Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes

Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes – Super moist vegan vanilla cupcakes topped with a silky smooth Vegan Vanilla Buttercream.

Lately, I have been testing out a lot of different vegan recipes as more of my friends are requesting or inquiring about vegan treats for birthdays and other events. Vegan baking is something I never really thought I would get in to, but I am loving learning what works and creating recipes that I think taste just as good as the real thing!

I have tried a few other vegan cupcake recipes that I found on the internet and to me, these are the best. They are super moist and have the best vanilla flavour. My vegan vanilla buttercream is also super smooth and silky, not grainy or pastey like others I have tried. 

What you will need

Vegan Vanilla Yogurt – I used the Riviera Vanilla Vegan Coconut Yogurt. Using Vanilla flavoured yogurt is essential in adding to the amazing vanilla flavour of these cupcakes. I haven’t tried any other brands, but I would say stick to coconut yogurt if you can. 

Egg Replacer – I use the Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer. I have found it super easy to use in all my vegan baking endeavours so far! If you don’t have something like this on hand, here is The Kitchn’s guide to other egg substitutes.

Hi-Ratio Shortening – Shortening is used in place of butter in the cupcakes and the frosting. It gives the cake a really tender crumb and makes for a super light and silky buttercream. I like using high-ratio shortening as it makes the buttercream much more stable. However, I have used all-vegetable shortening and it works as well. 

Vegan Butter – A combo of vegan butter and shortening makes for the best vegan vanilla buttercream. I found that when testing vegan buttercream, using only vegan butter resulted in a pastey texture and off taste. The combination is definitely the way to go! My favourite vegan butter is Becel’s plant based bricks. 

Dairy Free Coffee Creamer – This is my secret ingredient in this vegan vanilla buttercream. Coffee creamer! Incorporating something that is a little thicker like a creamer, to replace the heavy cream that you would use in a regular buttercream, is what makes this vegan buttercream so fluffy. I like using an oat milk creamer (like Silk Oat Yeah) as I find oat milk to have a great creamy texture to begin with. If you don’t have dairy-free coffee creamer on hand, you can use a dairy-free milk. You might need to use less than 1/4 cup. Add a little at a time until you reach your desired consistency. I highly recommend the creamer though!

How to Make Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes

For the Cupcakes

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. 

In the bowl of your stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the shortening for a minute or so. Then add in the yogurt and sugar and cream together. 

Next, add in the vegan egg, water and vanilla. Beat until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. 

With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients to the wet. Beat until everything is just combined. Be sure not to over mix!

Scoop the batter into lined cupcake tins. I use a cookie scoop like this and do two scoops per cupcake!

Bake at 350 degrees F for about 20 minutes. Cupcakes are done when a cake tester inserted comes out clean or with a few crumbs. 

Let cool on wire rack. 

For the Buttercream

In the bowl of your stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment beat the shortening and vegan butter until combined. Using chilled vegan butter helps keep the buttercream stable and easy to pipe. 

With the mixer on low speed, add in powdered sugar. Once everything is combined, add the dairy-free creamer and vanilla.

Beat on high for a few minutes until the buttercream is light and fluffy. 

To remove any air bubbles in the buttercream, you can reduce the speed of the mixer to low and beat for a minute or so. You can also beat them out by hand with a spatula. I prefer to do it this way.

Assembly

Frost cooled cupcakes however you like! My favourite pipping tip to use is the Wilton 1M for a classic cupcake swirl!

For other decorating ideas check out this post on basic cupcake swirls!

Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes

Recipe by Kelsey LacombeCourse: DessertCuisine: VeganDifficulty: Easy

Servings

14

cupcakes

Prep time

30

minutes

Bake time

20

minutes

Ingredients

• Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes

• 1 1/2 cups cake flour

• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda

• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons high-ratio shortening

• 1 cup vanilla coconut milk yogurt

• 3/4 cup sugar

• 1/2 vegan egg

• 1/4 cup water

• 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract

• Vegan Vanilla Buttercream

• 1/2 cup high-ratio shortening

• 2 tablespoons vegan butter, chilled

• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

• 1/4 cup dairy free creamer

Directions

• For the Cupcakes
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
• In the bowl of your stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the shortening for a minute or so. Then add in the yogurt and sugar and cream together.
• Next, add in the vegan egg, water and vanilla. Beat until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
• With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients to the wet. Beat until everything is just combined. Be sure not to over mix!
• Scoop batter evenly into lined cupcake tins.
• Bake for about 20 minutes. Cupcakes are done when a cake tester inserted comes out clean or with a few crumbs.
• Let cool on wire rack.
• For the Buttercream
• In the bowl of your stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment beat the shortening and vegan butter until combined.
• With the mixer on low speed, add in powdered sugar. Once everything is combined, add the dairy-free creamer and vanilla.
• Beat on high speed for a few minutes until the buttercream is light and fluffy.
• Once cupcakes are cooled, frost and decorate however you like!