Oh wow, these vegan coffee cupcakes with coffee buttercream turned out better than I ever expected!
And the color was a surprise! I was expecting the cupcakes themselves to have more of a light color, more like the color of the frosting. But no, this is a deep dark rich brown.
I did use quite a lot of coffee in these though. Well, I don’t know if you’d agree that it was a lot. I used three tablespoons of a nice strong blend of instant coffee so I imagine each cupcake is around equal to a cup of instant coffee.
And then I used another tablespoon of instant coffee in the frosting!
So the coffee flavor is strong with these guys! But not too strong. I think it’s a perfect flavor blend. They’re unmistakably coffee flavored without being overpowering.
And then I couldn’t tell you why, but the addition of coffee to the frosting seemed to make it super creamy! Like more creamy than frosting has ever been before.
And it just worked so well as a topping for these cupcakes. Like coffee and cream!
There is a little cinnamon in the recipe and cinnamon goes well with coffee so I sprinkled a little on top of the cupcakes too.
If you love coffee and cupcakes, then you will love these vegan coffee cupcakes! They’re:
- Perfectly moist
- Deliciously rich
- Richly flavored
- Topped with coffee buttercream
Keep them covered at room temperature where they will last for a couple of days or covered in the fridge where they will stay fresh for up to a week.
So what do you think of these gorgeous vegan coffee cupcakes? Post your comments/thoughts/questions down below. And if you make the recipe rate it and tag us #lovingitvegan on instagram too if you take a pic. It warms the cockles of my heart to see your kitchen creations!
And if you love dem cupcakes, then you’ll likely love these too:
- Vegan Lemon Cupcakes
- Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes
- Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes
- Vegan Red Velvet Cupcakes
- Vegan Midnight Blue Velvet Cupcakes
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Coffee Cupcakes with Coffee Buttercream Frosting
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Total Time: 45 mins
- Yield: 12
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
Perfectly moist and richly flavored vegan coffee cupcakes with coffee buttercream frosting. Deliciously rich and fabulous sprinkled with a little cinnamon.
Ingredients
- For the Cupcakes:
- 2 cups (250g) All Purpose Flour
- 1 cup (200g) Brown Sugar
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
- 3 Tbsp Instant Coffee Powder
- 2 Tbsp Hot Water
- 1 cup (240ml) Soy Milk (or other non-dairy milk)
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1/3 cup (80ml) Olive Oil (or other vegetable oil)
- 1 Tbsp White Vinegar (or Apple Cider Vinegar)
- 1 Flax Egg
- For the Coffee Buttercream Frosting:
- 3 cups (375g) Powdered (Confectioners) Sugar
- 1/3 cup (75g) Vegan Butter
- 1 Tbsp Instant Coffee Powder
- 2 Tbsp Soy Milk (or other non-dairy milk)
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- To Decorate:
- Sprinkle Cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and line a cupcake tray with cupcake liners.
- Sift the flour into a mixing bowl and add the brown sugar, baking soda, salt and cinnamon and mix in.
- Mix the instant coffee with the 2 Tbsp of Hot Water into a thick paste and then mix into the soy milk (or other non-dairy milk). Add to the mixing bowl along with the vanilla, vegetable oil and vinegar.
- Prepare the flax egg by mixing 1 Tbsp of flaxseed meal with 3 Tbsp of Hot Water and allowing to sit for a minute to become gloopy and then add it in.
- Whisk the batter with a hand whisk briefly just to remove lumps. Divide the batter between the 12 cupcake liners and place into the oven to bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cupcakes comes out clean.
- Allow to cool for a few minutes before moving the cupcakes to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
- Prepare your frosting by adding the powdered sugar and vegan butter to the bowl of an electric mixer. Mix the instant coffee with the soy milk and vanilla until no lumps remain. Add this in. Starting at slow speed gradually increase speed until the frosting is thick and smooth. If your frosting is too thin add in more powdered sugar, if it is too thick, add in a little more soy milk a drop at a time until it reaches the right consistency. It should be very thick for best results.
- Frost the cupcakes and decorate with a little cinnamon.
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: Vegan
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Cupcake (of 12)
- Calories: 358
- Sugar: 47.4g
- Sodium: 260mg
- Fat: 9.6g
- Saturated Fat: 1.4g
- Carbohydrates: 65.3g
- Fiber: 0.9g
- Protein: 3g
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Anna Andrews says
July 14, 2017 at 5:10 amFinger-licking good!
