Description
These Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes are delightfully moist, tender, and perfectly sweetened treats made without any animal products. Featuring a creamy vegan buttercream frosting and optional funfetti sprinkles, these cupcakes bring classic flavor with plant-based ingredients, ideal for vegans and anyone looking for a dairy-free dessert option.
Ingredients
Scale
Vegan Cupcakes
- 236 ml soy milk
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 170 g granulated sugar
- 100 g vegan butter (block butter NOT spreadable margarine, room temperature)
- 85 g vegan Greek-Style yogurt (or unsweetened soy or coconut yogurt)
- 2 tablespoon vanilla extract (or 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste)
- 250 g plain flour
- 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
Frosting and Decoration
- 1 batch vegan buttercream frosting
- Vegan funfetti sprinkles (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven and prepare pans: Preheat your oven to 175°C (347°F). Line 2x 12-hole muffin pans with 18 cupcake liners. If you have only one pan, bake in batches.
- Make vegan buttermilk: Combine the soy milk and apple cider vinegar in a medium bowl or jug. Stir and let it sit for 5 minutes to curdle and create a vegan buttermilk.
- Cream butter and sugar: In a stand mixer or large mixing bowl, cream the vegan butter and sugar using an electric mixer for about 30 seconds. Then add the vegan yogurt and vanilla extract and mix until just combined.
- Combine dry ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together the plain flour, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt.
- Mix wet and dry ingredients: Using a regular whisk, add the vegan buttermilk and the dry ingredients alternately into the creamed butter mixture in two increments. Whisk gently between each addition to avoid overmixing.
- Fill cupcake liners: Using an ice cream or cookie scoop, divide the batter evenly among the cupcake liners, filling them no more than three-quarters full.
- Bake cupcakes: Bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes or until the tops are lightly golden and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Cool cupcakes: Remove cupcakes from oven and let them cool in the pans for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely for about 30 minutes.
- Prepare frosting: Make the vegan buttercream frosting following your preferred recipe or a batch prepared ahead.
- Decorate cupcakes: Transfer the buttercream frosting to a piping bag fitted with an open star nozzle and pipe the frosting on top of each cooled cupcake. Optionally, sprinkle with vegan funfetti sprinkles for decoration.
Notes
- Use block vegan butter rather than margarine to achieve the best texture and flavor in the cupcakes.
- Allow the soy milk and apple cider vinegar to sit for 5 minutes to properly curdle and mimic buttermilk acidity.
- Do not overmix the batter to maintain a light and fluffy cupcake texture.
- You can bake in batches if you only have one muffin pan, as the batter is enough for 18 cupcakes.
- The vegan buttercream frosting can be made in advance and stored in the fridge; bring it to room temperature before frosting.
- If unavailable, other plant-based milks such as oat or almond milk can be used instead of soy milk.
