Easy Vegan Chocolate Cupcake Recipe

This homemade, Easy Vegan Chocolate Cupcake Recipe is the only one you’ll need to satisfy non-dairy family members. They’re light, fluffy and far more delicious than any store-bought variety—because they’re baked from scratch right in your kitchen.

Every so often, my daughter gets inspired and embarks on a 30-day vegan challenge—and one year, it just so happened to line up with her birthday! Now, don’t get me wrong—I have nothing against veganism. But when she made this last-minute announcement, I suddenly found myself on a wild Sunday afternoon mission, dashing from bakery to bakery in search of a vegan cake.

To my surprise, every place I visited had gluten-free options, but no vegan cake or cupcake was in sight!

Determined not to let this setback ruin the celebration, I turned to the one place that never fails me—Google. My mission? To find a simple, foolproof, and delicious vegan chocolate cake recipe. And let’s say what happened next was nothing short of a baking adventure!

When I stumbled upon Angela’s Fail-Proof Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes from Oh She Glows, I knew I had found the perfect birthday treat! The recipe looked simple, decadent, and just what I needed to pull off a delicious vegan dessert.

Of course, I had to get a little creative with the ingredients. Instead of using up my precious almond milk (which I needed for my morning coffee!), I swapped in rich, creamy canned coconut milk.

And since I didn’t have grapeseed oil on hand, I opted for canola oil instead and substituted the apple cider vinegar for rice vinegar—because when a cupcake craving calls, you make it work!

Angela topped her cupcakes with a dreamy salted vegan buttercream, which sounds incredible. I opted for a vanilla buttercream using a plant-based butter.

Let’s get baking now. And for those preferring a more visual outline, follow the step-by-step photos below.

How to Make Dairy-Free Chocolate Cupcakes

1- Place the coconut milk, sugar, oil, vinegar and vanilla extract into a large mixing bowl.

2- Mix with electric beaters until combined.

3- In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt, ensuring no clumps.

4- Start the electric mixer on low and mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients. Increase the speed and mix until smooth and you no longer see any bits of flour.

5- Spoon the batter evenly into 12 cupcake liners, filling just about two-thirds full.

6- Bake in a preheated oven, 350 degrees F, for approximately 20 to 24 minutes or until a toothpick inserted inside comes out clean. (Mine were ready in 22 minutes)

Simple Vanilla Frosting

7- Place the softened butter in a large mixing bowl and sift in the powdered sugar.

8—Mix on low speed and gradually increase the speed until the butter and sugar are combined. Then, stir in the almond milk and vanilla extract. When incorporated, turn the mixer on high and continue beating for at least 5 minutes or until light and fluffy.

If you’re tinting the frosting, dab a little colour of choice into the mixed frosting.

9- Mix tiny amounts of colouring until you have the desired shade. (Use a toothpick to add just enough colouring, and remember, a little goes a long way)

10—To pipe the frosting, as seen in the photo below, you’ll need two 12-inch piping bags. One should be inserted with the #22 tip, and the other with the #1M tip. Fill each of the piping bags with equal amounts of frosting.

11- For the first layer of frosting, pipe small rosettes along the outer borders using the #22 tip.

12- Repeat with a second layer of frosting using the #1M tip. Start at the centre of the cupcake and work your way up and around the first layer of frosting, creating one large rosette. Then, have fun and decorate with your choice of sprinkles.

Whether you’re vegan or not, these moist chocolate cupcakes are so easy to put together, incredibly delicious and will quickly disappear.

And no one will ever guess they’re vegan. Unless… you tell them of course.

Happy baking!

Craving More Chocolate Desserts?

Although not vegan, but still craving some chocolate goodness, you’ll want to try these other decadent chocolate dessert recipes.

Slow Cooker Chocolate Raspberry Brownies: They’re moist and fudgy with all the attributes of a great brownie! All you’ll need is 15 minutes of prep time for these yummy treats, and your slow cooker does the rest!

