Description
These small batch vanilla cupcakes make just two perfectly moist, tender, and deliciously soft cupcakes that deserve a spot in a bakery. But I’ll let you in on a secret- you only need a bowl and a whisk, and they’re SO easy, you don’t even need eggs and dairy! Based on my award winning vegan vanilla cupcakes, you won’t believe that the perfect vanilla cupcake is VEGAN!
Ingredients
Scale
Vanilla Cupcake Batter:
- 1/4 cup (40 g) neutral cooking oil
- 1/4 cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- Pinch sea salt
- 6 tbsp (50 g) all purpose flour or gluten free 1:1 baking flour*
- 1/4 cup (60 mL) dairy free milk, room temperature
Vanilla Buttercream:
- 1/3 cup (87 g) vegan butter, room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups (180 g) powdered sugar, sifted
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 350F, and line a cupcake tin with just two liners.
- Whisk: In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, sugar, vanilla extract, baking powder, and sea salt just until combined. Add in the flour, and pour in the dairy free milk as you whisk the flour into the wet. Whisk JUST until the flour is incorporated into the wet ingredients and you have a consistent batter (but not SMOOTH- it doesn’t need to be perfectly smooth, in fact it does better with just a few clumps of batter, like pancake batter).
- Divide: Pour the cupcake batter into the prepare pan, dividing the batter between the two cupcake liners evenly. The batter should come JUST until the top of the cupcake liner.
- Bake: Place the cupcake tin into the oven to bake for 24-26 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove the cupcakes from the oven.
- Cool: Allow the cupcakes to cool in the cupcake tin for 10-15 minutes. Then transfer them to a cooling rack to fully cool before frosting.
- Make the frosting: When ready to frost, you can whisk the vegan butter in a small bowl until it begins to cream, about 2-3 minutes of vigorous whisking (you can use a hand mixer if desired). Add in the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, vanilla bean paste, and salt, and whisk until the powdered sugar is incorporated into the butter to create a fluffy frosting.
- Pipe and decorate: Fill the frosting into a piping bag with piping tip (I use a Wilton Round Tip 1A). Pipe or smear the frosting onto each cupcake, and decorate with vegan sprinkles if desired.
- Enjoy! Enjoy your cupcake, and store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months!
Notes
Gluten free: I like King Arthur measure-for-measure gluten free flour blend.