Here’s a quick treat for those of you who like to sneak out on Mischief Night and liberate pumpkins from your neighboring frat house. Don’t smash them! Remember, eating well is the best revenge.
Very slightly adapted from a recipe in the ever-popular Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, these cupcakes are something like a cross between a pumpkin muffin and a cinnamon bun, making them a perfect breakfast treat after a long night of watching Misfits cover bands.
For anyone who hasn’t cooked their own pumpkins before, here’s a quick recap:
Generally, the smaller and fresher the pumpkin, the better, as its flavor will be sweeter and stronger. Sugar pumpkins are best for eating, but you can use traditional pumpkins if that’s what you’ve got (as long as they’re not huge); you may need to adjust the spices and sweetener accordingly.
- Core your pumpkin(s) and scrape out inner seeds and strands as though you were carving a pumpkin. (Later, you can roast the seeds with some oil, salt, and spices for a high-calcium snack, and use the rest of the inner goo in stock.)
- Slice each pumpkin in half and place on a baking pan.
- Bake at 425° for 20 minutes, or until you can easily pierce the flesh with a fork and the skin starts turning black and is easily peeled back from the flesh. If your pumpkins are older, add ~½ cup water to the pan 10 minutes in to help steam them while they cook.
- Peel away the skin and let cool a bit.
- Puree in a food processor until smooth.
- Transfer to a colander lined with paper towels, cheesecloth, unbleached coffee filters, or thin, clean cloth and let sit overnight. You want to drain out as much liquid as possible; this will result in a firmer and more flavorful product, closer to the texture you find in cans of store-bought pumpkin.
That’s it! Use your puree in any recipe that calls for canned pumpkin. If you’re not cooking with it immediately, you can freeze it. I like to process a bunch of pumpkins at once each fall so I have enough to last into the spring.
- 1¼ c fresh cooked pumpkin
- 1 c sugar
- ¼ c oil
- ¼ c soy milk
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1¼ c flour
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp nutmeg
- ¼ tsp cloves
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 c powdered sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2½ tbsp margarine, melted
- 1 tbsp non-dairy milk
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Grease a muffin pan.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together pumpkin, sugar, oil, soy milk, and vanilla.
- In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, soda, and spices.
- Add dry ingredients to wet; mix until just moistened.
- Pour into muffin pan and bake for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl, beat together powdered sugar, cinnamon, melted margarine, non-dairy milk, and vanilla until smooth.
- Drizzle cupcakes with icing and refrigerate to set.
13 comments
Dawn (Vegan Fazool) says:
Oct 30, 2012
These look gorgeous as usual. I just made a round of the pumpkin cupcakes from VCTOTW, tis’ the season!
Funny story: you can’t really steal pumpkins off porches in NJ because the squirrels start to eat right through them within a day or so of putting them out. If they are carved, they’ll eat out the whole design until it is just a ring of bite marks. They’re smart!
XOXO
claryn says:
Oct 30, 2012
Haha! Well, at least someone is having fun/getting sustenance from them, right?
Candy Beans says:
Oct 30, 2012
I was watching an episode of Frasier last night with a similar sentiment, but I think you really nailed it with “Remember, eating well is the best revenge.”
These look gorgeous!
acd6pack says:
Nov 2, 2012
We don’t have any fresh pumpkin but have some canned and cannot wait to make these, they look really yummy! Of course, since the oven will be on, vegan pumpkin dog treats too!
Corinne says:
Mar 11, 2013
Oh my goodness… I need to stop flipping through here. I’m hella hungry and stuck on an Amtrak which doesn’t happen to be very vegan friendly. I was looking for some roadtrip friendly vegan noms… What’s your favorite?
Danny says:
Oct 9, 2013
I was looking for a pumpkin cupcake and I found this recipe. I tried it with whole wheat flour and its Amazingly good. I love it, my daughter loves it and the rest of family too.
Brett says:
Feb 16, 2014
Turned out great! Made with different icing though
Bronwyn says:
Jul 11, 2014
Just made these now, oh my gosh, they are delicious, the frosting is especially amazing! I’m sure my boyfriend will gobble these right up!I have a feeling I will be making these many more times!
Stéphanie says:
Sep 24, 2014
AMAZING recipe!
Hali Fortuna says:
Oct 15, 2015
These look delicious! Another recipe I will have to try out 🙂
Rupinder says:
Nov 15, 2015
This recipe is the best! I don’t know how i lived without it 😀
EMMA says:
Mar 8, 2017
I made these and they were so amazing! I used almond milk instead of soy milk though. I also made one batch with pumpkin and one with bananas and they both tasted so good!
Suzanne says:
Jun 16, 2017
I have made this for years now. One friend said it was the best cupcake he ever ate in his life! I always get rave reviews. Super moist, fluffy and never fails.