Happy October 1st and Happy World Vegetarian Day!
October is one of my favourite months! We have the start of hockey season, Thanksgiving, my mother in law’s birthday, my mom’s birthday, all topped off by Halloween and my 2nd blogiversary (Oct 31).
I thought what better way to kick-off such a fun month than to make a fun and vegan twist on the traditional pumpkin pie and brownie.
Meet…
Pumpkin Pie Brownie ‘Cupcakes’
Adapted from Vegan Cupcakes.
Ingredients:
Pumpkin Brownie Layer:
- 1 cup canned pumpkin
- 1/2 cup + 3 tbsp sugar
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, softened
- 3/4 cup white kamut flour (or white)
- 1.5 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp cornstarch (or arrowroot/tapioca)
- 1/4 cup dutch processed cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
Pumpkin Pie Layer:
- 1 cup canned pumpkin
- 2 tbsp cornstarch (or arrowroot/tapioca)
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 3 tbsp almond milk
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or 1 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ginger, 1/4 tsp nutmeg)
- Shaved chocolate, for garnish
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F and grease a muffin tin.
2. For brownie layer: In a stand mixer or by hand, mix together the coconut oil, pumpkin, vanilla, and sugar until blended well. Sift in the flour, cocoa powder, cornstarch, baking, soda, sea salt and mix until incorporated. Take about 2 tbsp of the mixture and place in muffin tin. Wet fingers and spread around evenly so it is smooth. I made 8 large cupcakes and 2 small ones.
3. For pumpkin layer: In a large bowl mix together the pumpkin, vanilla, and milk. In a small bowl, mix together the cornstarch, sugar, and pumpkin pie spice. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix well until all clumps are gone. Now add approx 1.5-2 tbsp of the pumpkin pie mixture on top of each brownie in the pan. Garnish with grated chocolate (I used a lemon zester to grate the chocolate).
4. Bake for 30 minutes at 350F. Remove from oven and cool for 20-30 minutes and then move to the fridge to chill for 1.5 hours.
5. Serves approx 8-10. I made 8 large cupcakes and 2 small ones (for kids). Enjoy with vegan vanilla ice cream.
This brownie batter is UNBELIEVABLE. Quite possibly the best brownie batter I’ve ever tasted.
You could serve this batter to your guests in a small bowl and they would be happy as clams. Or maybe that’s just me?
Add about 2 tbsp of the batter into each greased muffin tin.
Now make the pumpkin pie filling, which is super easy and fast.
Add a layer of the pumpkin filling and then add grated chocolate to finish it off.
Finally the sun rose and I got my photography station back!
Yay for natural light!
After baking for 30 minutes and letting it cool for another 30…
Do not touch them for at least 30 minutes…as they need to firm up.
Success.
Serve with my favourite vegan ice cream…
Dare I say this stuff tastes better than vanilla ice cream!? I do, I do. :)
It is just super expensive which is why we only buy it a couple times a year.
These bad boys taste just like you would hope..a delicious moist brownie with a layer of pumpkin pie!
Small changes I would make next time:
- Add more pumpkin pie filling on top (maybe another tbsp?) as I found myself wanting more of it.
- Add chopped pecans for crunch!
Serve with a Pumpkin Pie Monster of course.
Now I’m off to do bakery work. Going to get out for a lunchtime run in this wonderful sunshine. I am almost caught up on 500 Glo Bars since I have been back. Feeling like things are back in control again. :)
Have a wonderful start to October!
I will have to go out and find another pumpkin to bake because these and the bread that your did the day after this looks AMAZING! Can’t wait to try it. Would I be able to use real eggs instead of the substitute? My aunt get farm fresh eggs, so we have an abundance.
So I made my first ‘monster’ this morning. It’s a pumpkin monster and it was AMAZING!!! Almond milk, chocolate flavoured protein powder, and pumpkin along with some sweetner = I’m hooked. It was my first time using all three ingredients and I’m already looking forward to breakfast tomorrow :)
Im OBSESSED with pumpkin pie monsters. Seriously. I googled ‘is it possible to consume too much pumpkin’ the other day. haha
These look absolutely amazing! I am so making these for Thanksgiving next weekend. Thanks!