Cindy says
July 14, 2017 at 12:05 pmI can’t wait to make these!
Alison Andrews says
July 14, 2017 at 2:41 pmCool! Let us know how it goes! 🙂
Jamie says
July 27, 2017 at 1:30 amCan you use ground coffee instead of instant? I’d love to use something I already have around the house.
Alison Andrews says
July 27, 2017 at 5:22 amIf you have a finely ground espresso powder – this will work. Unfortunately regular ground coffee will not.
Mariana says
August 1, 2017 at 4:00 amI like your blog cause you don’t share only vegan, gluten free, healthy and raw stuff, you share really good vegan desserts that make us vegans forget that we don’t eat what everybody else does! <3 I can’t wait to bake these!
Alison Andrews says
August 1, 2017 at 6:03 amLove this! Thank you! You totally get it! This is exactly what we’re going for with this blog. 🙂
sarah says
March 17, 2018 at 6:43 pmVegan cupcakes were my absolute gateway to being vegan! I have always been allergic to dairy, almost died from it once but wanted cupcakes, and was determined to make that happen. Almost every dairy free recipe was vegan and they were awesome. I love it when people learn that vegan cupcake doesn’t mean “They’re made all of broccoli” Yep, I have been asked this.
I am so happy to have found this site, but now I can’t decide what to make for my b-day! Oh darn, might have to make 2 dozen and share! 🙂 These are gorgeous, they look so moist and the frosting! Soooo thick and creamy! I’d love to do your chocolate cupcakes with the coffee frosting too, I do love a mocha!
Alison Andrews says
March 18, 2018 at 6:51 amThat sounds like it might be a perfect combination! Let us know how it goes! 🙂 And oh my – cupcakes made out of broccoli, some people have no idea, hahaha! 🙂
Cindy says
August 1, 2017 at 5:32 pmThese cupcakes are truly the best tasting cupcakes I have ever had. The icing is pure heaven too!
Alison Andrews says
August 4, 2017 at 6:22 amWonderful to hear! Thanks for sharing Cindy!
Ariel says
August 3, 2017 at 12:23 amWhat you mean?? In the ingredients you say “instant coffee powder” but you replied to someone comment saying ” ground espresso powder” which on is it??
Dionna says
August 9, 2017 at 1:09 amI just made this! Literally minutes ago! Only thing I was confused on was the consistency of the icing, lol looks fluffy in the image and mine looks thick/smoothe. Aye a cupcake without the frosting and I loved it. 🙂 one of the best vegan cupcakes
Alison Andrews says
August 9, 2017 at 6:52 amSo glad you liked it! I think any difference in the icing consistency is down to the brand of vegan butter you use. I’ve used lots of different brands and got slightly different results. The important thing is that it must be thick enough to pipe on your cupcakes. If it is – then you have a good frosting!
Jeneé says
August 11, 2017 at 3:08 pmI just made these for my friend for her birthday. It was my first time baking something vegan, it’s a very easy recipe and I am in love with these, they are so so good!
★★★★★
Alison Andrews says
August 11, 2017 at 3:24 pmAwesome!! ?? Thanks for sharing!
Rachael says
August 18, 2017 at 10:36 amInstead of a “flax egg”, would 1 egg portion of VeganEgg suffice for this recipe? 🙂
Alison Andrews says
August 18, 2017 at 6:22 pmI’m sure! Any egg replacement that is equivalent to 1 egg should work fine.
Emma says
November 16, 2017 at 10:14 amHi, I was wondering if you could omit the flax egg like you have in the vanilla cupcake recipe. Because this recipe is almost identical with the basics except the flax egg. Thanks x.
Alison Andrews says
November 16, 2017 at 10:45 amYou can leave it out, but you’ll have to adjust your flour down to compensate. The reason the vanilla cupcakes don’t use a flax egg is because it affects the color and makes them look more like seed cakes than vanilla cakes, however, I have noticed that using a flax egg seems to make the cupcakes rise better. They do rise without the flax egg and you can leave it out if you adjust the dry ingredients, but where possible I think it’s usually preferable to leave it in.
Megan says
May 2, 2018 at 5:46 pmCan’t wait to make these! Can I sub out anything for the vegan butter in the frosting?
Alison Andrews says
May 3, 2018 at 8:15 amSome people have used coconut oil but I am not really a fan as I find it goes too runny at room temperature and too hard in the fridge, but that is a possible option.
