Make Halloween wicked delicious with these black chocolate coffee flavored cupcakes, topped with vibrant pumpkin pie frosting. These vegan Halloween cupcakes are easy to make, but result in a stunning finish that will put a spell on anyone who tastes them!
To make the cake: Preheat oven to 350° F. In a stand mixer (or medium mixing bowl by hand; make sure to use electric beaters), combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, charcoal powder, salt, baking soda, and spice on low.Stir in oil, vinegar, and vanilla; slowly add in cooled coffee. Continue to mix on low speed, increasing to medium-high once ingredients are combined well. I like to let mine mix for a couple of minutes on medium-high, to really get a good batter going!
Once finished, divide batter between two cupcake baking pans lined with cupcake wrappers (I used black ones). Bake for 15 minutes, checking to make sure that a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Set aside to cool COMPLETELY before frosting (hint: place cupcakes in the fridge after they have cooled on the counter for 30 minutes).
To make the frosting: In your cleaned stand mixer (or with electric mixers by hand), cream the softened dairy-free butter, vanilla, pumpkin, spice, and natural food dye together on low for 1 minute. With the stand mixer ON LOW, SLOWLY add the powdered sugar (if you add it all at once and then turn on the mixer, your kitchen will quickly become a winter wonderland of powdered sugar).Add almond milk. Once the frosting is combined well, increase speed to medium-high and beat frosting for an additional minute (this makes it extra fluffy).
Ice cooled cupcakes with pumpkin pie frosting. I used an extra large piping tip for these!
Notes
Make these gluten-free by using a 1 to 1 GF flour, such as Bob's Red Mill.
For a nut-free frosting, switch out the almond milk for another plant-based milk of your choice, OR use filtered water. Don’t worry, using water will not drastically affect the taste.
If using melted coconut oil, please be sure that all your cake ingredients are room temperature. Any cold ingredients will harden the coconut oil and cause your batter to be lumpy.
To make these cupcakes a rich back, I used edible charcoal powder, but this is completely optional. Likewise, to make the pumpkin frosting pop with orange, I used McCormick natural food dye, but this is also completely optional.