Gorgeous vegan chocolate cupcakes topped with a mint buttercream frosting. Super easy, rich, moist and totally irresistible!
These vegan chocolate cupcakes are totally irresistible.
Perfect little packages of yummy chocolate cupcakes paired with mint buttercream frosting that is melt-in-your-mouth delicious.
Chocolate and mint are always a good pairing in my book and the combination in these cupcakes is a total winner.
The cupcakes are a rich chocolate that combines beatifully with the mint frosting – oh my – creamy dreamy minty bliss!
You will love how cute and pretty these cupcakes are. And how easy they are to make. Not to mention how moist and rich and insanely delicious they are.
How To Make Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes With Mint Frosting
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
- Sift the flour and cocoa powder into a bowl. Add the sugar, baking soda and salt and mix in.
- Prepare a flax egg by mixing 1 Tablespoon ground flaxseed with 3 Tablespoons hot water and allowing it to sit for a minute to become gloopy.
- Add the flax egg, soy milk, oil, vanilla and vinegar to the mixing bowl and mix it into a batter. Don’t overmix.
- Line a cupcake tray with cupcake liners and divide the batter evenly between them.
- Bake for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cupcakes comes out clean.
- Transfer the cupcakes to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
The Frosting
The frosting is a gorgeous mint buttercream frosting. And then you decorate them with vegan chocolate shavings. This bit is completely optional, but oh my it definitely adds a little something something!
If you’re not a huge fan of mint, then you can switch the frosting on these cupcakes so that you have chocolate on chocolate and nothing but chocolate! Our vegan chocolate buttercream frosting is a great option in this case.
Ingredient Notes
Flax egg. This recipe uses a flax egg. You can replace this with 3 tablespoons of applesauce if that’s easier.
Soy milk. This can be switched for any other non-dairy milk.
Canola oil. Can be switched for vegetable oil.
Green food coloring. The green food coloring in the frosting is optional. It’s only for looks so if you prefer not to use it, you can just omit it. If you want to use it though, then just a couple of drops are all that is needed to get this lovely shade of green.
Peppermint extract. This is where we get all our delicious mint flavor for the frosting.
Storing and Freezing
Keep them stored in a covered container at room temperature for 2-3 days or in the fridge (covered) for up to a week.
You can also freeze them (frosted or unfrosted) for up to 3 months.
More Delicious Vegan Cupcake Recipes
- Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes
- Vegan Peppermint Cupcakes
- Vegan Strawberry Cupcakes
- Vegan Lemon Cupcakes
- Vegan Red Velvet Cupcakes
- Vegan Funfetti Cupcakes
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes with Mint Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes:
- 1 ½ cups All-Purpose Flour (188g)
- ½ cup Cocoa Powder (42g)
- 1 cup White Granulated Sugar (200g)
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 Flax Egg 1 Tablespoon Ground Flaxseed mixed with 3 Tablespoons Hot Water
- 1 cup Soy Milk (240ml) or other non-dairy milk
- ⅓ cup Canola Oil (80ml) or Vegetable Oil
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- 1 Tablespoon Distilled White Vinegar or Apple Cider Vinegar
For the Mint Buttercream Frosting:
- ½ cup Vegan Butter (112g)
- 3 cups Powdered Sugar (360g)
- 2 Tablespoons Soy Milk or other non-dairy milk
- ¼ teaspoon Peppermint Extract
- 2-3 Drops Green Food Coloring
For Decorating:
- Vegan Chocolate Shavings
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a cupcake tray with cupcake liners.
- Sift the flour and cocoa powder into a bowl. Add the sugar, baking soda and salt and mix in.
- Prepare a flax egg by mixing 1 Tablespoon Ground Flaxseed with 3 Tablespoons Hot Water and allowing to sit for a minute to become gloopy.
- Add the flax egg, soy milk, oil, vanilla and vinegar to the mixing bowl and mix into a batter. Don't overmix.
- Divide the batter evenly between the cupcake liners in your cupcake tray.
- Bake for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cupcakes comes out clean.
- Transfer the cupcakes to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
- Prepare your frosting by adding the vegan butter, powdered sugar, soy milk, green food coloring and peppermint extract to the bowl of your stand mixer.
- Starting on low speed, gradually increase speed until thick and smooth. If it’s too thick, add a tiny bit more soy milk (a drop at a time) and mix again until you reach the perfect consistency.
- Pipe on the frosting and decorate the cupcakes with shavings of vegan chocolate (optional).
Video
Notes
- Weigh your flour for the most accurate results in this recipe or use the spoon and level method. Spoon the flour into your measuring cup and then level off the top with a knife. Don’t scoop the flour and don’t pack it into the cup.
- You can use canola oil or vegetable oil in these cupcakes. We have also made them with a light olive oil, but these days tend to prefer recommending canola or vegetable oil for baking.
- You might want to add more peppermint extract, it depends on the brand you use, you might need to use a little more to get enough mint flavor. Taste test and add more if needed.
- The green food coloring is completely optional and you can omit it if you prefer not to use it.
- If you’re not a huge mint fan, then feel free to switch the frosting for a vegan chocolate buttercream frosting instead.
- Nutritional information includes frosting.
Hi, can I omit the flax meal? Or what can I substitute it for besides mashed banana?
You can use 3 Tbsp of applesauce to replace the flax egg. 🙂
I tried these cupcakes and they were amazing! My family ate them all in one day! You are a great cook and i can’t wait to see more of your recipes.
So glad you enjoyed them! Thanks for posting Kayla! 🙂
I’m looking forward to try these! Thanks for the recipe. I want to experiment with adding 1/2 cup of fresh mint, well chopped/mixed to release the flavour, from the garden to the cake part.