Anna says
March 20, 2019 at 10:37 pmWhich vegan butter do you used? Everything I see on the market is salted so I’m not sure.
Alison Andrews says
March 21, 2019 at 8:30 amSalted is fine! 🙂
Melissa says
May 14, 2018 at 7:34 pmHi Alison! I’m super excited to try these cupcakes! I’ve made the frosting and I LOVE IT!! I was wondering if you know the correct amount of gluten free flour to use if I want to make them gluten free. I’ve been using gluten free flour and xantham gum to make some other kids but wasn’t sure about the amount for these. Thanks!!
Alison Andrews says
May 15, 2018 at 8:22 amHi Melissa, you would use the same amount of flour in cups, but a different amount in grams as gluten-free flours are a different gram amount per cup than all purpose flour, generally 136g per cup, so that would be 272g but I have not tested these cupcakes as gluten-free so I really can’t say and don’t know how they would turn out. Generally you need to make other adjustments to a recipe to make a gluten-free version come out well, for reference take a look at my gluten-free chocolate cake where I talk a bit about these adjustments. All the best! 🙂
laura says
August 20, 2018 at 8:52 pmthese look Sooooo good!!
i can’t seem to print the recipe without the ad blocking
some of the instructions though….
anna says
October 20, 2018 at 10:00 amhi! just saw this and i want to try making these as im a coffee lover. just want to ask about the frosting, how long will it last if i will just prepare it but will do the frosting on the cupcakes later on? i need to bring the cupcakes somewhere far from my place and do the frosting on site..
Alison Andrews says
October 20, 2018 at 2:19 pmYou could keep the frosting for a few days in the fridge without a problem.
anna says
October 21, 2018 at 5:24 amhi! can i use this frosting to cover a whole cake? how long can this last at room temperature?
Alison Andrews says
October 21, 2018 at 11:36 amHi Anna, depending on the size of the cake, you likely need to increase the recipe. If it was a single layer cake then probably fine, but a double layer cake the recipe would likely need to be increased slightly.
anna says
October 21, 2018 at 1:46 pmThank you. definitely will try this 😉
Atalia says
October 23, 2018 at 5:34 pmThese look great cant wait to try them! 🙂
One question – can I replace the Flax egg with Apple sauce in this case?
Thank you!
Alison Andrews says
October 24, 2018 at 9:03 amHi, yes that should be fine, just replace with 3 Tbsp applesauce.
Anastasia says
November 18, 2018 at 5:48 pmHi Alison! Can I use coconut butter for the frosting?
Alison Andrews says
November 19, 2018 at 2:43 pmHi Anastasia, I have never tried it with coconut butter so I have no idea how that would work out, sorry. 🙂
McKayla says
January 8, 2019 at 1:38 amI tried to make these and I never bake so I know I probably did something wrong. My cupcakes ended up collapsing and being a big puddle instead of baking properly. I don’t know what I did wrong. The only thing I can think of is that I replaced the regular flour with almond flour and I mixed the batter pretty well.
Alison Andrews says
January 8, 2019 at 10:07 amIt would definitely be the almond flour, it is NOT interchangeable with all purpose flour. If you want to try making these gluten-free, then a gluten-free all purpose flour blend is the only thing that might work as a swap.
Anne says
March 15, 2019 at 6:31 pmMy 9-year-old daughter just made these for me.
Thanks for the super easy recipe. They made it on top of our list of favorite recipes!
★★★★★
Alison Andrews says
March 16, 2019 at 10:18 amThat is so wonderful to hear! Thanks so much Anne! 🙂
Ellie Morgan says
April 7, 2019 at 2:15 pmI love this recipe! Do you have any suggestions for vegan butters that are more suited to icing? I find Vitalite/ Pure, all easily accessible butters to be far too soft, and I have to put them in the fridge to re-solidify the icing! Thank you!
★★★★★
Alison Andrews says
April 8, 2019 at 2:33 pmHi Ellie, if you reduce the amount of soy milk (possibly don’t even use any at all) does this still happen? I have found using different brands that sometimes if they have a higher water content (are very soft) then sometimes you don’t need to use any non-dairy milk at all. I have found that the firmer the vegan butter is when it’s in the tub at room temperature, the better it will hold up in a frosting, but even really soft ones can still do fine as long as you compensate by using less non-dairy milk