Best Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes

5 from 7 votes

Best Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes

The Best Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes as rated by readers!! Vegan, dairy-free, made with all-purpose flour and maple syrup, nobody would know these are vegan!

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time20 mins

Total Time35 mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American, Vegan

Keyword: best vegan vanilla cupcakes, vegan vanilla cupcakes

Servings: cupcakes

Calories: 179kcal

Author: Brandi Doming

Ingredients

3 cups (384g) all-purpose flour
1 cup (216g) + 2 tablespoons granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 cup (80g) pure maple syrup (room temp)
3/4 cup (180g) grapeseed oil
1 1/2 cups (360g) canned "lite" coconut milk (room temp, do not sub with a watery thin milk like rice or almond. The coconut makes them fluffy & leaves NO coconut taste.)
1 tablespoon (15g) apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon (15g) vanilla extract

BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

Two 4 oz vegan buttery sticks (room temperature (1 cup total) Do not sub with the tubs of spreads, as they contain too much liquid)
2 1/2 cups (380g) vegan powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-2 tablespoons almond milk or desired milk if needed

NOTE

Always use a scale for accuracy when baking, following MY gram weights listed. You never need cups, just the scale and bowl and make sure to zero out in between each ingredient.
I use this scale.

Instructions

This recipe makes 24 cupcakes or a 2 layer cake. If you don't want that much, simply divide the recipe in half.
Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line two muffin pans with decorative paper liners or grease and line with parchment paper rounds on the bottoms of two 9 inch round cake pans. This will make for easy removal later.
Add all the dry ingredients (first 5 ingredients) to a large bowl through a mesh strainer and whisk well.
In a small bowl, add the syrup, oil, milk, apple cider vinegar and vanilla. Now add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, slowly a little bit at a time and beat on low, just until combined. Do not over-mix the batter or it can make the cake tough. The batter should be very smooth and fairly runny. Pour the batter into the lined muffin pans (24 cupcakes) or 2 cake pans.
Bake for 15-20 minutes for cupcakes and 25-30 minutes for cakes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let them cool in the pans for 15 minutes, then transfer the cupcakes/cakes onto cooling racks to completely cool before icing.
For the icing, add the vegan buttery sticks into a large metal bowl. Add 2 cups of vegan powdered sugar, a small amount at a time and beat until it reaches a light, fluffy consistency. Add the vanilla and almond milk. Beat briefly to mix in. For an oil-free (meaning, no added oils) buttercream, make my Funfetti Buttercream! For my vegan butter and shortening buttercream, see my Wedding Cupcakes!

Notes

Nutrition stats do not include frosting.
You can make the icing the day before an event and store in the fridge. Then just re-beat the icing to fluff up again before icing your cupcakes or let it soften to room temperature and pipe out with your favorite piping tip. I personally like to bake my cupcakes the day of an event so they are fresh and fluffy. Just store them in an airtight container on the counter.

Nutrition