Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Cupcakes with Creamy Cashew Icing

Easy and delicious, these chocolate pumpkin cupcakes are topped with a creamy cashew based icing. Made with nutritious spelt flour and sweetened with maple syrup.

This has been a week of pumpkin failures. I have a load of winter squash and I gotta make stuff with it, you know? Bars turned out very strange, smoothie was gross, soup was pretty good but not really blog worthy.

They all went to my handy dandy boyfriend, who will eat anything (except the awful oat scones, which are still sitting in the freezer. They were so bad he thought they were made with onions instead of apples). These chocolate pumpkin cupcakes do not belong in your freezer. They belong in your belly.

These are ultra healthy, fibre and nutrient packed, indulgent little cakes. They’re rich and chocolatey. Even though they’re made with whole spelt flour, you can serve them to non-vegan processed food eaters and they’ll love them. This has been tested. Trust me. Desserts can be tasty and make you feel good too.

PS need a gluten free option? Try these grain free black forest cupcakes instead.

Let’s connect! If you liked this recipe, make sure to leave a comment below, I love hearing from you! Tag me on instagram @occasionallyeggs and #occasionallyeggs so I can see what you’re making, and stay in touch via facebook, pinterest, and bloglovin.

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Yield: 12 cupcakes

Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Cupcakes with Creamy Cashew Icing

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Easy and delicious, these chocolate pumpkin cupcakes are topped with a creamy cashew based icing. Made with nutritious spelt flour and sweetened with maple syrup.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 18 minutes

Total Time 28 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cup whole spelt flour
• 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons ground flax
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup cacao nibs*
• 1 spotty banana
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree*
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1/4 cup almond milk
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Icing

• 3/4 cup raw cashews, soaked for at least a couple of hours
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• Pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Heat your oven to 350F and grease or line a muffin tin. In a large bowl, mix the spelt flour, cocoa powder, ground flax, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and cacao nibs. Make a well in the centre.
2. Mash the banana with a fork. In a medium bowl, combine the banana, pumpkin, maple syrup, coconut oil, almond milk, ACV, and vanilla extract. Alternatively, especially if you've roasted your own pumpkin, you can toss it all in a food processor and blend until smooth.
3. Pour your pumpkin mixture into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Don't over mix, you don't want chewy lumpcakes. Spoon into your muffin tin.
4. Bake at 350F for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Place on a cooling rack for a few minutes before removing from the tin and cooling completely.

Icing

1. Blend everything in a food processor for about five minutes or until completely smooth. Refrigerate for at least thirty minutes before icing the cupcakes so it can firm up a little bit. Ice your cakes! Store them in the fridge to keep the icing nice.

Notes

1. Cacao nibs are sort of optional. The crunch is great, but you could use nuts, chocolate chips, or nothing. 2. Don't use pumpkin pie filling! If you can, please roast your own pumpkin to use here. If not, canned pumpkin is fine. 3. You can leave the icing off and just eat them as muffins if you'd like.