Chocolate Pumpkin Cupcakes with Pumpkin Buttercream

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Chocolate Pumpkin Cupcakes with Pumpkin Buttercream Frosting are moist and delicious. Easy egg-free and dairy-free recipe everyone will love.

This is your fall cupcake recipe for school parties or holiday events like Halloween or Thanksgiving. It's a variation of our wacky chocolate cupcakes, which are naturally vegan because they don't have butter, milk, or eggs.

For an autumn twist, we replaced canola oil with pumpkin puree, making these cupcakes healthier. Of course, we added seasonal spices too.

But don't make them just because they're vegan. Instead, bake these pumpkin-spiced cupcakes because they're luscious and chocolatey, and everyone will rave about them.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Directions
• Storage
• Make-Ahead Tips
• Frosting and Decorating
• More Pumpkin Recipes
• 📋 Recipe

Ingredients

Here's what you'll need to make chocolate pumpkin cupcakes:

• Flour - Use unbleached flour or white whole wheat flour to make a healthy cupcake. Of course, all-purpose flour will work just fine.
• Sugar - If you'd like to lower the sugar amount, then replace half the sugar amount with a sugar alternative like Stevia or Monkfruit.
• Cocoa powder - Use unsweetened cocoa powder.
• Salt
• Baking soda
• Pumpkin pie spice or (cinnamon, nutmeg, ground ginger)
• Pumpkin puree substitutes one-to-one for oil in this recipe.
• Vanilla extract
• Vinegar

For the pumpkin buttercream frosting you'll need:

• Plant-based butter sticks
• Confectioners' sugar
• Vanilla extract
• Pumpkin puree

Please refer to the recipe card below for the full list of ingredients and detailed instructions.

Directions

To make chocolate pumpkin cupcakes:

1. Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl.
   • Tip: If the cocoa powder has small clumps, use a sifter to get them all out.
2. Add wet ingredients to the dry mixture and stir well with a whisk. You don't need to use electric beaters. The batter should be runny.
3. Fill cupcake tins lined with a paper insert ⅔ full.
4. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top is firm and a toothpick comes out clean. Allow cupcakes to cool completely before decorating.

To make pumpkin buttercream frosting:

1. Using an electric mixer, beat butter for several minutes or until it's smooth and fluffy.
2. Slowly add confectioners sugar and continue mixing on low speed until just incorporated. Raise speed to medium and mix until combined.
3. Add vanilla and pumpkin puree and continue to blend until it's fluffy and will hold its shape.
4. To stiffen the frosting, add additional confectioners' sugar.
5. If the frosting is too thick, stir in a few drops of water.

Storage

• Refrigerator. Store frosted or unfrosted cupcakes in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
• Freezer. Store unfrosted cupcakes in the freezer for up to 2 months. Prior to freezing, wrap each individual cupcake tightly with plastic wrap.
• Thaw. Transfer frozen, wrapped cupcakes to the refrigerator to defrost overnight. Decorate as desired.

Make-Ahead Tips

Once you are hooked on this fantastic recipe, make batches of the dry mix to keep in the pantry. Portion the dry ingredients into mason jars or ziplock bags when you have everything out.

Frosting and Decorating

Without question, these chocolate pumpkin cupcakes are outstanding with pumpkin buttercream frosting. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before decorating.

Spread the frosting with a knife or add the frosting to a plastic bag, squeeze it to one corner, snip the end, and pipe it on each cupcake. Add your favorite sprinkles for a festive finish.

More Frosting Options

• Sprinkle powdered sugar on top. That's it! It creates a light, sugary glaze that's fantastic.
• Date Cream Cheese Frosting is a sugar-free spread perfect for this recipe.

More Pumpkin Recipes

📋 Recipe

This recipe was originally published on 10/27/13 and has been updated to improve the reader experience.