Gluten Free & Keto Pumpkin Cupcakes 🎃
Anyone else craving pumpkin everything this week? Blame it on the plunging temperatures, but we’ve already been overindulging in pumpkin spice lattes (gf, keto, paleo & vegan!). And now we’re onto suuuper tender and moist gluten free and keto pumpkin cupcakes.
Topped with our ultra special cream cheese buttercream frosting.
I.e. it’s an ultra special treat.
Oh, and we opted out of the cupcake liners. Because well, extra waste is no longer in vogue. Let’s keep our home as clean as we possibly can. 🌎
The Pumpkin Pie Spice 🍂
We recently made a homemade pumpkin pie spice batch, with freshly grated nutmeg. And it was killer, so we highly suggest you ditch the pre-made mix.
The Sweetener 🍯
If making the keto version, we prefer a stevia & erythritol blend for sweetener. And we like Pyure best.
Or if stevia ain’t our thing, Swerve works great as well!
Though do note that we find Pyure to be quite sweet (despite it technically being just twice as sweet as sugar). So be sure to add it little by little to taste! We find 2 tablespoons to be enough, particularly if having with the frosting. But feel free to go up to 3.
Fun fact: it might also be our taste buds here, but we’ve noticed that stevia-based sweeteners (such as Pyure) work best when allowed to cool completely. Or even after a thorough chilling. i.e. when we made test batches with Pyure (stevia & erythitrol) and Sweetleaf (stevia), the stevia taste was very prevalent when warm (particularly with Sweetleaf). But after we popped them in the fridge for a couple hours, the stevia taste was barely discernible. If at all.
Feel free to read up on our picks for the 10 best low-carb natural sweeteners.
And if unrestricted by sugars, we find 4 tablespoons of evaporated cane juice or cane sugar to be ideal.
The Homemade Buttercream Frosting ☁️
A blend of cream cheese, organic grass-fed butter, Madagascar vanilla, and Pyure. It really is the bomb, so don’t miss out.
Plus, nil carbs per frosting serving.
And 3 net carbs total per cupcake. 💁🏿
But if you really must miss out, we highly suggest a light pecan topping. And you’ll just have to call them muffins, rather than cupcakes.
Suuuper Tender & Moist Keto Pumpkin Cupcakes 🎃
Ingredients
For the keto pumpkin cupcakes:
- 64 g almond flour
- 21 g coconut flour
- 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoon homemade pumpkin pie spice
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 eggs lightly beaten
- 2-3 tablespoons Pyure
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 25 g coconut oil melted
- 110 g canned pumpkin puree
- 60 ml almond milk
- 2 tablespoons chopped pecans
For the frosting
- 1/2 batch cream cheese buttercream frosting optional (but highly recommended!)
- homemade pumpkin pie spice to sprinkle
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C.
- Butter and flour muffin pan. Set aside.
- Whisk together in a medium bowl almond flour, coconut flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice and salt. Set aside.
- Add eggs and Pyure to a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, 2 minutes. Add in vanilla extract, vinegar, coconut oil, and pumpkin puree and beat until just incorporated. Gradually add in the dry flour mixture, alternating with almond milk. Once fully incorporated, fold in pecans.
- Distribute batter evenly into pan. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes (covering with aluminum foil at 15), until deep golden and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Allow to cool for 15 minutes in the pan before removing, and cool completely in a rack before frosting.
- Make your cream cheese buttercream frosting while your cakes are cooling. And frost away!
- Keep covered and refrigerated for up to 3 days, though we're fairly certain they'll be long gone before then.
Notes
Nutrition
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I was wondering about net carbs. . It looks like it would be net carbs but is the sweeter an alcohol sugar and would that facture into the net carbs too? Or is that the sugar that is in the nutrition guide?
I don’t have an electric mixer, can I mix this up without one?
Hi Paola! Could I use this recipe (doubled) to make a bundt cake or would you recommend your pumpkin bread recipe instead for a bundt cake?
Hi Paola, I would love to make a pumpkin spice cake. Would you recommend doubling this recipe for a cake or would you recommend using your pumpkin bread recipe instead? What would be the taste/texture different? I noticed the cupcake recipe uses xanthan gum and the pumpkin bread doesn’t use any but instead has psyllium husk. Can you please explain the reason for this?
Thanks so much,
Steph
I love the idea, however I would like to make them and be able to share it with my sister who is allergic to almonds…could you tell me please what flour can I use to substitute, and be able to make them (sounds and looks delicious) without almond flour, I like all your recipes (love the hot cakes…they make my craving for confort food sooo good without taking me out of ketosis) but, still I can’t share it with my loved ones.
This recipe is amazing!!! Just wondering tough, I bake them 30 minutes and they are still “wet” inside, is it normal?
Thank you!
This is the first time I have ever commented on a recipe. These muffins are so good! Really, wouldn’t change a thing. These are going to be in regular rotation at my house for sure!
Could I sub HWC for the almond milk?
hello I really wanted to make this but cant figure out the conversion to cups. help!
just lick on US Cups below the ingredients 😉
If I freeze these and serve the next day, should I warm them up in the oven or is room temperature ok? Thanks
These are good at room temp in my opinion, so just let them thaw out xo!
Are these just as good the 2nd day out of refrigeration? Any recommendations on serving next day for a Thanksgiving dessert?
