Vegan pumpkin cupcakes

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These cupcakes are the perfect thing to bake if you want your place to smell like warm spices and get in the mood for the upcoming holidays!  I love that you can make these guys with minimal tools–no electrical appliances needed so you can bake these just about anywhere where there’s an oven, a large bowl, and a whisk or spoon.  They also keep very well and I actually preferred how the cupcakes and coconut milk whipped topping tasted on the second and third day.

Ingredients
For the Cupcakes:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon clove
• 1 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) vegan butter, melted and cooled
• 4 egg replacers
• 1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree

For the Coconut Milk Whipped Cream

• 2 cans of coconut milk
• 1 tsp of agave nectar (or more if you'd like)
• 1 tsp of ground ginger (optional)

Instructions
For the Cupcakes:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Line the cupcake pan(s) with liners. Set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the melted butter, egg replacers, and sugars together until incorporated.
4. To the wet mixture, add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and clove. Whisk until all ingredients are well combined.
5. Whisk in the pumpkin puree.
6. Divide the batter evenly among the liners, filling each about 3/4 full.
7. Bake for about 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
8. Remove from the oven and let it cool a bit so they are easier to handle. Transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

For the Coconut Milk Whipped Cream:

1. Open the two cans of coconut milk without tilting or shaking them. Using a spoon, take out the solid parts and transfer to a large bowl. Remove all the solids until you reach the liquid part. Save the liquid for future use.
2. Using an electric hand mixer or stand mixer with a whip attachment, whip on medium/high until the cream becomes light, fluffy, and stiff. It took me about 4 minutes to reach the desired consistency.
3. Add the agave nectar and ginger. Mix well then taste test it and add more nectar and / or ginger if needed.
4. Spoon the whipped cream into the piping bag with a piping tip attached. Pipe swirls of the cream on top of each cupcake.
5. Dust the tops lightly with ground cinnamon. I placed the container of cinnamon about 12" above each cupcake. With my index finger I tapped the container firmly, only once each time, to sprinkle the cinnamon on top of the frosting. I did two taps per cupcake to cover most of the cupcake.
6. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.

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