sweet tooth, even though I am now vegan. I knew that if I could make a vegan cupcake, I could survive being vegan. Total success! I went though a number of vegan cupcake recipes online and found a recipe from a cookbook called Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World. The vanilla cupcake recipe is soooooo yummy. I used a vegan frosting recipe I found online and modified it to make the most out of my citrus bounty.

Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World Vanilla Cupcake Recipe:

http://www.recipezaar.com/Vegan-Golden-Vanilla-Cupcakes-302367 

Ingredients

	1	cup soy milk (I used Silk vanilla soy milk)
	1	tsp. apple cider vinegar
	1¼	cups all-purpose flour
	2	Tbsp. cornstarch
	¾	tsp. baking powder
	½	tsp. baking soda
	¼	tsp. salt (increase salt to ½ teaspoon if you’re using oil instead of margarine)
	½	cup non-hydrogenated margarine, softened, or ⅓ cup canola oil (I used canola oil)
	¾	cup sugar (I used organic cane sugar)
	2	tsp. vanilla extract
	¼	tsp. almond extract, caramel extract, or more vanilla extract (I added just a splash of tangelo juice)

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin pan with cupcake liners.
2. Whisk the soy milk and vinegar in a measuring cup and set aside for a few minutes to get good and curdled.
3. If using margarine: Sift the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl and mix.
4. In a separate large bowl, use a handheld mixer at medium speed to cream the margarine and sugar for about 2 minutes until light and fluffy. (Don’t beat past 2 minutes.) Beat in the vanilla and other extract, if using, then alternate beating in the soy milk mixture and dry ingredients, stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl a few times.
5. If using oil: Beat together the soy milk mixture, oil, sugar, vanilla, and other extracts, if using, in a large bowl. Sift in the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and mix until no large lumps remain.
6. Fill cupcake liners two-thirds of the way and bake for 20 to 22 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack, and let cool completely before frosting.

This content is from the book Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero.

Vegan Tangelo Vanilla Frosting

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 3/4 cup margarine
• 1/8 cup vanilla soy milk (I miced in tangelo juice into this measurement)

Preparation:

Combine ingredients in a mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer, blend until creamy. The consistency of the frosting may vary. Add more sugar, margarine or soy milk as needed.