I can’t wait to make these brownies, but do you think I can freeze them? It’s just me and my hubbie and we won’t finish 10 in a few days!!
Hmm I haven’t tried freezing them, but I’m sure they would be ok if you double wrapped them!
So I just made these this evening and they are totally out-of-this-world amazing. I ignored the fridge part and tried one after 30 minutes of cooling time and it was downright addictive. I’ve now put the pan into the fridge hoping for that whole “outta sight, outta mind” but I’m still thinking about going back for a second round.
What kind of canned pumpkin did you use? The one I had on hand was really thick so my pumpkin layer wasn’t as runny as yours and as a result the tops of mine cracked (the ones sans chocolate–I did half with, half without). I also ended up with an equal dozen for some reason. Oh and I used Earth Balance (to lazy to soften coconut oil) with excellent results.
I saw this recipe and immediately sent it to my friend who loves to bake. She made them over the weekend and brought the left-overs to work. I just ate one for breakfast and loved it! My friend has picked several other recipes from your list to try, and I look forward to sampling them! Maybe I will actually make a few myself and test my baking skills. Thanks for the delicious recipes!
I’ve made the pumpkin pie monster for the last three mornings….Can I say I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!!!
I love love love the So Delicious coconut milk ice cream. Have you tried the chocolate? It is HEAVEN. (And, I agree, very expensive.)
These look better than many of the non-vegan brownie cupcakes that I have seen. I may have to try it!
What is the advantage of using coconut oil? I’ve never used it but I’ve heard it’s high in saturated fat (compared to other oils). I was just curious why you use it. Thanks!!!!
Coconut oil is high in saturated fat, but it is not supposed to be dangerous since it is plant derived sat fat and not animal derived. It also has a high cooking temp and gives baked goods a wonderful aroma.
I made these tonight… they look and smell delicious, but I haven’t tried them yet… I’m patiently waiting for them to cool off!
Couple of questions though – does it matter if you use refined or unrefined coconut oil? Can you substitute the oil for something else? What brand of pumpkin did you use?
Thanks for all of your awesome recipes! I’ll be making the high protein mashed potatoes soon. :)
This might help you:
Refined Processing
•Whether coconut oil becomes refined or unrefined depends on what processing methods the oil undergoes. Refined coconut oil starts out as dried coconut meat, known as “copra.” Because coconut oil producers frequently dry the meat in open air, it can gather hazardous bacteria and pathogens—so any oil extracted from copra needs further purification before it’s safe to consume. During the refinement process, copra undergoes bleach filtration to screen out impurities, as well as heat treatment to remove its distinctive odor.
Unrefined Processing
•Unrefined coconut oil, on the other hand, starts with fresh coconut meat rather than dried copra—ensuring the extracted oil is sanitary without the need for further purification. To produce unrefined coconut oil, the meat goes through one of two methods: “quick drying” or “wet milling.” Quick-dried coconut meat receives a small amount of heat to remove moisture, and then mechanical extraction separates the unrefined oil from the meat. With the wet-milling process, machines press the liquid out of fresh coconut meat—and then use boiling, refrigeration, centrifuging, fermentation or enzymes to isolate the oil from the extracted liquid. With both the quick drying and wet milling methods, the resulting coconut oil is safe for consumption without bleaching or deodorization.
Read more: Refined Vs. Unrefined Coconut Oil | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_5392760_refined-vs-unrefined-coconut-oil.html#ixzz11lxII3Tb
I use Farmer’s Market pumpkin.
You could also sub the oil for canola oil.
I would love to make these right away, but I have two questions regarding subsitutions.
1. For, 3/4 cup white kamut flour (or white), can you use regular all purpose flour? If so, do you use the same amount?
2. I happen to have some of the So Delicious coconut milk at home and like to use that instead of making almond milk. Do you think the taste or texture of the pumpkin layer will be thrown off by this substitution?
