Mini Chocolate Cupcakes with Pumpkin Spice Frosting

 

Swap your regular, high-sugar recipe with these black-and-orange beauties.

Cupcakes:
1 tbsp ground chia plus 1/4 cup warm water (a great vegan egg replacement)
1 large, ripe banana
2 tbsp coconut oil
1/2 cup walnut or almond butter
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup almond milk
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1 cup brown rice flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp non-aluminum baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
Chopped walnuts

To prepare: Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Place ground chia in a small bowl. Add water and mix with a fork. Set aside for gel to form. Mash banana in a large bowl; add oil, nut butter, vanilla, and milk and stir to mix. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until well incorporated. Grease mini muffin tins with coconut oil. Drop in batter and bake 25 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

Frosting:
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
2 cups raw cashews
1/4 cup vanilla unsweetened coconut (or almond) milk
1 tbsp coconut oil
1/3 coconut sugar
2 tsps cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg

To prepare: Add the cashews and coconut milk to a high-power blender (Vitamix or Blendtec, e.g.) and blend till smooth (you might need the plunger for this one!). The frosting should be thick. Add pumpkin puree, coconut sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and coconut oil and continue blending until smooth. The frosting should be really, really thick but, if it’s still chunky, add more coconut milk to smooth. Set frosting in fridge for about 20 minutes before transferring to piping bag and pipe onto cupcakes.