Plant-Based Maple Pecan Cupcakes with Oil-Free Maple Frosting

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

Plant-Based Maple Pecan Cupcakes are a decadent, sweet, fall-themed dessert. Top these gluten-free cupcakes with a delicious oil-free maple frosting.

A maple pecan cupcake frosted and topped with a pecan.

Cupcakes that are completely plant-based, oil-free, and refined sugar free that also taste amazing?? Yes please. And bonus: they are fall flavored. Maple and pecan is an incredible flavor combination that combines sweetness and buttery fat. SO good.

These cupcakes are made from completely whole food ingredients. The cake itself has chickpeas, which create a super rich cupcake. Don't worry though, you can't taste the chickpeas at all - they have a neutral flavor and only contribute to the beautiful cake texture.

And the frosting is plant-based too! Plant-based frosting is a bit of a challenge. I've made chocolate frosting in the past - I use sweet potatoes and add cocoa powder, but when I tried to make a vanilla frosting with just sweet potatoes, the flavor tasted too much like potatoes. So I used a mixture of cashews and sweet potatoes - cashews add some richness from the fat and help mask the sweet potato flavor.

The result is a creamy, thick frosting that tastes sweet and delicious.

Jump to:

Why I love Plant-Based Maple Pecan Cupcakes
Ingredient Notes
How to make Pecan Butter
How to make Plant-Based Maple Pecan Cupcakes with Oil-Free Maple Frosting
Frequently Asked Questions
Recipe Prayer
More fall desserts
Tried this recipe?
📖 Recipe
💬 Comments

Plant-Based Maple Pecan Cupcakes with Oil-Free Maple Frosting

Why I love Plant-Based Maple Pecan Cupcakes

Dietary needs - this recipe is plant-based, oil-free, gluten-free, and sugar-free
Perfect treat- these cupcakes have tons of good-for-you ingredients with fiber and nutrients for a healthy and tasty breakfast, snack, or dessert
Fall flavors - maple and pecan is a classic fall combo and wow do those ingredients bring great flavor

Ingredient Notes

Cake

Chickpeas: Chickpeas are what give these cupcakes their rich and moist texture. Make sure to drain and rinse your chickpeas well, to remove any strong bean flavor.
Pecan Butter: Pecan butter is just a nut butter made from pecans. Blend pecans in the food processor until they form a nut butter. See formal instructions below. Alternatively, you can use almond or cashew butter, but you won't get as much of a pecan flavor.
Maple Syrup: For sweetness.
Vanilla Extract
Oat Flour & Almond Flour: Oat flour creates a moist, dense cupcake and almond flour lightens up the texture. Don't skip either one, they balance each other out.
Salt
Baking Powder & Baking Soda
Chopped Pecans: For a bit of extra flavor you can roast the pecans ahead of time. Otherwise, use raw pecans.

Frosting

Cashews: Cashews add fat (and therefore flavor) to the frosting. When you soak them and blend them into a puree they help thicken the frosting too.
Maple Syrup: for more maple flavor and sweetness.
Sweet Potato: The sweet potato is what makes this frosting super creamy. Use a baked and mashed Japanese or white sweet potato - both of these potatoes have neutral flavor so they won't affect the flavor of the frosting.
Lemon Juice: For some tang. Lemon juice helps mimic the taste of a cream cheese frosting.

How to make Pecan Butter

Pecan butter, like all nut butters, is super easy to make at home. All you need is a blender or food processor.

Nuts have natural oils which make them so much easier to blend. To activate the oils you'll want to heat your pecans in the oven. I usually roast mine at 350 for 5-10 minutes until they are just starting to brown and they become fragrant.

Then just throw the nuts in the food processor and blend until smooth. Since pecans have such a high fat content they will blend easily and you should have your pecan butter in a matter of minutes!

Let the pecan butter cool to room temperature before you use it in this recipe.

How to make Plant-Based Maple Pecan Cupcakes with Oil-Free Maple Frosting

Step 1. Soak the cashews in boiling water. Set aside while you bake the cupcakes.

Step 2. Preheat the oven to 350. Line a muffin tin with liners.

Step 3. Add all the cake ingredients to a food processor. Process until the chickpeas are blended fully and all the ingredients are combined.

Step 4. Spread into the prepared muffin tin. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean and the cups feel firm to the touch.

Step 5. Let the cupcakes cool completely. Meanwhile, prepare the frosting.

Step 6. Drain the cashews. Add the cashews and maple syrup to a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. Then add the remaining ingredients and blend again.

Step 7. When the cake is cooled, pipe or spread the frosting on top of each cup. Serve and enjoy!

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are there chickpeas in the cupcakes?

Chickpeas are the perfect secret cupcake ingredients. They add a rich, moist texture but they don't add any weird flavor. I promise you'll never notice the chickpeas in there.

Can I use a bean besides chickpeas?

I highly recommend you use chickpeas. Chickpeas are soft but still dense. Another white bean might work but you'll probably need to add more flour to compensate for the extra moisture.

Can I use a nut butter instead of pecan butter?

Yes. You can use almond butter or cashew butter instead. You'll lose some of the pecan flavor though.

Do I have to use both oat and almond flour? Can I sub a different type of flour?

I highly recommend you use both oat and almond flour. Oat flour alone would make these cupcakes too dense. Almond flour adds some fat and helps lighten the texture.
If you want, you could sub gluten-free all purpose flour for the oat flour. And coconut flour for the almond flour. I haven't tested these combinations so you may need to experiment with the exact liquid to dry ratio.

Does the frosting taste like sweet potato?

Nope. Once you add cashews, maple syrup, and lemon juice you won't even notice any sweet potato taste.

Can I turn these cupcakes into a cake?

Yes - you'll need to increase the baking time significantly. I've made a cake with similar ingredients to these cupcakes and the bake time was around 90 minutes.

Recipe Prayer

Thank you God for these cupcakes. Thank you for giving us desserts that taste great and give our bodies the nutrients they need. Allow these cupcakes to fuel our bodies. Amen.

More fall desserts

Tried this recipe?

Please leave a review in the comments section below. You can also stay in touch with me on social media by following me on Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok or by subscribing to my newsletter.

📖 Recipe