I think both white flour and the so delicious would work conderfully!
that’s wonderfully ;)
Angela, I am seriously always impressed by you and your recipes. I have tried so many of your recipes and always love them-and refer you to so many people! I’ve got these cupcakes in the oven now, and you’re right, the brownie batter alone is incredible! If you had a cookbook, I would buy it in a heartbeat. Thanks Angela!
Hi Angela,
congrats to you!!! You really shows an abundant life.
Sorry about my english, I´m brazilian and I didn´t use to cook at all in my home country. I´d like to try this recipe…
Do we find in grocery stores the pumpkin pie spice? Or do we have to prepare it at home?
Thanks a lot for your help.
Don´t you have a restaurant ? Would be great to try all these beautiful plates! It seems to me it´ll take all my life to have time and talent to prepare some of them.
My hasband and I came here for him studying at Vancouver Film School, and I take care of our 4 years old daughter at home, as we don´t have car it seems that everything takes a life time to get done…Take the kids out to play, play with them at home, clean the house , wash clothes, cook…Uau! Congratutations to all the women that are able to do all of it and still have time to yourselves!! I´ll get there one day!
I made these this weekend and they were great. I found my brownie batter to be kinda dry. When I try them again, I may add a bit more pumpkin. The pumpkin topping was so moist; however, it really didn’t matter.
I’m intrigued w/your recipes. I am definitely trying the pumpkin cupcakes.
Thank you for posting :-)
These are really good! I just added a half cup of crushed walnuts to the brownie mix. mmmmmm thanks for posting!
So excited to make a blondie version of this right now! Thanks!
Will fresh pumpkin work as well?
I made these last night and they excellent!! One question…do they need to stay refrigerated if we are planning on having them for several days?? Thanks :-)
Yes I would probably refrigerate them. So glad u enjoyed!
I am very excited to make these for my family’s thanksgiving! I just wanted to know if I could use Earth Balance instead of coconut oil? Thanks (:
did anyone ever get back to you? i have the same Q since my friend is deathly allergic to coconut :(
I actually just made these to bring to Thanksgiving dinner but I used chopped walnuts on top because that’s all I really had on hand. My brother and I were also in love with the brownie batter! Thank you for this :)
Quick question – I’m allergic to wheat. Do you think GF oat flour would work for this recipe?
I just made these and they are as delicious as they look and very easy to make. Can you freeze them?
Just made these and followed the recipe to the T. I bought all of the expensive ingredients and everything. I spent $30 for a batch of brownies and these are by far not the best cupcakes as advertised they were. Very taste less, gummy, and in my opinion un edible. I made one batch will have to find a different recipe to salvage the rest of the ingredient’s.
i really love this recipe but my friend is deathly allergic to coconut, is there another oil I could substitute in here for my holiday baking?
These are great. Just one critique if I may…
Most recipes list ingredients in the order they are to be used. I found this one a bit harder to follow because I would refer to the list to confirm quantity, and it wouldn’t be as easy to find the next ingredient.
Other than that, I thought these were wonderful – especially because they are healthfully made and not too sweet.
Hi.
I’d like to know he much I need to out if I’m boiling the pumpkin and putting it instead of canned ones.
Thanks!
Put*
I tried this out and made 24 bite-sized servings and 10 medium-sized servings. Everyone who tried it really liked them.
You were right about there not being enough pumpkin on top – maybe there should be less pumpkin in the brownie part?
I substituted wheat flour for gluten-free flour and xanthan gum, chocolate shavings for semi-sweet chocolate chips, and pumpkin spice with cinnamon sugar. The bite-sized ones had just on chip on top, while the medium ones had 3.
Hey Rickie, Thank you so much for your feedback! So glad you tried the recipe out. I’ll have to revisit it sometime as its been a while.
What flour/flours/flour blend would you sub if you want to make this Gluten Free?
Hey Heather, I’m sorry but I’m not sure…often it takes a lot of experimentation with GF flours so I wouldn’t know what to recommend without testing it multiple times. I have heard that some blog readers like Bob’s Red Mill GF blends. Might be worth a shot?