If you haven’t had enough fall baked goods featuring pumpkin, warming spices and other yumminess, we are about to fix that right now. As promised in my earlier post for vanilla cupcakes, I am continuing to make new cupcake recipes for you guys! The recipe I am sharing this week has the perfect combination of flavors with a banana cake, pumpkin filling and chai frosting.

The cake itself is super moist from all of the banana and has a subtle, but just-right sweetness. As a bonus, it is made up of wholesome flours like oat and almond so you can feel good about diving into these cupcakes! For the filling, I used a delicious locally-made pumpkin butter. It was such an easy addition, but it really takes these cupcakes to the next level. Now the most important part…the frosting. If you’ve never tried cashew frosting, your first reaction might be like “what the heck is that?????” Well let me tell you, I don’t get why cashew frosting hasn’t been a thing for a long time. It is super easy to make, has a slightly nutty flavor that isn’t strong enough to be overpowering, and is so good for you! Throw chai spices into the mix and I’m sold 100%.

Happy baking!

xoxo, The Secret GF

Cupcake Ingredients:

¾ cup oat flour

½ cup almond flour

½ cup millet flour

½ cup brown rice flour

¼ cup tapioca flour

1 tsp xanthan gum

1 ½ tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

3 bananas, mashed (about 1 ½ cups)

⅔ cup agave

½ cup almond milk + 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

2 eggs

½ cup coconut oil, melted 

Optional filling: pumpkin butter 

Cupcake Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 350⁰F. Line a muffin tin with cupcake wrappers.

2. Mix together flours, xanthan gum, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients.

4. Whisk together dry and wet mixtures.

5. Divide batter into lined muffin tins, filling each one ¾ full.

6. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

7. Optional: cut a small upside-down cone shape out of the top of each cupcake with a knife. Fill the whole with pumpkin butter. Cut the very top of the cone off and place it back over the hole.

8. Frost with chai cashew frosting.

Chai Cashew Frosting Ingredients:

2 cups raw cashews, soaked overnight

½ cup agave

4 tsp lemon juice

3 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp unsweetened almond milk

1 tsp salt

¼ tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp ginger

¼ tsp nutmeg

⅛ tsp cloves

⅛ tsp all spice

⅛ tsp cardamom

Frosting Steps:

1. Place all ingredients into a food processor and process until completely smooth.