Hi Jaleesa! I would actually bake our new pumpkin bread into muffins instead (they stay super moist even the next day!) xo! https://www.gnom-gnom.com/paleo-keto-pumpkin-bread/
Can’t print when selecting US measurements
I haven’t made these yet but I have a question, can I use this recipe as a pumpkin loaf? Or will it not work that way. I do love pumpkin loaf!
I think these would be too wet for a loaf, but it’s comjng soon 😉
I have to give my compliments on the recipe.
Your baked goods have the best mouthfeel of all the keto muffins I’ve tried. I’ve made these three times now, I weigh my ingredients faithfully and follow your instructions to the best of my ability. I try very hard to keep it precise.
I did use Fage Total full fat greek yogurt here, and it seemed fine. I remembered not to use salted butter (omg I can’t believe I did that) and they really hit the spot.
I made these today! I just discovered your blog and I have several recipes bookmarked. These were my first of any of your recipes because I had all the ingredients on hand and need a quick snack to grab and go on work mornings.
This is by far the best mouthfeel of any keto muffin I’ve ever tasted. I followed your recipe faithfully, weighing everything (I prefer this when baking and it drives me NUTS when grams and mls are not included!) very carefully, making sure to use brands and ingredients that you specified.
SILLY ME used salted butter! Oh lord have mercy. So, they came out a bit salty but I already have the dry ingredients pre-mixed for another batch ready to go tomorrow and I will try again! In any case, they taste great with some butter mixed with sweetener (to cover up my mistake!)
I am trying to take it easy on dairy and keto-sweets (because they’re just addicting!) so I will have to save your amazing frosting for another time.
Thanks so much! 🙂
I really enjoyed the pumpkin cupcakes! Thank you for this recipe. I didn’t have pecans so I used walnuts instead. I don’t cook with artificial sweeteners because they kick me out of Keto. I did use organic honey in small qualities and it still came out well. I am really enjoying your recipes. I would love any tips that you have around baking with honey. Thanks again.
Hi Rayan! That’s awesome, so glad you’re enjoying them! When cooking with honey I would generally suggest adding a teaspoon or two of arrowroot powder to keep the batter from coming out too wet. Hope this helps! xo Paola
Thanks so much for the response. So, for two tablespoons of honey, I should use a teaspoon of arrowroot powder? I’ve never use arrowroot powder so I’m not sure how much to use.
Thanks for the recipe. How important is the xanthan gum? I tried making these without it and a had a big issue with bake time. Basically, they ended up taking over 30 mins, and started to burn on top so I had to just pull them out before they were done. Any ideas what could be wrong?
Also, is the recipe for 6 regular-sized muffins? I ended up with 8 semi small ones.
Hi there! The xanthan gum is important, but the lack of it wouldn’t make it take longer. It sounds like there was too much liquid in your batter? Did you use homemade or canned pumpkin puree? Also different brands of coconut flour can absorb liquids differently (also depending on your climate?)…. Regarding size, I do get 6 regular-sized muffins out of this recipe (like the ones in the pics). xo Paola
Can you use heavy whipping cream in place of the almond milk?
Hi Dina, it’s probably a safer bet to use water instead (as most almond milks are mostly water)
What’s the quantity of half a batch of cream cheese? Thanks.
Hi Gerri! Apologies for missing your comment earlier! In regards to the half a batch, we’re referring to our cream cheese buttercream frosting: https://www.gnom-gnom.com/cream-cheese-keto-buttercream-frosting/
You can half the serving size in the servings size, and it will be enough to frost a batch of 6 cupcakes.
xo! Paola
BEST keto pumpkin anything i’ve ever had. thnx!
Awww thank you Stacey!! Glad you loved them and thanks for reporting back!! xo!
I made these yesterday and they’re fantastic! Forget the usual dry, dense and crumbly keto/paleo muffins…. these are indeed super tender and soft! And mine may have even risen more than yours! Loved them all round, and your frosting….!!!
Looking forward to more! 🙂
Thank you Julie! Glad you loved them 😉
We have more pumpkin and fall goodies coming up! xo!
Just made them, may make another batch as opened a big can of pumpkin puree to make.
Can they be frozen( minus the frosting of course)?
My first attempt at making muffins/cupcakes with this new WOE(keto). Its getting a bit cooler and fallish and the recipe called to me when I saw it and I had all the ingredients. I used Swerve , 2 tbsp , as the sweetener. They look fantastic, nice rise. Haven’t tried them baked yet though the batter off the beaters was yummy.
Not a big sweet person for most part and also limiting sweet treats/ dessert to only once or twice a week. This is this week’s treat! Hope to bring in for my coworkers. Butter is softening for icing .
Your site looks great, looking forward to trying more recipes!
Hi Ellen!
Thanks for getting back to us! We did a freezing test and they do become denser (though still super tasty). If you decide to freeze them, we highly suggest giving them a quick warm-up to get them back on track.
p.s. may we suggest you freeze leftover pumpkin puree? Or make our keto pumpkin spice latte?
We also have more super yummy pumpkin recipes in the timeline for you all coming in the next two weeks 😉
I made these today, and love them. Thank you
Glad you loved them Cindy! Thanks for getting back to us xo!
Thank you for this one from the bottom of my heart! I went ahead and whipped it up after I saw someone on facebook posting a photo and saying they were great. They are indeed GREAT! And the frosting is out of this world!
I’m fairly certain I saw that pic as well (their frosting looked much better right?! ?
Glad you enjoyed them Molly and thanks for hitting us back! xo