These fluffy Vegan Pumpkin Crumb Muffins are perfectly moist, loaded with spice, and topped with both a crumbly streusel and a luscious maple glaze. Includes options to make them nut-free or oil-free, depending on your preference.
Prepare: Preheat your oven to 200°C (392°F) and line 2 muffin trays with 10-12 muffin liners - leave a gap between each one as you will only be filling every second cavity. To make the vegan "buttermilk" add the soy milk and apple cider vinegar to a medium bowl, stir, and allow to sit for 5 minutes.
Make the streusel topping: To a medium bowl, add the sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and orange zest, and use your fingertips to rub the zest and spices into the sugar. Add the flour and butter and use your fingertips to rub the butter into the dry ingredients. You'll be left with a crumble consistency. Set aside in the fridge.
Make the muffin batter: Add the buttermilk, pumpkin puree, almond butter or olive oil, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and brown sugar to a medium bowl and whisk to combine.To a separate large bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt, and pumpkin spice mix. (NB: note the difference in flour amounts whether you're using olive oil or almond butter). Whisk to combine.
Sift the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients in 2 parts. Fold the ingredients into the batter between each increment until there are no pockets or streaks of flour. Do not be tempted to overmix!
Using an ice cream scoop or large spoon, distribute the batter amongst the muffin liners and make sure to fill them all the way to the top for high muffin tops. If you're using tulip muffin cases, fill them only to the surface of the muffin pan. Crumble some streusel topping on top of each muffin.
Bake at 200°C (392°F) for the first 5 mins, then turn down the temperature to 175°C (347°F) and bake for another 15 minutes. Check they are done by piercing them with a toothpick or a knife, the knife should come out almost clean- a few crumbs are fine. Allow the muffins to cool for 5 minutes, then carefully lift them out of the tray and transfer them to a cooling rack to cool further for 30 minutes.
Make the glaze: Mix together the powdered sugar, maple syrup, and vanilla extract until smooth. You can add more or less sugar depending on whether you want it runny or thicker. Drizzle the maple icing on top of the muffins once they have cooled.
Storage: Place the muffins in an airtight container and store them at room temperature for up to 5 days or in the fridge for up to a week. Let them sit at room temperature for an hour before serving if stored in the fridge. You can freeze them in an airtight container and defrost them for a couple of hours before serving.You can also gently warm the muffins in the oven to get them back to tasting like they're been freshly baked!
Notes
Sugar: For the topping, brown sugar will give a darker colored crumble
Homemade Pumpkin Spice Mix: Mix together 2 ½ tsp ground cinnamon, ½ tsp ground ginger, ½ tsp allspice, ½ tsp nutmeg, and ¼ tsp ground cloves.
Vegan Buttermilk: Soy milk works best for fluffy muffins, but you can swap it for almond milk or oat milk. Learn more in my vegan buttermilk post.
Olive Oil Vs. Almond butter: Opt for smooth runny almond butter for a slightly richer muffin, or olive oil for a light and fluff muffin. For the olive oil version the amount of flour in the muffin batter is increased to 280g.
Some white sugar in the US is not vegan, if in doubt use organic sugar.