These Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes taste just as good as traditional vanilla cupcakes! Topped with light and fluffy vegan frosting, these are the perfect sweet treat for all to enjoy!
Hi everyone, how are you doing? Today I have an exciting recipe for you. OK, the recipe isn’t anything fancy, however, it’s my first foray into vegan baking, so I’m super excited to share these Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes with you!
Now, I am not going vegan. I will still be sharing recipes with eggs etc, but I don’t see any reason why I can’t share vegan recipes from time to time to broaden my horizons and allow more readers to be able to make my recipes.
Since I’ve gone dairy free, I’ve had to experiment a lot with my cooking and baking. Finding new products I like and that work, that process is still ongoing. BUT, it made me think about the prospect of developing some vegan desserts as well.
These Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes are easy to make and taste great. I gave my husband one and he didn’t guess it was vegan. They taste SO good! Plus that frosting on the top? Pure heaven.
I used Vitalite plant based spread in both the cupcakes and frosting and it worked great. If you have a vegan butter or spread that you prefer then use that. I’m a novice with vegan products…So I researched the best vegan spread in the UK and got my husband to buy it when he was food shopping.
Man, I miss being able to go to the supermarket like normal. Not having to write the most detailed list and still having my husband come back with the wrong thing. Haha, one day. Hopefully soon!
LET’S GO THROUGH HOW TO MAKE THESE VEGAN VANILLA CUPCAKES…
To begin with I beat together sugar and vegan spread until it was light and fluffy. It worked just the same as the spread I normally used. It tasted the same and became fluffy like normal.
Next you need an egg replacer and some vanilla. I looked into egg replacers and the fact you could either make your own or buy one in powder form. From what I could gather, a lot of people said that the bought powders didn’t bake very well and resulted in dense baked goods. Not what we want here.
So, I then read through what I could use to make my own. You can use flaxseed, chickpea water (again some questionable results from my research on how it bakes in cakes/cupcakes), bicarbonate of soda and vinegar, baking powder, water and oil, applesauce etc.
I was going to use baking powder mixed with oil and water. However, the replacement for 2 eggs would have been 4tsp of baking powder and I already had 2tsp in my Vanilla Cupcake recipe that I used as a base to make these. I thought that for cupcakes, this would end up being awful and you’d taste the baking powder.
So, I ended up deciding to use applesauce. I always have some in my house as I love it on porridge. Plus it’s a binder which is what eggs do. Eggs also help with leavening, so I added a little more baking powder to compensate for the denseness/texture of the applesauce to help with rising.
Even adding a little more baking powder, it was still nothing like the amount I would have needed if I’d used it to make my egg replacer. These cupcakes do need a little longer in the oven than my regular cupcakes. However, they can take it as that applesauce adds extra moisture.
The only other thing I did was to add a little more vanilla to balance the flavour of the applesauce.
I’m super interested to play around with different egg replacers; I will try the baking powder, oil and water in a different recipe! One that doesn’t require as much baking powder to begin with. Plus I’d love to try flaxseed. Although, I read that it gives a slightly nutty taste, so I’m not sure I’d like that as I’m allergic to nuts and don’t like anything nutty in taste.
What’s your favourite egg replacer to use? I love these cupcakes with applesauce as it makes them flavourful, soft and moist.
Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes
Ingredients
- FOR THE CUPCAKES:
- 1 stick (113g) vegan baking spread/butter, I used Vitalite
- 1 cup (200g) caster sugar, or golden caster sugar. Make sure your caster sugar is vegan, some are not. I used Tate & Lyle
- 1/2 cup (140g) applesauce
- 2 tbsp vanilla extract OR 1tbsp of vanilla bean paste
- 1 1/2 cups (210g) plain/all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup (120ml) non dairy milk, I used oat
- FOR THE FROSTING:
- 3 cups (360g) icing/powdered sugar, Make sure your brand is vegan, not all are. I used Tate and Lyle.
- 2 sticks (226g) vegan spread/butter, I used Vitalite
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- 1/2-1 tbsp non dairy milk,
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F and line a 12 hole cupcake liner.
- Place the vegan spread and sugar into a large bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, around 2 minutes.
- Scrape down the sides, then add in the vanilla and applesauce. Mix on low-medium speed until everything comes together, around 1 minute.
- Measure out your flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl and then tip into the butter mixture. Mix on low until the mixture starts to come together and then slowly add the non dairy milk. Once all the milk is added, turn the speed up to medium-high for 20-30 seconds until everything is smooth and combined.
- Using a 2tbsp cookie scoop, divide the batter between the cupcake liners. I use a level 2tbsp scoop and each liner is filled around 3/4 of the way.
- Place in the oven for 20-25 minutes, until risen, golden and an inserted skewer into the centre comes out clean. These took 25 minutes in my oven. My normal egg and dairy cupcakes take 20 minutes, so just beware of the fact it may take a bit longer with these vegan cupcakes.
- Leave to cool in the cupcake tray for 10-15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once cooled, make the frosting: Place the vegan spread, icing sugar and vanilla into a large bowl, or the bowl of your stand mixer and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. See what the mixture is looking like and if it is a consistency which will hold its shape, yet still be pipeable. If it is too thick, add non dairy milk 1/2tbsp at a time, mixing on high speed between each addition until you have a fluffy, light frosting which holds its shape but is soft enough to pipe. I did not need any milk.
- Continue to beat the frosting for another 3-4 or so minutes until the colour pales and it's super fluffy and light. Fit a piping bag with an open star nozzle and half fill your piping bag. Pipe a swirl onto each cupcake, refilling the bag as necessary, until you've piped all the cupcakes. You can also sprinkle with some sugar strands or hundreds and thousands.
- Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes will keep in an airtight container, in the fridge for 5 days.
Annie is a self-taught baker, recipe developer and food photographer, who has an obsession with dessert and beauty! 
