Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream

·February 14, 2023
·Sam

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Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream

Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream are an absolutely perfect dessert if you’re looking for a delicious vegan dessert that’s sure to please even the most skeptical of eaters. These fluffy and flavorful cupcakes are made with simple, wholesome ingredients and topped with a creamy and sweet homemade vanilla frosting.

Need another great vegan recipe? Try vegan pancakes for an easy recipe to start the day. Don’t have any gluten-free flour on hand? If you can tolerate dairy, you can give our Vanilla Cupcakes a try!

Why You’ll Love Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

Whether you’re a vegan, a health nut, or simply a fan of tasty treats, this vegan cupcakes recipe is a good one to try. And to sweeten this recipe even more, they’re also gluten-free vanilla cupcakes! A win-win for everyone who needs to eliminate gluten or dairy from their diet.

Some gluten-free recipes are a bit tricky to make and use unusual ingredients. But not this one. It’s simple to make and uses ingredients you probably already have on hand.

Helpful Equipment To Make Vegan Cupcakes with Vanilla Frosting

Here’s what you need to make this recipe!

Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream

Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes Recipe Ingredients

For the Cupcakes:

1 ¾ cups of Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour
1 cup of White Granulated Sugar
1 ¼ teaspoon of Baking Soda
½ teaspoon of Salt
1 cup of Soy Milk (or other non-dairy milk)
½ cup of Canola Oil or Vegetable Oil
2 teaspoons of Vanilla Extract
1 tablespoon of Distilled White Vinegar

For the Frosting:

2 ½ cups of organic powdered sugar
1 cup of vegan plant based butter
½ tablespoons of vanilla extract
2 tablespoons of soy or almond milk

How To Make The Best Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream

To make the cupcakes:

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and line a cupcake tray with 12 cupcake liners. Set it aside.
Add gluten free all-purpose flour, white granulated sugar, baking soda and salt to a mixing bowl and stir together.
In a small bowl, combine soy milk, canola oil, vanilla extract, and distilled white vinegar. Pour into the dry ingredients and use a hand mixer on medium-high until well combined.
Divide the batter evenly between 12 cupcake liners.
Bake for 25 minutes. Insert a toothpick in the center of a cupcake. It should come out clean when they’re fully baked.
Let the cupcakes cool in the tray for a few minutes before transferring the cupcakes to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting:

Measure all the buttercream ingredients into 1 mixing bowl. Fold several times to prevent the powdered sugar from flying out the bowl. Mix with the hand mixer until creamy and smooth.
When the cupcakes are completely cool, pipe on the frosting and add sprinkles to the top.

Prep Time

It will take about 10 minutes to prep your cupcakes and get them in the oven. You can make your frosting while your cupcakes are baking. It should take 5 minutes to prep your vanilla frosting.

Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream

All About Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes

This recipe for Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes is both vegan and gluten-free. The recipe uses gluten-free flour, and plant-based milk and butter. The result is fluffy and delicious cupcakes that are much lighter than many other gluten-free cupcake recipes.

Variations and Substitutions

Gluten free all-purpose flour – this should be a flour blend that’s meant to replace regular flour in baking. You can use any blend; we have tried many, and all have worked out great. One of our favorite blends though is Bob’s Red Mill All Purpose Baking Flour.
The gluten free flour blend you have may contain xanthan gum or it may not. Don’t worry about it either way. If your blend doesn’t contain it, there is no need to add it in.
You can turn this into a layer cake.
- If you use three 6-inch cake pans, bake for 25 minutes.
- If you use two 7-inch pans, bake for 30 minutes.
- You can also one 9-inch pan and bake for 30-35 minutes.
If you don’t need this recipe to be vegan, you can substitute the milk for dairy milk in this recipe. You can also use regular butter in place of plant-based butter in equal parts.
If you aren’t gluten-free, you can use regular all-purpose flour instead of the gluten-free flour.

Tips & Tricks and Recipe Notes

Sift your powdered sugar before adding your liquids and butter to remove lumps. This will help your frosting be smoother and creamier.
If you’re using salted butter, you can omit the salt in the frosting recipe if you want.
Make sure your butter is at room temperature before using it to help eliminate lumps in your frosting.

How to Store

How to Store Leftover Cupcakes: Keep your cupcakes covered at room temperature, where they will stay good for 2-3 days, or covered in the fridge where they will stay good for 5-7 days.

How to Store Cupcakes in the Freezer: These vegan cupcakes are also freezer friendly if you’d like to freeze them. They can be frozen either frosted or unfrosted. Wrap them in plastic wrap, then place them in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream

FAQs

What types of milk can I use for this recipe?

You can use any kind of milk, including almond, soy, or coconut milk. If you don’t need your recipe to be dairy-free, you can also use cow’s milk.

How do I make sure the cupcakes cook evenly?

To ensure that the cupcakes cook evenly, fill the muffin tin cups to about the same level with batter and place the tin on the middle rack of the oven. Also, don’t open the oven door too often while the cupcakes are baking, as this can cause the cupcakes to sink.

Can I double this recipe?

Yes, you can easily double the recipe to make more cupcakes. Simply multiply all of the ingredients by 2 and follow the same instructions. Or select “scale” 2 on the recipe card – this doubles the recipe.

Can I make vegan frosting ahead of time?

Yes, you can make the frosting ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator until ready to use. Make sure you give it some time to come to room temperature before trying to spread it on the cupcakes.

Conclusion

Vegan vanilla cupcakes with vanilla buttercream are the perfect dessert for anyone looking for a classic, comforting treat that everyone will be able to eat. With simple ingredients and easy preparation, these cupcakes will become a staple in your dessert repertoire.