Gluten-Free Pumpkin Chai Cupcakes with Chai Frosting
These Gluten-Free Pumpkin Chai Cupcakes are soft, moist and bursting with warm chai spices and pumpkin flavor. They’re topped with an irresistible cashew-based vegan chai frosting that you’d never guess is paleo + vegan.
Slowly but surely, I’m building up my repertoire of cupcake recipes here on Bakerita. I’ve got a few OLD ones, but those are all full of gluten and sugar and things that don’t sit well with me anymore. Still working on creating a wealth of gluten-free, refined sugar-free, dairy-free, and paleo cupcake recipes.
Luckily, we’re adding another cupcake recipe to the mix today: gluten-free pumpkin cupcakes with vegan chai frosting!!! It’s seasonally on-point and absolutely delicious. I did get a little help from some of my favorite friends in the baking food space, though: Simple Mills.
How to make make Pumpkin Chai Cupcakes:
I made these Paleo Pumpkin Chai Cupcakes using Simple Mills Pumpkin Muffin & Loaf Mix, which is made with all of the cleanest ingredients. Their mixes have nothing that I didn’t already have in my own pantry, which is exactly how a mix should be. They’re completely grain-free and Paleo-friendly, with no preservatives. They’re pretty much what every processed food company should strive to be like, in my opinion.
Even though these are technically muffins, they work deliciously well as cupcakes too! I switched the water called for on the package for non-dairy milk to add some richness. So, all you need to add to them to make them is three eggs, non-dairy milk of your choice (I used almond) and three tablespoons of oil (I used avocado oil). There’s also an egg-free option to make these vegan if you check out the notes section.
But of course, I couldn’t just leave them as simple gluten-free pumpkin cupcakes. So, I added a healthy dose of chai spice! Ooooh man, did all those warm spices add a DELICIOUS twist. Vanilla comes together with cinnamon, spicy ginger, cardamom, cloves, nutmeg, allspice, and a touch of black pepper to liven things up. Paired with the pumpkin flavor, it’s the perfect taste of fall.
The texture is amazing too. It’s so light and fluffy, but not soo light that it doesn’t hold up to the frosting.
How to make Vegan Chai Frosting:
It’s pretty out of this world: almost cream cheese frosting-like in texture and flavor. I’d be hard-pressed to guess that it was a totally dairy-free and vegan frosting.
It starts similarly to my no-bake cheesecakes – with soaked cashews! We blend the soaked cashews into a smooth, creamy paste, which forms the base of the deliciously creamy spiced frosting. Then, we add coconut cream and coconut oil to the cashews, which helps the frosting firm up, and maple syrup to sweeten.
A little fresh lemon juice goes in too. This helps to cut through the richness and add a touch of that “cream cheese” tang. We also add all the chai spices from the cake into the frosting too, along with vanilla and salt.
To make it: blend it until it’s super smooth and then place it in the fridge or freezer to firm up. Once it has cooled, you’ll whisk it until fluffy. The texture will be similar to buttercream frosting!
The frosting can be whipped, piped, and just piled on top of a cupcake. No need for too much fuss :) add a sprinkle of spices or even a drizzle of paleo caramel sauce and go to town.
These Paleo Pumpkin Chai Cupcakes with Cashew Chai Frosting are bursting with warm spices and pumpkin flavor, with a decadent chai frosting that’s hard to resist. These would be a super fun addition to your holiday desserts, a fun weekend project, or just something to make any day of the week better. Enjoy!
Want more pumpkin dessert recipes?
- No-Bake Vegan Pumpkin Cheesecake
- Soft Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Blondies
- The Best Gluten-Free & Vegan Pumpkin Bread
- Baked Vegan Pumpkin Cheesecake
Pumpkin Chai Cupcakes
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 12 cupcakes 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
These Gluten-Free Pumpkin Chai Cupcakes are soft, moist and bursting with warm chai spices and pumpkin flavor. They’re topped with an irresistible cashew-based vegan chai frosting that you’d never guess is paleo + vegan.
Ingredients
- 3 eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup non-dairy milk, I used unsweetened almond, room temperature
- 3 tablespoons oil of choice, I used coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 package Simple Mills Pumpkin Muffin & Loaf Mix
For the frosting
- 1½ cups raw cashews, soaked in water in the refrigerator overnight, at least 6 hours, up to 12
- ¼ cup coconut cream
- ¼ cup melted coconut oil, use refined for no coconut flavor
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- ⅛ teaspoon ground allspice
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a muffin tin with coconut oil (recommended), or line with paper liners.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, non-dairy milk, oil of choice, and vanilla extract. Add in all of the spices and the Simple Mills Pumpkin Muffin & Loaf Mix. Whisk to combine.
- Spoon batter into the prepared muffin tin, filling each 2/3 full.
- Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool completely on a cooling rack before frosting.
For the frosting
- Drain and rinse the soaked cashews with cool water. In a high powered blender (I used my Vitamix) or food processor, blend the soaked cashews until their smooth and creamy. Add the rest of the frosting ingredients and blend for 3-5 minutes, until completely smooth and creamy. Taste, and adjust spices/tartness/sweetness levels as desired.
- If you’re doing a thinner spread of frosting, you can frost as is. If you’d like to pipe the frosting, transfer it to a bowl and place in the freezer for one hour, whisking every 20 minutes, until it’s thickened enough to pipe on top of the cupcakes.
- After frosting cupcakes, garnish with a sprinkle of chai spice and a drizzle of paleo caramel sauce, if desired.
Notes
Prep time doesn’t include soaking the cashews or cooling down the frosting.
Keywords: pumpkin, chai, cupcakes, cashews, vegan, paleo
This post is sponsored by Simple Mills. Thank you for supporting the brands that support Bakerita! As always, all opinions are my own.
Is there a substitute for the mix? What flours are best to blend for a lighter texture? Looks amazing!
★★★★★
Hi Janet! This recipe was specifically developed using the mix so I haven’t experimented with using anything in its place.
Hi~ do you drain the cashews or blend with the soaking water?
Hi Tammie, you’ll want to drain and rinse the cashews before using! Will add that to the recipe for clarity. Thanks for asking!
This is not vegan with eggs in it.
Hi Janet! I know they aren’t, which is why they aren’t being advertised as vegan – it just mentions that the frosting is vegan in the post. If you see the Notes section though, there is an option to make the cupcakes vegan as well with flax eggs!
I used the applesauce substitute for eggs and the baking time is way off! I’m checking every few minutes, it’s been about 40 so far, and they’re still not done! Could you edit for substitutes please?
Hi Stephanie, did you add the extra baking powder as well?
Yes I did. The edges were burnt and the center was raw, I had to toss them unfortunately.
I’m so sorry you had that experience, I know it sucks wasting ingredients. The vegan substitute suggestions came directly from Simple Mills (since the recipe used their mix) so I presumed they were well-tested since it’s on their packaging. I personally made the recipe with eggs. I’m going to remove the substitute option though because of your experience. I wouldn’t want others to be disappointed as well!