The leaves are beginning to change colors, the children are back to school, there is a cool breeze through my kitchen window, all of which cause me to start thinking about fall baking. When I think about fall and baking, I think about pumpkin, apples, plums and more. Today’s recipe are my gluten free pumpkin cupcakes and complimentary fall frostings.
I made the recipe three ways in order to appeal to different tastes, but more importantly show you how the same recipe can be made differently. We have the basic batter that you can make as is complementing it with a browned butter cream cheese frosting, you can add walnuts or chocolate chips to the batter and compliment it with a cinnamon cream cheese frosting, or make them filled with cream cheese with no icing needed. Or use my my basic batter and fill it with your own ingredient ideas like cranberries, raisins or apple slices, and frost it with any of mama’s frostings below or your favorite frosting. The sky’s the limit! Enjoy fall baking!
Gluten Free Pumpkin Cupcakes
Ingredients
½ cup butter
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup sugar
1 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)
2 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1½ cups Mama’s Almond or Coconut Blend Flour
1 tsp. xanthan gum
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. ginger
½ tsp. nutmeg
1 cup chocolate chips or walnuts, if desired
Brown Butter Frosting
¼ cup butter, browned
2 oz. cream cheese
½ tsp. vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar
1-2 Tbsp. milk, if needed
Brown butter over medium low heat until browned. Beat the cream cheese in mixer until creamy, add the brown butter, vanilla and mix well. Slowly add powdered sugar until well combined. Add 1 Tbsp. at a time of milk until desired texture is achieved.
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
¼ cup Spectrum Shortening
4 oz. cream cheese
½ tsp. vanilla
1½ cups powdered sugar
½ tsp. cinnamon
Cream the shortening and cream cheese until soft. Add, mix well. Add cinnamon and slowly add powdered sugar. Mix on high speed until smooth. If needed, you can add 1-2 tsp. milk to achieve desired texture.
Cream Cheese Filling
8 oz. cream cheese
1 egg
¼ cup powdered sugar
Mix all three ingredients together until well combined.
Directions
Preheat oven to 350º.
In a small bowl mix together the flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.
In a mixing bowl, cream butter with brown sugar, sugar and vanilla until creamy. Add pumpkin and mix well. Scrape down sides of bowl. Add egg one at a time, mixing well after each addition. With mixer running on low speed, slowly pour in flour mixture until combined. Scrape down sides of bowl and mix on medium speed for about 30 seconds until well combined. If desired, stir in chocolate chips, walnuts or desired filling.
Using a 2 inch scoop, fill cupcake liners with batter. Bake for 26-28 minutes, or until cupcakes bounce back when touched. Place on cooling sheet and cool completely. Frost with desired frosting.
For Cream Cheese Filled: Fill cupcake liners with batter. Make an small 1/2 or so circle indent into batter with the back of a spoon. Add a spoonful of cream cheese mixture. Bake for 26-28 minutes, or until cupcakes bounce back when touched.
GFM Tip Some other filling you might enjoy, 1 1/2 cup chopped apples, 1 cup raisins, 1 cup sugar coated fresh cranberries.
Egg Free Option Did you know that fruit and vegetable purees can sometimes be used to replace eggs in recipes? 1/4 cup of pumpkin puree can be used to equal 1 egg. Try this recipe with an extra 1/2 cup pumpkin if you are egg free. You can also use the Flax Eggs. Simmer 2 Tbsp. ground flaxseeds with 1/2 cup water until it gels.
Fun Facts about Pumpkins
- Pumpkins are a member of the squash family and are actually a fruit!
- Their heritage traces back to between 7000 and 5500 BC.
- The United States processes over 1 billion pounds of pumpkins per year, with about 95% of the crop growing in Illinois.
- Honeybees are essential to the pollination of Pumpkins.
- Most parts of the pumpkin are edible including, the shell, seeds, leaves and even the flowers.
- Most pumpkins are consumed between September and December.
- Pumpkins are high in Potassium and vitamin A.
- The largest pumpkin grown on record weighed over 1140 pounds.
Gluten Free Pumpkin Cupcakes Made 3 Ways! Enjoy them with cream cheese filling, or mix it up with some fillings and different delicious frostings.
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)
- 2 tsp. vanilla
- 2 eggs
[br]
- 1½ cups [url href=”http://http://store.glutenfreemama.com/gluten-free-flours/” target=”_blank”]Mama’s Almond or Coconut Blend Flour[/url]
- 1 tsp. xanthan gum
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- ½ tsp. ginger
- ½ tsp. nutmeg
- 1 cup chocolate chips or walnuts, if desired[br]
- [b]Brown Butter Frosting[/b]
- ¼ cup butter, browned
- 2 oz. cream cheese
- ½ tsp. vanilla
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1-2 Tbsp. milk, if needed[br]
- Brown butter over medium low heat until browned. Beat the cream cheese in mixer until creamy, add the brown butter, vanilla and mix well. Slowly add powdered sugar until well combined. Add 1 Tbsp. at a time of milk until desired texture is achieved.[br]
- [b]Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting[/b]
- ¼ cup Spectrum Shortening
- 4 oz. cream cheese
- ½ tsp. vanilla
- 1½ cups powdered sugar
- ½ tsp. cinnamon[br]
- Cream the shortening and cream cheese until soft. Add, mix well. Add cinnamon and slowly add powdered sugar. Mix on high speed until smooth. If needed, you can add 1-2 tsp. milk to achieve desired texture.[br]
- [b]Cream Cheese Filling[/b]
- 8 oz. cream cheese
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup powdered sugar[br]
- Mix all three ingredients together until well combined.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- In a small bowl mix together the flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.
- In a mixing bowl, cream butter with brown sugar, sugar and vanilla until creamy. Add pumpkin and mix well. Scrape down sides of bowl. Add egg one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
- With mixer running on low speed, slowly pour in flour mixture until combined. Scrape down sides of bowl and mix on medium speed for about 30 seconds until well combined. If desired, stir in chocolate chips, walnuts or desired filling.
- Using a 2 inch scoop, fill cupcake liners with batter. Bake for 26-28 minutes, or until cupcakes bounce back when touched. Place on cooling sheet and cool completely. Frost with desired frosting.
- For Cream Cheese Filled: Fill cupcake liners with batter. Make an small 1/2 or so circle indent into batter with the back of a spoon. Add a spoonful of cream cheese mixture. Bake for 26-28 minutes, or until cupcakes bounce back when touched.
Notes