Have you ever seen such gorgeousness as these vegan red velvet cupcakes? Or is that just me blowing my own trumpet since I made them and all.
Well I was mighty impressed with how these turned out. Not least because I finally found a shop that sells gorgeous cupcake liners. Oh my – these have just changed my life I tell you!
Well you know, it’s been a long time since I ate non-vegan cake. I mean like over a decade. So I really can’t remember what it’s like. So it’s not like I’m going to eat a non-vegan red velvet cupcake alongside one of mine and compare them or anything.
So even though I knew these were very good, I wasn’t sure if they were comparatively as good as some ridiculously light and fluffy non-vegan cupcakes.
Well….any doubts I might have had were banished after Jaye took a batch of these to work. He called me from the office to tell me that they had disappeared from the kitchen before the department secretary had even had a chance to send out an email about them.
And when he next crossed the office, people were flipping out about how good these were! He hadn’t even mentioned yet that they were vegan! Light, fluffy, moist, simply perfect! These were some of the words used. He said people were like congratulating him on how good they were. This was music to my ears.
So yes dammit – they match up very very well. Woohoo!
I was first of all going to pair these with a white frosting, I thought red and white would be very pretty. But then at the last minute I decided to go with double red velvet, because why not?
And it worked out so extremely well, I was enormously pleased with it.
I was first thinking that it might not bring much to the party, like it might just be frosting dyed red, you know? Like it might not add much flavor. And yes, that’s true, the color doesn’t add to the flavor.
However, what does add to the flavor of red velvet is those hints of chocolate and vanilla. So I added some vanilla and some cocoa to the frosting and the richness and red velvet deliciousness comes through fabulously.
This recipe is adapted from my vegan red velvet cake, which has always been a huge hit whenever I’ve made it.
And as I explain over on that recipe, I don’t think beets work here at all for the color. It’s not like I didn’t try it – I did – and it didn’t work out, not even a little bit! Congrats to anyone who gets beets to work, but it’s not me.
In fact I have some opinions about what belongs in baking. Cauliflower frosting? Black bean brownies? I haven’t got my head around these concepts, though I quite easily got my head around chickpea water for chocolate mousse – I’m inconsistent I freely admit it.
And on that note, beets in red velvet cake? Not for me. I’m content with using a bit of red food color to get the beautiful red color in these cupcakes.
These vegan red velvet cupcakes with red velvet frosting are simply amazing! They are:
- Light
- Fluffy
- Moist
- Topped with Red Velvet Frosting
- Rich
- Spongey
- Vibrant
- Beautiful
- Shareable
- Insanely good!
Keep them covered at room temperature where they will stay perfect for a couple of days, or covered in the fridge where they will last for up to a week, but they’re most delicious when fresh.
I’d love to know what you think of these vegan red velvet cupcakes!
If you have any questions or comments about this recipe, please post them down below. And please rate the recipe as that is super helpful!
For more delicious cupcakes, have a look at these:
- Midnight Blue Velvet Cupcakes
- Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes
- Funfetti Cupcakes
- Vegan Coffee Cupcakes
- Key Lime Cupcakes
- Vegan Strawberry Cupcakes
Plus loads more, search cupcakes on our site to find all the great recipes we’ve done!
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Vegan Red Velvet Cupcakes
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Prep Time: 20 mins - Cook Time: 25 mins
- Total Time: 45 mins
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Yield: 12 -
Category: Dessert, Baking -
Cuisine: Vegan
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
Gloriously light and fluffy vegan red velvet cupcakes with red velvet frosting. Perfectly spongey and moist, vibrantly red, and fabulously vegan.
Ingredients
For the Red Velvet Cupcakes:
- 2 cups (250g) + 3 Tbsp All-Purpose Flour
- 1 cup (200g) White Sugar
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1 Tbsp Cocoa Powder (unsweetened)
- 1 cup (240ml) Vegan Homemade Buttermilk
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 Flax Egg
- 1/3 cup (80ml) Olive Oil (or other vegetable oil)
- 1 Tbsp White Vinegar (or Apple Cider Vinegar)
- 1 fl oz (28ml) Vegan Red Food Dye
For the Red Velvet Frosting:
- 3 cups (375g) Powdered (Confectioners) Sugar
- 1/3 cup (75g) Vegan Butter
- 1 Tbsp Soy Milk
- 1 Tbsp Vegan Red Food Dye
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 Tbsp Cocoa Powder (unsweetened)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Sift the flour into a mixing bowl. Add the sugar, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder.
- Prepare the buttermilk by squeezing half a lemon into a measuring jug and then filling with soy milk up to the 1 cup line and allowing to sit for a minute to curdle into buttermilk.
