It’s my birthday so I made myself birthday cupcakes! Luscious vanilla cupcakes crowned with vanilla frosting. Moist little cakes that are the best cupcake I have made to date – and shockingly enough are vegan. I was so happy with how this batch turned out, if you didn’t tell the person noshing away they were vegan they wouldn’t know!
Don’t worry on the spread used in the frosting, I used a lighter calorie version with good results. You can find many soft spreads in regular grocery stores that don’t contain any dairy and are better for you than hard sticks. You can also use a brand like Brummel & Brown though for a vegetarian version (it has yogurt in it but has a lovely flavor). As I have written often….I have a very flexible view of our diets and while I prepare many vegan recipes I am fine with using regular sugar and other items that others might not be happy with.
Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Frosting
Ingredients:
- 1 cup light vanilla soy milk
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 Tbsp cornstarch
- ¾ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 1/3 cup canola oil
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2¼ tsp pure vanilla extract
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350° and double line a 12 cup muffin tin (I used one paper, 1 metal liner).
- Stir the vinegar into the soy milk and let sit for 5 minutes.
- In a large mixing bowl sift the dry ingredients together.
- In a medium mixing bowl whisk the soy milk mixture, canola oil, sugar and vanilla together till smooth. Pour on top of the dry ingredients, whisk till combined.
- Divide evenly between the prepared cupcake liners (use a disher for best results).
- Bake for 20 minutes or a toothpick comes out clean – be careful they do not over bake, they will have a golden color on top.
- Let cool for a few minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.
Vegan Vanilla Frosting
Ingredients:
- ½ cup vegan friendly soft spread (light is fine, see notes above)
- 4 to 5 cups powdered sugar
- 1 Tbsp light vanilla soy milk
- ½ to 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Directions:
Put the spread in a stand mixer bowl, beat it smooth. Slowly add in 3 cups of the sugar, beating till smooth. Slowly add in the soy milk, beating in. Add in the remaining sugar till you get the right texture for piping, then add in vanilla to taste. If your kitchen is warm you may want to chill the frosting for a few minutes.
Spread on your cooled cupcakes or pipe as desired (the recipe makes plenty so don’t skimp when decorating!)
Makes 12 cupcakes.
~Sarah
I’m currently going through a cupcake-obsession phase, and yours caught my eye… They look so good, and I’m sure they taste even better! And happy birthday!
It is confusing how it says in step 3 to add all dry ingredients together and then says to add sugar in step four to the liquid mixture. I had added ALL dry ingredients including sugar to the dry mixture.
Hope it turns out the same!
Sugar is often treated as a “wet” ingredient even though it isn’t in baking – while your results should be OK whisking it in with the liquids ensures a smoother batter, with the sugar dissolved.
~Sarah
These look super scrumptious. You are amazing with your photography!
Happy belated birthday! I think cupcakes are next on my list!
Very nice recipe, and I love your blog layout, it is so inviting. We at Caramelize Life will be posting recipes for making your own vanilla extract and vanilla sugar soon. Check it out at http://caramelizelife.com. Love from our kitchen to yours!