Vegan Maple & Pecan Cupcakes

5 from 1 vote

Vegan Maple & Pecan Cupcakes

These vegan maple & pecan cupcakes will set off fireworks on your taste buds, with melt-in-the-mouth pecan cupcakes, a fluffy maple frosting and a centre of luscious maple spread. Plus, the recipe has no egg replacements, and did I mention the cupcakes are absolutely gorgeous?

Course Dessert

Cuisine Dairy Free, Vegan

Prep Time 30 minutes

Bake/Cook Time 22 minutes

Total Time 52 minutes

Servings 12 cupcakes

Author Kat | The Loopy Whisk

Ingredients

For maple & pecan cupcakes:

1 3/4 cups + 2 tbsp (225 g) plain all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups (150 g) pecans, ground
3/4 cup (120 g) maple sugar (you can find it here)
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (optional)
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup + 2 1/2 tbsp (225 mL) non-dairy milk (like almond, soy, rice or oat milk)
3/8 cup (90 mL) sunflower or vegetable oil
3/8 cup (90 mL) maple syrup (you can find it here)
3 tsp lemon juice

For maple buttercream frosting:

1 1/2 batch vegan butter recipe (find it here)
1 - 1 1/2 cups (160 - 240 g) maple sugar (you can find it here)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla paste (optional)

You will also need:

~6 tbsp maple spread (you can find it here)
chopped pecans for sprinkling
maple flakes for sprinkling (you can find them here)

Instructions

For maple & pecan cupcakes:

Adjust the oven rack to the middle position, pre-heat the oven to 355 ºF (180 ºC) and line a 12-hole muffin/cupcake tin with cupcake liners.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, ground pecans, maple sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon (optional) and salt.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the non-dairy milk, oil, maple syrup and lemon juice.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry and whisk everything together until you get a smooth batter with no flour clumps.
Divide the batter between the 12 paper liners, filling each about 3/4 full.
Bake at 355 ºF (180 ºC) for about 22 minutes, or until golden brown on top and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Leave to cool in the cupcake/muffin tin to cool for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack and allow to cool completely.

For maple buttercream frosting:

Allow the vegan butter to soften slightly at room temperature, then use a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or a hand mixer with the double beaters attachment to beat it until fluffy.
Add the maple sugar, salt and vanilla (optional), and beat for about 5 minutes until fluffy and creamy.

Assembling the cupcakes:

Use an apple corer or a piping nozzle, turned upside down, to create a cavity in the middle of each cupcake. Fill it with ~1/2 tbsp of maple spread.
Pipe the frosting on top of the cupcakes with a nozzle of choice (I used Wilton 1M) and sprinkle with chopped pecans and maple flakes.
Enjoy!
Storage: The cupcakes keep well in a closed container in a cool dry place for 3 - 4 days.