The Most Delicious Vegan Pumpkin Ghost Cupcakes
Spooooky Halloween! Anyone watching scary movies yet?! I like scary movies year ’round but of course especially this time of year. I’ve been watching a lot of ghost stories lately which is the inspiration for this week’s recipe. Vegan Pumpkin Ghost Cupcakes. OoooOOooohh
How to Make Vegan Pumpkin Ghost Cupcakes
These start with the ultimate pumpkin cake. They are spiced with the perfect balance of pumpkin pie spices and made with real pumpkin. Pumpkin has great flavor on its own which is enhanced with those classic warming spices. This cake is so moist and tender. The pumpkin puree gives it that additional moisture. And the use of coconut oil and a light hand while mixing creates the most tender crumb.
I found these incredible vintage style Halloween cupcake liners. I am in love with them and will be so sad when they are gone. Vintage Halloween decor is my absolute favorite. Every year I add *at least* one new piece to my collection. Anyone else obsess over vintage spooky stuff??
Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting
Onto the luscious frosting. This is a classic cream cheese frosting which goes SO well with pumpkin. It’s a bit tangy and super creamy. It’s sooo good. I could eat this by the spoonful. And I have.
Spooky Ghost Meringues
For the decoration, Ghost Meringues! If you haven’t heard about aquafaba yet, what it is and how to use it — there is a guide to aquafaba forthcoming. Aquafaba is the vegan egg white, quite simply. It sounds strange but the liquid from a can of chickpeas can become an egg replacement and has other uses as well. Once this liquid is whipped it becomes thick and glossy with similar properties of an egg white. It has no chickpea or strange flavor — trust me on this. Sooo, to make the ghost meringue cookies, it involves aquafaba, cream of tartar (works as a binder and is vegan, despite the name), powdered cane sugar and vanilla extract. All whipped up, it can now be piped into ghost shapes to top each cupcake. Make sure not to make the ghost blob too wide, so that it will fit nicely on top. Bake low and slow for 2 hours. And they will be marshmellow-y and crunchy and they are so fun to eat. The hardest part is waiting the 2 hours for them to crisp up. But just settle into a good ghost story and before you know it they’re done. And don’t forget to add the spooky eyes!
Pumpkin Cupcakes + Cream Cheese Frosting with Spooky Ghost Meringues
Ingredients
Pumpkin Cupcakes
- 1¼ cup all purpose flour
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp ginger
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- ⅛ tsp clove
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- ⅓ cup refined coconut oil melted, room temp
- 1 cup cane sugar
- ¼ cup almond milk, room temp
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Cream Cheese Frosting
- ¼ cup vegan butter, room temp
- ¼ cup vegan cream cheese, room temp
- 2 cups confectioner's sugar sifted
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 TBS almond milk
Ghost Meringues
- ¾ cup aquafaba liquid from 1 -15oz can of chickpeas
- ¼ tsp cream of tartar
- ¾ cup cane sugar + 2 TBS, finely ground
- ¾ tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
For the cupcakes:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare cupcake pan with liners.
- In a medium bowl, sift together flour, spices, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, coconut oil, sugar, almond milk and vanilla. Before combining make sure ingredients are at room temp to insure proper cohesion.
- Add dry mix into the wet mix and gently combine, folding the batter, careful not to overmix.
- Scoop batter evenly into 12 cupcake liners. Filling about 2/3 full.
- Bake for 22-24 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes and then transfer cupcakes to wire racks to cool completely.
For the frosting
- Make sure vegan butter and vegan cream cheese are at room temp to incorporate properly. In a stand mixer or handheld mixer, cream butter and cream cheese until combined.
- Turn mixer to low and slowly add sifted confectioner's sugar in ½ cup additions. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl to make sure it is all incorporated.
- Mix until creamy and smooth. Add vanilla and milk. Mix 2 more minutes. Keep refrigerated until ready to assemble.
For the meringues
- Preheat oven to 200°F. Line two 9×13 sheet pans with parchment paper. Prepare piping bag with large round tip.
- Process 3/4 cup + 2 TBS cane sugar in a blender or food processor until finely ground, close to powdered sugar consistency. Set aside.
- Strain 1-15oz can of chickpeas into a mixing bowl with the cream of tartar. Whip until thick. Store chickpeas in fridge.
- Once the liquid is foamy and thick, gradually add the sugar one tablespoon at a time. Add vanilla. Whip until stiff peaks, 8min – 16min.
- Transfer meringue into piping bag and pipe ghost blobs onto lined sheet pans. Bake low and slow for 2 hours. Do not open the oven door while baking. Cool to room temp on pans then transfer to wire racks.
Black Icing
- Combine 1/4 cup + 1 TBS powdered sugar, 1/4 tsp activated charcoal and 3/4 tsp water in small bowl. Whisk together to form a pipe-able icing for the ghost eyes decoration.
- Once the meringues have completely cooled, pipe spooky ghost eyes!
The next part is the fun bit, the assembly and decoration! Whip up a batch of black icing and add some ghastly faces to those ghosts. Put those aside to set.
Vegan Pumpkin Ghost Cupcake Assembly
Bring the cream cheese frosting out of the fridge about 10-15 min. before use. Whip until smooth and creamy. Pour the vegan black chocolate sprinkles in a small bowl.
Pipe a swirl on top of each cupcake and roll just the edge into the sprinkles.
Take a ghost meringue and press gently into the center of the cupcake.
Boo! A perfectly frightful treat for a spoopy and creepy Halloween! Please tag me @ritualpastry #ritualpastry — I would love to see your pics. If you enjoyed these Vegan Pumpkin Ghost Cupcakes, please rate and review below. For more spooky recipes check out my previous posts like these Salted Caramel Apple Bars or Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies .
Vegan Pumpkin Ghost Cupcakes
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