Vegan Pumpkin Cupcakes with Orange Buttercream Frosting

Again with the pumpkin?! I know, come on already. Who doesn't love a cupcake? Instead of the pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving this year, why not the pumpkin cupcake at each table setting? There is something innocent about a cupcake. I finally splurged and bought a frosting bag. I even bought a few decoration tips. Though, last night as I was making these I realized my frosting bag was too small and that I need a bit more practice in the "decoration" with tips area. I gave it my best shot. I was too tired to go for the tricky tips, just stuck with this basic round tip--I think the effect worked well. I got a little more crazy with the chocolate sparkles, but I thought they needed some variety. I taste tested two of them for dessert last night--they were just what I needed--giving me great comfort, a warm feeling inside and smile on my face! I can't promise this will be my last pumpkin post, after all, it is only November! These were inspired by Isa's cookbook, Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World--a jewel of a cookbook in every way. I gave this my own spin and deviated from her recipe a bit. The results were delicious!

Vegan Pumpkin Cupcakes

1/4 cup rice milk

1/3 cup canola oil

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 cup sugar

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1/4 cup spelt flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

pinch of ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

Preheat oven to 350. Line a cupcake tray with cupcake liners. Combine all of the wet ingredients together. Mix well. In another bowl, combine the dry ingredients and whisk together. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix by hand--no blender is needed for this! Fill the cupcake liners about half way. Bake for about 23 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting.

Orange Buttercream Frosting

2 cup confectioner's sugar

1/2 stick of Earth Balance Buttery stick

1/2 stick of Earth Balance Shortening stick

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon orange zest

1 1/2 tablespoon orange juice

Mix all ingredients together until smooth and fluffy, then frost those cupcakes!