Vegan Red Velvet Cupcakes
Soft, fluffy and moist vegan red velvet cupcakes topped with the tangiest cream cheese frosting. Quick and easy.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Bake Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 12 Cupcakes 1x
- Category: Cakes and Cupcakes
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
Scale
For the Cupcakes
1 cup nondairy milk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup nondairy yogurt (unflavored + unsweetened)
1/2 cup canola oil
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
For the Frosting
8 oz vegan cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup vegan butter, softened
1/2 cup non-hydrogenated shortening
4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 C) and line a cupcake pan with 12 paper liners. Set aside.
- Vegan Buttermilk: Add nondairy milk and apple cider vinegar to a glass measuring cup. Stir together and set aside to curdle for about 5 minutes.
- Cake Batter: Whisk flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a large bowl. Add the nondairy yogurt, “vegan buttermilk,” canola oil, vanilla extract, white vinegar and red food coloring to the bowl. Mix until just combined. Do not over-mix.
- Bake: Fill cupcake liners 3/4 of the way full with batter. Place cupcake pan on center rack of preheated oven and bake for 20-24 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean with only a few crumbs clinging to it. Allow cupcakes to cool in pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Frosting: Prepare the frosting while the cupcakes are cooling. In a large bowl, beat the vegan cream cheese until it is completely smooth using an electric hand mixer. Add the vegan butter and shortening to the bowl and beat until combined. Sift in the powdered sugar and pour in the vanilla and salt. Beat again until frosting comes together. Place frosting in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes.
- Assemble: Using a plastic bag and piping tip, pipe a nice pile of the chilled frosting onto the cooled cupcakes. You can also spread frosting onto the cupcakes using a butter knife or an offset spatula. If you choose to go this route, cut the frosting recipe in half as you likely won’t need to use as much.
Notes
*Frosted cupcakes will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days or can be frozen unfrosted for up to 1 month. Do not store at room temperature!
*The amount of red food coloring you need for this recipe depends on the quality of the food coloring you have on hand. This vegan red food coloring is my favorite. I only needed about a teaspoon. No matter what you are using start with a little bit and build as you go.
*You may want to prepare the cream cheese frosting a day in advance and store it covered in the refrigerator overnight. This frosting is only sturdy and pipe-able when chilled. Allow the frosting to sit out for 15 minutes before transferring it to a piping back or spreading. Wait to frost your cupcakes until just before serving if possible.
*I like to use one of the cupcakes this recipe yields to make cake crumbs to top the other cupcakes with. If you’d like to do the same, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (175 C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Crumble one cupcake onto the baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Allow to cool completely. Transfer to a high speed blender and blend until you have your desired-sized crumbs. Sprinkle over cupcake frosting.
Find it online: https://censoredbaker.com/vegan-red-velvet-cupcakes/
