Celebrate fall with these warmly spiced Hazelnut Cupcakes. Toasted hazelnuts are blended into a flour, and mixed with coconut flour, for a grain free treat. I top these with a spiced cream cheese frosting and they are perfection!
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Fall Spiced Hazelnut Cupcakes
I’m ready for fall flavors, and these Hazelnut Cupcakes with Autumn Spice Buttercream have helped fill that void!
Hazelnuts have a special place in my heart. They are the official State Nut (did you know States had official nuts?!) of Oregon, and a huge player in Oregon agriculture. They remind me so much of the few years I worked at a Winery in Oregon.
They have a very unique flavor, which is brought out by toasting the nuts.
Instead of almond flour, toasted hazelnuts are processed into a flour that infuses these cupcakes with real hazelnut flavor. Mixed with spices, these are fall on a dessert plate!
What You’ll Need:
- Hazelnuts
- Coconut Flour
- Baking Soda & Sea Salt
- Large Eggs
- Coconut Oil (avocado oil or a neutral tasting olive oil work too!)
- Honey or Maple Syrup
- Vanilla Extract
- Almond Extract (brings out the nutty flavor of hazelnuts even more!)
Autumn Spice Buttercream
- Cream Cheese
- Butter
- Honey (or maple syrup)
- Cinnamon
- Ginger
- Nutmeg (freshly grated if possible!)
- Optional Toppings: A toasted hazelnut and some candied ginger.
How to Make Hazelnut Cupcakes
Step 1: Preheat oven to 300º F. Add hazelnuts to a cookie sheet, and toast for 12 minutes. Allow to cool.
Step 2: Use a kitchen towel to rub the skins off the hazelnuts. They don’t have to be perfect!
Step 3: Add the nuts to a food processor bowl or blender, and process until a flour forms. Be careful not to overmix, which will allow oils to be released and start making a hazelnut butter.
Step 4: Preheat oven to 350º F. Line a 6-muffin pan with parchment paper cupcake liners.
Step 5: In a mixing bowl, combine 1/2 cup of hazelnut flour, coconut flour, sea salt and baking soda. Reserve remaining hazelnut flour to use in other recipes.
Step 6: In a larger mixing bowl, combine the eggs, melted coconut oil, honey, vanilla and almond extract, Whisk to mix together.
Step 7: Add the dry ingredients into the wet, and whisk until no clumps of coconut flour remain.
Step 8: Divide the batter equally between the 6 liners.
Step 9: Bake the cupcakes for about 20 minutes, until golden brown on top and fully cooked in the centers. Allow the cupcakes to fully cool before removing them from the pan to frost.
Step 10: Add the cream cheese and butter to a stand mixer bowl. Whip the cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add the spices and vanilla, then slow drizzle the honey with the mixer running. Do not overmix or the frosting will become too soft.
Step 11: Frost cooled cupcakes. Top with additional hazelnuts or pieces of candied ginger.
Tips & Variations
Other Frosting Options: The “Autumn Spiced Buttercream” frosting here is high in protein from cream cheese and lightly honey sweetened. It is not a thick frosting. If you’re looking for a more traditional frosting, try this Cream Cheese Frosting.
Other Cupcake Recipes
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Hazelnut Cupcakes with Autumn Spice Buttercream {Low Sugar, Grain-Free}
Ingredients
Hazelnut Cupcakes
- 1/2 cup hazelnuts (plus a few extra)
- 3 tablespoons coconut flour
- 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
- 4 eggs
- 1/4 cup +1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract (or hazelnut)
Autumn Spice Buttercream
- 8- ounce package greek yogurt cream cheese (or low fat cream cheese) – room temperature
- 2 tablespoons salted butter room temperature
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (or ground nutmeg)
- hazelnuts (optional, for topping)
- crystalized ginger (optional, for topping)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300º f.
- On a cookie sheet, bake hazelnuts for 14 minutes.
- Let the hazelnuts cool for a couple of minutes, then rub them in a linen towel to remove the skins. If some of the skins are stubborn and don't come off, set them aside. You won't need a full ½ cup to yield ½ cup of hazelnut flour.
- Increase oven temperature to 350º f.
- Once the hazelnuts have cooled, put the peeled hazelnuts in a blender. Process for 1-2 minutes, being careful not to over process and create hazelnut butter. Remove any larger chunks (my blender processed a pretty smooth batter, with no larger pieces).
- Measure out ½ cup of hazelnut four, and add to a mixing bowl with coconut flour, baking soda, and salt.
- In a smaller bowl, mix together eggs, coconut oil, honey, and flavorings. Mix together well.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry. Mix until the lumps of coconut flour have been broken up. After a minute or two, the coconut flour will absorb the liquid, and the batter will become a thicker consistency.
- Line a muffin tin with cupcake papers. Fill the papers about ¾ of the way full. Over filling will lead to really puffy tops.
- Bake cupcakes for 20 minutes at 350º f.
- Meanwhile, add all frosting ingredients to a food processor bowl. Make sure the butter and cream cheese have warmed to room temperature, or they won't blend together well.
- Process for 1-2 minutes, until ingredients are mixed well.
- Frost cooled cupcakes with "buttercream," and top with additional hazelnuts or chunks of crystalized ginger.
I am loving all the Autumn recipes that are starting to appear at the moment. These sound delicious.
I am too! I am always ready to start cooking with fall flavors by like… mid-August!
lovely creation 🙂 is there any substitute for Greek yogurt, as I could not find it in the supermarket?
I actually haven’t been able to find the greek yogurt cream cheese since the two times I bought it back then. Light cream cheese will do the exact thing– I have used it as well. I’d love to be able to find the greek yogurt cream cheese again- it’s higher in protein, and also has bacteria that helps me digest dairy better! I hope you enjoy!
I could not locate any feedback for those who actually made the recipe. I tried it yesterday and disappointed with the results. I took my time grinding the nuts in the food processor as not to make butter. The nut pieces were still a bit large and some were grounded. Are four eggs really necessary? The cake seemed very eggy and were flat. The color of the cupcakes in your photos seemed brown. Mine were pale. Are there spices not included in your recipe? I opt out not doing the frosting. I won’t be making this again.
I will definitely add this to the list of recipes I need to retest!