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!
The frosting
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.
The color
These vegan red velvet cupcakes are 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
- Rich
- Spongey
- Topped with Red Velvet Frosting
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.
More vegan cupcakes
- Midnight Blue Velvet Cupcakes
- Classic Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes
- Vegan Lemon Cupcakes
- Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes
- Vegan Strawberry Cupcakes
- Vegan Banana Cupcakes
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!
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Vegan Red Velvet Cupcakes
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Total Time: 45 mins
- Yield: 12
Description
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 Tbsp ground flaxseed meal + 3 Tbsp Hot Water)
- 1/3 cup (80ml) Extra Virgin Olive Oil*
- 1 Tbsp White Vinegar*
- 3 Tbsp 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 adding 1 Tbsp lemon juice into a measuring jug and then adding soy milk up to the 1 cup (240ml) 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
*Weigh your flour for the most accurate results.
*You can use a different vegetable oil such as canola oil if you prefer.
*You can use apple cider vinegar instead of white vinegar.
*Nutritional information is for 1 cupcake including a generous amount of red velvet frosting.
*Recipe adapted from my Red Velvet Cake.
- Category: Dessert, Baking
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Vegan
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
Keywords: vegan red velvet cupcakes
Hello! They came out wonderful! I had a few questions though
1) Can I use coconut or almond milk instead of soy milk? I don’t like the flavor of soy milk;
2) Is there a substitute for vegan butter?
Thank you
Hi Aditi, yes you can really use any non-dairy milk. Vegan butter works best for frostings though some have commented that coconut oil can also work.
Best vegan cupcakes ever! Simply perfect 😀 No one would say they are vegan. Thank you so much!
★★★★★
Thanks so much Constance!
Hi I thought they tasted great! Do you have a cream cheese frosting recipe?
★★★★★
Thanks Alison! Yes we do have a vegan cream cheese frosting! 🙂
instead of using a flax egg, could you use the chia seed version of a replacer instead?
★★★★★
Hi Jean, yes a chia egg works the same way as a flax egg so can be used as a replacement. 🙂
Mine came out really dense so I don’t know if I did something wrong? The icing was nice though 🙂
★★★
Hi Becca, sorry to hear they were dense! They are definitely not supposed to be. This can happen if you overmix the batter though. It’s very important to mix only until ‘just’ mixed. Hope that helps! 🙂
I made these delightful cupcakes with frosting for my yoga mates who aren’t vegan by the way and it was awesome! I love you Alison Andrews and my family and I make your fantastic dishes all the time…thank you so much!!!
That’s so awesome! Thank you so much TG! xoxo
Hi there! I was wondering if I could use almond milk instead of soy milk. If so, does it need to be unsweetened? Also, is there other alternatives to using ground flax seed meal ? (they are hard to find from where I live). Thanks so much! I’m excited to make these cupcakes 🙂
Hi Ella, yes almond milk works great. You can use 3 Tbsp of applesauce instead of a flax egg if that is easier. 🙂
Thank you so much for the weight measurements.
I’m sure the cupcakes will be tasty.
Hi Alison!
I made the red velvet and the were great.
I think I could have put a bit to much flour with the added 3 tablespoons,they weren’t sweet as usual. Do you have the exact weight measurement with the added 3 tablespoons?
I will make them again for Christmas and I’m sure they’ll be perfect.
Once again thanks for sharing your delicious recipes.
★★★★★
Hi Paulette, a Tbsp of all purpose flour is 8g so it would be 24g extra flour for a total weight of 274g. Hope they come out perfectly next time! All the best! 🙂
Could I make these gluten free?
Hi Helen, I haven’t tried to make these gluten free yet, but the best bet would be to try a gluten free all purpose flour baking blend, something like Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour would be a good one to try. 🙂
These came out so good! I followed the recipe exactly, except I added a little chocolate extract to the frosting. Thanks you for posting this recipe!
★★★★★
Awesome! So glad they were a success and what a great idea for the frosting. Thanks for the great review. 🙂
hey, wondering if i can replace extra virgin olive oil with coconut oil?
Yes, melted coconut oil will work fine here. 🙂