Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Toasted Meringue Frosting | GF & Dairy-Free
These homemade pumpkin spice cupcakes are light, fluffy, and packed with real pumpkin flavor–perfect for pumpkin lovers! You can’t have a cupcake with out frosting so I topped these spicy cakes with a refined sugar-free meringue that’s toasted to perfection.
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1 cup gluten free baking flour
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- ¼ cup and 2 tbsp unsweetened apple sauce
- ¼ cup coconut oil melted
- 4 eggs room temp
- ½ cup granulated sweetener I used Swerve for this
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice I suggest buying it premade, but it's a combo of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice and ginger
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
For the Frosting
- 2 egg whites
- ½ cup maple syrup or honey
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 pinch sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F and prepare a muffin tin with cupcake liners.
- In a mixing bowl, stir together all dry cupcake ingredients and then set aside.In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, pumpkin, applesauce, melted coconut oil and vanilla.
- Slowly mix in the dry ingredients until incorporated. Let the batter rest for 5 minutes.
- Fill cupcake liners about 3/4 full. Bake for 18-20 minutes.
- Begin to make your frosting. Place the maple syrup, vanilla and salt into a small pot or sauce pan and bring to a boil and then remove from heat.
- Meanwhile, use your electric mixer to beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Slowly add the hot syrup mixture to the egg whites while still beating with mixer. Continue mixing until the meringue cools down and stiffens, about 7-8 minutes.
- Once the meringue comes together, transfer it to a piping bag and pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes. Turn oven to hi-broil. Once oven is hot, return the cupcakes to the oven for 1-2 minutes or until frosting is toasted to your liking.
Notes
Cupcakes will burn quickly in the hi-broil oven. Don't leave them in there longer than 2 minutes.