Chocolate Brownie Tart: Made with raspberry and semi-sweet chocolates and cocoa powder, you’ll find it rich, fudgy and made more delicious with swirls of raspberry buttercream. And of course, let’s not forget the sprinkles!

Homemade Cake Pops: These chocolate-flavoured homemade cake pops are better than Starbucks. With my step-by-step instructions, you’ll be well on your way to making perfect cake pops for baby showers or other special occasions.

This recipe was originally published on February 16, 2017, and republished on March 24, 2025, with updated content and photos.

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Chocolate Vegan Cupcake Recipe

This Easy Vegan Chocolate Cupcake Recipe is a dream come true for dessert lovers! Soft, fudgy, and bursting with deep cocoa flavour, they’re crowned with a cloud of blue-tinted, silky vanilla frosting.

Course Vegan

Cuisine American

Keyword Chocolate Vegan Cupcake Recipe

Prep Time 45 minutes minutes

Cook Time 22 minutes minutes

Servings 12 cupcakes

Calories 391kcal

Author Marisa

Equipment

• 1 12 cup muffin baking pan
• 12 cupcake liners or double up on liners if they have pretty patterns
• 2 12-inch piping bags
• #22 piping tip
• #1M piping tip

Ingredients

CHOCOLATE VEGAN CUPCAKES

• 1 cup canned coconut milk (well stirred then measured out)
• 1 cup pure cane sugar (I used Redpath sugar)
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 3 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour (gluten-free flour also works well)
• 1/3 cup unsweetened baking cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

VANILLA FROSTING

• 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons plant based butter (softened)
• 4 cups of powdered sugar
• 4 tablespoons almond milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• sprinkles (of your choice)
• icing colour of your choice (I used royal blue by WILTON)

Instructions

CHOCOLATE VEGAN CUPCAKES

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Line a 12 cup, cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
• In a large mixing bowl, beat together the coconut milk, sugar, oil, vinegar and vanilla until combined.
• In another bowl, whisk together the the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and the salt just until there are no more clumps.
• Slowly beat in the flour mixture in with the wet ingredients just until smooth and you no longer see any bits of flour.
• Spoon the batter evenly into the 12 cupcake liners, filling just about two-thirds full.
• Bake in the preheated oven for about 22 to 25 minutes. (Mine were ready in 22 mins.)
• When ready the cupcakes should spring back easily when gently pressed down or when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
• Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting.

DAIRY FREE VANILLA FROSTING

• Place the softened butter in the bowl of a stand mixer and sift in the powdered sugar.
• Start mixing on low speed and gradually increase until the butter and sugar come together.
• Mix in the milk and vanilla and when incorporated turn the mixer on high and continue beating for at least 5 minutes or until light and fluffy. (the longer you beat the icing, the fluffier it becomes)
• If you're tinting the frosting, dab a little colour of choice into the mixed frosting. (use a toothpick inserted in the concentrated icing gel to add the colour into the prepared icing)
• Note that the icing colour is optional. If you're new to using icing colouring, be sure to use a little at a time until you have the desired shade.

PIPING THE FROSTING

• Prepare two piping bags. One inserted with the #22 tip and the other with the #1M tip. Fill each of the piping bags with equal amounts of frosting.
• For the first layer of frosting, pipe small rosettes along the outer borders using the #22 tip.
• Repeat with a second layer of frosting using the #1M tip. Start piping in the centre of the cupcake and work up and around the first layer of frosting while creating one large rosette.
• Top with your favourite coloured sprinkles, serve and enjoy.

Notes

Partially adapted from “Oh She Glows” website on her fail-proof Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes with Salted Buttercream. (with a few switch-ups)

 

Nutrition

Calories: 391kcal | Carbohydrates: 71g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 244mg | Potassium: 117mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 57g | Vitamin A: 8IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 16mg | Iron: 1mg

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