Description

It doesn’t get much better than these soft and fluffy vegan vanilla cupcakes topped with creamy frosting! Most people who try these cupcakes are so surprised when they discover they’re dairy-free and egg-free.

I’ve had some pretty dense and flavorless vegan cupcakes over the years, but with countless tries and much tweaking, I’ve finally come up with this never-fail cupcake recipe that always wows!

Ingredients

Scale

Dry:

2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup all-natural cane sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

Wet:

2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 1/3 cups plant-based milk (organic unsweetened almond or soy milk)
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste

Frosting:

1/2 cup vegan margarine (I like Earth Balance)
1/2 cup vegetable shortening (I like Spectrum)
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla powder

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Instructions

Make the cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a cupcake tin with cupcake liners.
In a medium-size bowl, mix together the plant-based milk and fresh lemon juice. Let sit for a couple of minutes until the milk is curdled. Add the oil, applesauce, and vanilla. Gently stir to combine.
In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cardamom. I recommend sifting your dry ingredients to eliminate any lumps.
When the oven is ready, pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture, and stir to combine. Be careful not to overmix, as this will create a denser cupcake.
Transfer the batter to the cupcake tins (an ice cream scoop makes this easy!). Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool on a cooling rack.
Make the frosting: With an electric mixer, whip the margarine and shortening until light and fluffy. This usually takes about 10 minutes. This is a crucial step.
Add the lemon extract and mix again until incorporated.
Sift the powdered sugar and vanilla powder with a sieve. Add the sifted sugar to the electric mixer a little at a time and continue to whip for another couple of minutes.
Frost the cupcakes as desired and enjoy!

Notes

To store: Frosted cupcakes can last up to a week in the fridge in an airtight container and for several months in the freezer.

To freeze: I like to freeze the unfrosted cupcakes and then make up a fresh batch of frosting when I want to serve them. Or you can experiment with freezing the whole frosted cupcake.

To make this recipe gluten-free: Use a gluten-free 1-to-1 baking flour (I like Bob’s Red Mill and King Arthur’s). Also double check that your baking powder is gluten-free. Most brands these days use a plant-based starch, but you may run across some that use a gluten base (Rumford is my favorite for cupcakes!).