With these Gluten Free Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes with Coffee Frosting you get to bite into your favorite fall espresso drink! Easily made dairy free too.
Can you believe that I never had a famed PSL until last fall?
From my very first sip I was a convert.
I went through a Starbuck’s drive-thru as soon as it became available and hastily took my first sip. And burned my tongue. But the way that the sweet and spicy pumpkin dances with the bitter espresso truly is a match made in heaven.
I haven’t made it a secret that I’ve become a coffee fan over the last year. I’ve been sharing recipes for dairy free sugar cookie creamer & chocolate peppermint creamer, skinny toasted coconut frappuccino, and chewy gluten free mocha chocolate chip cookies. AND I have an espresso frosted brownie coming up soon! For me, the addition of coffee as an ingredient in my kitchen has been a wonderful part of my culinary journey.
I also love drinking it.
One morning while drinking a dairy free pumpkin chai tea and writing a grocery list in preparation to make a gluten free pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting (recipe coming soon) and a little lightbulb lit up in my brain.
I just HAD to combine the gluten free pumpkin cake and my caffeinated beverage of choice into tender gluten free pumpkin spice latte cupcakes swirled with a light and creamy coffee frosting.
When baking day came around, I did just that.
I subbed the milk in my gluten free pumpkin cupcakes with some cooled espresso (any strong coffee will do) and baked the fragrant batter in my favorite every-day cupcake liners.
After they cooled I whipped up a fluffy coffee frosting using non-hydrogenated palm shortening, Earth Balance, and instant coffee dissolved in vanilla.
Why the instant coffee? Well I have tried making espresso frosting before (in those brownies) but I had some difficulty getting the consistency right because adding enough espresso to get the coffee taste I craved tended to make the frosting a little too runny (I remedied that with some extra powdered sugar and some cocoa powder). Instant coffee helped me to deliver the coffee flavor in a concentrated dose.
I also didn’t want to run into problems with a separated frosting. Liquid and palm shortening don’t like to mix!
If you’d prefer, you can use the frosting from my espresso brownies (recipe coming soon!). Then you will have a hint of cocoa in your cupcakes too!
I finished each cupcake off with just a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar to make them sparkle! With these Gluten Free Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes with Coffee Frosting you get to bite into your favorite fall espresso drink! Easily made dairy free too. It was very warm in my kitchen the day that I made the frosting, so I needed 3 cups to make the frosting the right consistency. If it isn't 90 degrees in your kitchen with butter so soft it is almost melted (real life right here!) then you probably won't need as much, which is why the recipe says to add 2 ½ cups powdered sugar first, and then add extra as needed. I used my gluten free flour blend. If you don't use my gluten free flour blend, I think that Ryze's Yellow Bag, Gluten free Mama's Almond Flour Blend, would work well You may need a little less flour if you use Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 gluten free flour. All nutrition info is a guestimate and will vary depending on the ingredients you use.
Gluten Free Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes with Coffee Frosting {Dairy Free}
Ingredients
For the Gluten Free Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes
For the Coffee Frosting
Instructions
For the Pumpkin Spice Latte Coffee Frosting
Notes
Nutrition Information
Yield 20
Serving Size 1
Amount Per Serving
Calories 952Total Fat 17gSaturated Fat 8gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 7gCholesterol 29mgSodium 180mgCarbohydrates 203gFiber 2gSugar 183gProtein 3g