- Prepare the flax egg by mixing 1 Tbsp of ground flaxseed meal with 3 Tbsp Hot Water and allowing to sit for a minute to become gloopy.
- Add the cup of buttermilk, the vanilla extract, flax egg, olive oil, vinegar and red food dye to the mixing bowl and whisk with a hand whisk to combine into a smooth batter.
- Line a cupcake tray with 12 cupcake liners and divide the batter evenly between them.
- Place into the oven and bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Allow to cool completely before frosting.
- Add all frosting ingredients to your mixing bowl and whisk with an electric whisk starting on slow and gradually increasing speed until thick, smooth and creamy. If your frosting is too thin, add more powdered sugar, if it’s too thick, add a little more soy milk.
- Frost on top of your completely cooled cupcakes and serve.
Notes
*Nutritional information is for 1 cupcake including a generous amount of red velvet frosting.
*Recipe adapted from my Red Velvet Cake.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Cupcake (of 12)
- Calories: 365
- Sugar: 47.9g
- Sodium: 255mg
- Fat: 9.8g
- Saturated Fat: 1.5g
- Carbohydrates: 66.9g
- Fiber: 1.2g
- Protein: 3.2g
Hi Alison,
Do you have a suggestion for food color in the US? I’ve just used the food coloring drops before, and I can’t seem to find Foster Clark’s, not available on Amazon either. Will the food color drops work? Or is there a better vegan alternative you can suggest?
Thank you!
Any food color brand that is meant for baking should be great. Usually red food colors are vegan these days, the ingredient to look out for is carmine (also called cochineal), which is not vegan. 🙂
So I’m not a baker but wanted to bring something to the Thanksgiving potluck. After checking the list there were only two desserts so why not add to it. This was simple, fun and easy for me to make. And everyone loved them. (Used vegan egg instead of the flax egg).
Thank you for sharing.
(PS: I’m not vegan but was thinking about my colleagues that are).
★★★★★
That’s awesome! I’m guessing your colleagues think you are the bomb dot com right now! 🙂
Hi there! These cupcakes look so delicious and I would love to make them for mother’s day this Sunday. However, I only have powdered red food colouring. Can I just add this into the mixture until it reaches the desired colour or should I also add more liquid? Thanks!
Hi Astrid! If you have used the red food powder before in baking and know it works then go ahead. I only mention this because some red coloring doesn’t hold very well and I’ve never used a powder form. Yes, you will need more liquid. I would add in a couple of tablespoons extra of any liquid, like non-dairy milk or even oil or applesauce or even a flax egg, would be great to add here.
Hi
I’ve literally just finished making these but they aren’t red at all 🙁 I followed the method exactly with all the correct measurements but they have come out dark, like chocolate muffins. Any idea what’s happened?
If the color didn’t hold then it means that the brand of food coloring you used doesn’t hold when exposed to high heat. It needs to be a liquid red food coloring and it needs to be a brand that is used for baking. If you’re in the UK then something like Foster Clark would likely be a good choice. On my Red Velvet Cake recipe someone mentioned using a Sainsbury’s brand of food coloring that didn’t hold at all. Just thought I’d mention in case this was the one you used.
Thanks for the advice. I did use one that was for baking but even the mix before baking wasn’t particularly red. I will try making them again and see what happens. They tasted great it’s just the colour that was off !
You’re welcome! Oh I see! Yes, the color needs to be ridiculously vibrant before baking, as no matter how strong it is, it will dull a bit in the baking process. So if it isn’t crazy vibrant red before going in then the food color isn’t right. I can confirm Foster Clark is a vegan brand of food coloring (if that is one you can get), I emailed them to make entirely sure. All the best!
Can I make these gluten free by just replacing the all purpose flour with gluten free flour? 🙂
Use a gluten-free all purpose flour baking blend such as Bob’s Red Mill brand, increase the oil to 1/2 cup and add 2 Tbsp of Applesauce. And you’ll be good to go.
Thank you!!! I plan on making these for Valentine’s Day!
OMG!!!! THE BEST HANDS DOWN VEGAN CUPCAKES I’VE MADE TO DATE! Everything you said it would be. The only thing I wish is that they had a nice rounded and higher dome.
Can I use baking powder to get that dome? If so how much?
Also can you give me the nutritional value/facts would like to know how much the calories, fat and sugar levels are in these Cupcakes and if these are something that can be given to friends that are diabetic.
Thank you just a great outcome!
★★★★
Hi Arielle! So glad you liked them! Mine did have a nice dome, so I’m not sure why yours didn’t. The nutritional info is already on the recipe. 🙂
Looks so soft and light and delicious
★★★★★
These cupcakes look beautiful and taste amazing. What a great recipe
★★★★★