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Looking for an easy dessert to make for Mother's Day, or any holiday, party, or gathering? These easy vanilla cupcakes are going to be your go-to.
Mother's Day just screams cupcakes! Seriously, they are my go-to dessert when I'm finished eating an amazing dinner.
They're easily held which makes it perfect when you're on-the-go and need to mingle with family or friends. Especially with little ones. These are easier for their tiny hands to hold!
This recipe also makes use of my perfect vegan buttercream frosting!
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🥘Ingredients
🧾Ingredient Notes
If you need to use Gluten-free flour, make sure to use an all purpose kind! Things such as plain almond or coconut flour will leave you with unrisen cupcakes!
You can swap the lemon juice for vinegar if needed.
Any plant-based milk is fine. I prefer to use oat.
1 teaspoon of baking soda can be replaced by 2 teaspoons of baking powder or the other way around.
See recipe card for exact measurements.
🔪Instructions
Start off by adding lemon juice to the plant-based milk and setting aside for 5-10 minutes. This will be your buttermilk.
In a large bowl, sift flour and baking powder, once sifted, add sugar and salt and whisk until well mixed. Next, add in your liquid ingredients, oil, vanilla and buttermilk mixture.
Stir everything together until you end up with a smooth batter.
Once you are done mixing your batter, grab a 12 cup muffin tin and line it with cupcake liners. This is optional, you can simply oil the muffin cups if you wish to skip using cupcake liners. Depending on the liners you use, you may still need to oil them as well.
Bake your cupcakes to desired doneness, pull them out, let them sit for at least 10 minutes and then place them on a cooling rack.
Wait at least 2 hours to overnight to frost your cupcakes. Frosting them too soon could result in gooey, melty icing, and a mess.
👩🏻🍳Expert Tips
Try not to overmix your cupcake batter as this may cause rising and overall texture issues.
Use cake flour for an even fluffier cupcake. And if you can find it of course.
📖Variations
This vegan cupcake recipe leaves it open to customization!
- Add different flavoring like orange extract or almond extract. Cut back on the plant-based milk by a tablespoon per tablespoon swap of other flavoring liquids. Add up to 2 tablespoons of other flavorings.
- Food coloring would be super fun for a kids birthday party! Be sure to use gel type food coloring to avoid adding too much liquid.
🍱Storage
These cupcakes can be stored in an air-tight container for up to 7 days. They can also be frozen without icing for up to 3 months. They can be left out over night but I would not leave them out more than 2 days.
These vegan cupcakes are perfect for many reasons:
- Can easily be made Gluten Free.
- Egg free
- Dairy free
- Super kid-friendly and easier to hold for little hands.
- Incredibly easy to make.
- The best dessert to take for gatherings.
Be Sure to Check out some other Desserts!
❓Frequently Asked Questions
While vegan cupcakes may not contain as much fats or saturated fast and definitely has no cholesterol, they are still considered a dessert and aren't really meant to be a health food. You can certainly make healthy vegan cupcakes, but why would you want to?
There could be a number of reasons for this. Did you make sure your oven was preheated before putting them in? Did you sift the flour when you added it? Is your baking powder out of date? What kind of flour did you use? Different things can cause disasters in baking.
📖 Recipe
Equipment
- 1 large bowl
- 1 12 cup muffin tin 6 cups work fine, too.
- 1 scoop optional
- 1 Whisk
- 1 wire cooling rack
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour - see notes for substitutions
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 ½ cups plant milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F / 180°C.
- In a measuring cup or small bow, add plant-based milk and lemon juice, give it a stir, and let set for 5-10 minutes to curdle into a buttermilk substitute.1 ½ cups plant milk,1 tablespoon lemon juice
- In a large bowl, sift dry ingredients, then whisk until mixed.2 cups all purpose flour,1 teaspoon baking powder
- Next, add in the rest of the ingredients and using a spoon or spatula, mix together until you have a smooth batter. Careful not to overmix.1 cup sugar,½ teaspoon salt,½ cup oil,1 teaspoon vanilla,1 tablespoon lemon juice,1 ½ cups plant milk
- Using a scoop, fill each muffin cup ¾ of the way. Then place the cupcakes in the oven and bake for 40 minutes.
Notes
- For Gluten-Free be sure to use an all purpose GF flour. Do not use simple flours like almond or coconut.
- For Oil-free simply replace the oil with any plain dairy-free yogurt, a smashed banana, applesauce, etc. Be sure to adjust sugar if needed.
- 1 teaspoon of baking soda can be replaced by 2 teaspoons of baking powder or the other way around.
Nutrition
Comment Policy
Need an idea of what to share in a comment? Share any substitutions you made that worked well so that anyone else reading can gain some knowledge in case they run into issues. Comment just to say you've tried it and if you liked it, or If you did not enjoy, or had an issue. Other readers can benefit from you! You can also leave a comment just to tell me you plan on trying it, I don't mind! Be sure to also leave a rating with your comment. Every little bit helps me bring you more delicious vegan recipes! Any rude, non-constructive comments will not be accepted. Thank you.
Asher
10/10