Vegan cupcakes recipe

With a soft vanilla sponge and sweet vanilla buttercream, these vegan cupcakes are full of flavour.

Made with soya milk, agave syrup, and rapeseed oil, this cupcake recipe (opens in new tab) is perfect for vegans. This recipe makes 12 regular-sized cupcakes each topped with a subtle pink buttercream made from dairy-free soya spread and icing sugar. Add rainbow sprinkles and serve.

Ingredients

• 170ml organic soya milk
• 1⁄2 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 80ml rapeseed oil
• 170ml agave syrup
• 2 tsp Nielsen-Massey organic vanilla extract
• 185g self-raising flour
• 1⁄2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1⁄4 tsp vanilla sea salt such as Halen Môn

For the vanilla icing:

• 50g pure dairy-free soya spread
• 50g white vegetable fat such as Trex
• 300g icing sugar
• Splash of soya milk
• 2tsp vanilla extract
• 1x tube of pink food colouring
• Rainbow sprinkles

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/Gas 4) and line a cupcake tin with paper cases.
2. Whisk together the soya milk and cider vinegar and leave to stand for 5 minutes. Add the oil, agave syrup and vanilla extract and beat until smooth.
3. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and vanilla sea salt. Slowly incorporate the dry mixture into the wet, mixing until only a few little lumps appear. Divide the mixture evenly among the cupcake cases.
4. Bake in the oven for 20–22 minutes – if a toothpick inserted into the centre come out clean, they are ready. Cool slightly in the pan, then leave to cool completely on a wire rack.
5. To make the icing: Beat the fats together until light. Add the icing sugar and continue beating for about 3 minutes. Add the vanilla extract and the pink food colouring. Beat for a further 4–5 minutes until the icing looks like the fluffiest clouds you’ve ever seen! Use to ice the cupcakes. Top with rainbow sprinkles.

Top tips for making vegan cupcakes

Swap the soya milk for other dairy-free alternatives like coconut, almond or oat milk.

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