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These pumpkin spice cupcakes are the perfect fall treat! They’re gluten and dairy-free and taste like you got them from a bakery.

A pumpkin spice cupcake being held in a hand.

If you can’t get enough pumpkin spice in the fall, you’ve come to the right place! I’ve been experimenting with more bakery-style pumpkin spice treats this fall, and these cupcakes are the ultimate bakery-style treat. They both look and taste like you got them from a bakery, but they’re pretty simple to make at home. They’re made with a dairy-free cheesecake frosting and are topped with the cutest little pumpkins for extra fall feels.

Why You’ll Love Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

  • Bakery taste, but made it home! These cupcakes have the look and taste of being straight from a bakery, but you can pretty easily make them at home!
  • Pumpkin! I can’t get enough of the fall flavors and love another pumpkin recipe.

The Ingredients for Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

    • Coconut Sugar and Maple Syrup.
    • Egg. You can also sub a flax egg.
    • Avocado Oil and Vanilla Extract.
    • Almond Flour and Tapioca Starch. This combo gives the cupcakes the right bakery-style texture.
    • Baking Soda. 
    • Pumpkin Puree and Pumpkin Pie Spice. For that fall pumpkin flavor with real pumpkin!
    • Dairy-Free Cream Cheese, Palm Shortening, and Powdered Sugar. These are the ingredients to make the delicious cream cheese frosting.
    • Mini Pumpkin Buckeyes. Optional, but so cute for decorating and topping the cupcakes!

How to make Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

  • Step One. Combine the wet ingredients and then add the dry ingredients and stir.
  • Step Two. Scoop the batter into the muffin tin and bake.

Step by step photos of making pumpkin spice cupcakes.

  • Step Three. Make the frosting.
  • Step Four. Frost the cupcakes and top with mini pumpkin buckeyes and enjoy!

Pumpkin spice cupcakes sitting on a counter after being decorated.

Tips & Tricks

  • Just prep a ton of the pumpkin buckeyes while you’re at it! I made like 30 at a time to add to these cupcakes and all of my pumpkin desserts this season! They freeze great.
  • When making your frosting, make sure your cream cheese is at room temperature and the sugar is sifted. These are the two keys to making great cream cheese frosting. If the cream cheese is too cold, it won’t blend properly, and if the sugar isn’t shifted it’ll make for clumpy frosting.

Can you omit the frosting?

These cupcakes are just as good without the frosting! They’d be more like muffins, but that was actually the original intention of the recipe, so feel free to forgo the frosting.

A pumpkin spice cupcake with a bite taken out of it.

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Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes (Gluten & Dairy Free)

★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews
  • Author: Michelle
  • Total Time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: 6 cupcakes 1x
  • Diet: Gluten Free
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Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1/4 cup avocado oil
  • 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1/3 cup coconut sugar
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1 egg (sub a flax egg, see notes)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup almond flour
  • 1/3 cup tapioca starch
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

For the frosting and topping

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 F and lightly grease 6 spaces of a muffin tin.
  2. Using a large bowl, combine the avocado oil, pumpkin puree, coconut sugar, maple syrup, egg, and vanilla extract. Add the dry ingredients and stir until a batter forms.
  3. Using a cookie scoop or ladle, scoop the batter into the muffin tin, filling about three-quarters of the way. Bake in the preheated oven for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cupcakes comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack and allow to fully cool while you make the frosting.
  4. To make the frosting, add the frosting and shortening to a bowl. Sift in the powdered sugar. Use a hand mixer to whip the frosting until smooth and light. Alternatively, you can use a stand mixer, but a hand mixer helps to keep the frosting from getting overwhipped and splitting!
  5. Frost the cupcakes with the cream cheese frosting, adding the mini pumpkin buckeyes on top for decoration if desired! Serve fresh or keep chilled in the fridge for 3-4 days.

Notes

To use a flax egg, combine 1 tbsp ground flax seed and 3 tbsp water. Allow to sit for 5 minutes.

All nutritional information are estimations and will vary. Estimations do not include optional ingredients.

  • Prep Time: 20
  • Cook Time: 15
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Baked
  • Cuisine: American

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 serving
  • Calories: 520
  • Fat: 33.8g
  • Carbohydrates: 39.9g
  • Fiber: 1.4g
  • Protein: 3.9g