Chocolate Vegan Cupcake Recipe

Vegan chocolate cupcakes in white and black liners.

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

Cook Time 22

Servings 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