Hi Sarah, that sounds like a great idea, let us know how it turns out! 🙂
This is the best cupcake recipe I have ever followed. I used muffin sized cases and pan and baked for 22mins – they were perfect. I followed the recipe to the letter and they honestly came out the best I’ve ever made. Thank you I will be using this time and again, Rachel.
Hi Rachel, I am thrilled to read your comment! So happy you love the recipe! I am also crazy about these cupcakes! ?Thanks so much for your great comment and rating. 🙂
Thank you for replying Alison. They are soon to be demolished at my nephew’s 18th (several vegans, myself included, in the family). I used Lindt chocolate squares and cacao nibs to decorate and they look fabulous with that pale frosting. SO pleased x
I saw the pics on instagram, they look sooo good! 🙂
I have everything but a hand mixer/electric mixer! Can I just use a spoon? really want to make this buttercream for my boyfriends chocolate cake!
I haven’t ever tried it without an electric mixer, I think if you softened the butter a lot first, and used some arm power then it should work, but as I say I’ve never done it so can’t really be very specific with my advice there. All the best! 🙂
Is your cocoa powder unsweetened?
Yes, unsweetened! 🙂
I have wanted mint chocolate cuppies since several Christmases ago, they only show up around here in bakeries at Christmas, which I think is kind of weird 🙂 They are good all year!
Not sure when the post is from, but I’m so curious about this piping kit you were using that kept coming apart. Piping shouldn’t be that involved at all or be fancy or cost an arm and a leg. I like to buy a bunch of disposable bags (I have ONE super big cloth bag but it is such a pain to clean!) and have a few basic piping tips on hand. You can go to any craft store and grab a few for a reasonable price. Honestly, if all you have is a Wilton 1M, you’re pretty set. If you want to do intricate designs you can definitely add in other tips, but I honestly just use my 1M the most. Pipes a good swirl! Should be like 2 bucks-ish.
Thank you for the recipe, I will probably try this for my bday. (Only vegan in the family and none of my friends & the only bakery here that sells “vegan cupcakes” – they have the grossest texture and no discernable flavor! I am dying to know what they put in them, they’re just that bad)
Hi Sarah, hahaha, yes this post is a bit older and I realize now that I need to update it because I was really complaining quite a lot in it, hahaha! That piping kit that I was moaning about? I still have it and now love it. It’s just a simple little syringe thing and I actually love it now. I have tried fancier ones but to be honest struggle with the technique of holding the bags properly so prefer the little syringe set ups. But I have heard good things about the Wilton 1M, maybe I will try that again and practice it a bit more, but for now I have just been happy with that original little syringe piping kit that I once complained so much about! 🙂
Hi Alison,
Could you share a link to the type of syringe piping bag you use? I have trouble with my piping but my kit is not a syringe.
I’m excited to try this recipe! Thanks!
Hi Lin, I bought a Wilton dessert decorator pro piping kit, but I find it a bit hard on my hands, after about 2 cupcakes your hands know about it, so I feel like I’m still looking for the perfect thing to use for frostings.
Just made these, they came out delicious!
Yay! That’s awesome! Thanks for posting. 🙂
Can I substitute the vegan butter out with coconut creme?
Unfortunately not, the vegan butter/margarine is very important for the texture.
What can I substitute the flaxseed egg with?
I find that, especially if you are baking vegan desserts, it’s best to follow the recipe as is, and then later maybe do your own twist. There is a lot of chemistry to the art of vegan baking, because you need binders and stuff that makes them cakes, not muffins (that happened to me once when most of my baking soda got stuck to my sifter!)
I guess you could Google other vegan recipes and see if there is (I know this is from last year but you never know who might still wonder) one that doesn’t use flaxseed meal – which is itself a sub for eggs, since of course eggs are not vegan. I started with “Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World”, which is a fun cupcake cookbook, but they share recipes online too.
This is great advice, I used to be quite gung ho about saying ‘sure double the recipe if you like’ when people asked me if they could do that, but later to find that the biggest chance of failure in a recipe was when someone made some kind of change to it. It’s definitely best to stick to it as written and to be really ‘exact’ with it as well and weigh the flour, and then you’ll have it come out exactly like it’s supposed to. And from there, you can tweak it to your preferences with ingredient substitutions or increasing/decreasing the recipe, especially if you’re a more experienced baker.
These are freaking gorgeous! I love chocolate and mint together. And your play-by-play photos of making the cupcakes is awesome. I think you may enjoy the vegan cupcakes I made for Spring! 🙂 New follower! xo
Thanks Dylan! Your pink cupcakes are gorgeous, I love the styling you did for them!
I cant have gluten so might give this a try with gluten free flour blend! i love chocolate and mint!!!!
Hi Karen, I have a gluten-free chocolate cake recipe (https://lovingitvegan.com/gluten-free-chocolate-cake-with-chocolate-ganache-frosting/) that can easily be adapted to make cupcakes, you would just adjust the baking time and that’s it! The difference is that it uses a bit more oil because the gluten-free flour blend absorbs more moisture. So that recipe, adapted for cupcakes, with this frosting – would be magic! 🙂
Agreed, such a perfect spring breakie!
Mint is my absolute FAVE! Thank you for this yummy recipe
Me too! And you’re welcome! 🙂
I am trying this tomorrow..so excited to try, I will definitely update and let you all know how it worked out for me;) #LovingItVegan
Awesome Michele! That would be great if you let us know how they turn out, I hope fabulously!