Gorgeously light and fluffy vegan vanilla cupcakes topped with creamy strawberry vanilla frosting. Perfect little packages of yum!
Ever since making our vegan chocolate cupcakes I’ve had cupcakes on my mind!
Big time!
I couldn’t wait to make more. So I decided to make these gorgeous vegan vanilla cupcakes with strawberry vanilla frosting.
And they came out so well.
I was especially thrilled with the frosting. I wasn’t sure how it would work out to use strawberry flavoring, but it did the job incredibly well and provided the most beautiful pale pink color, and the flavor was awesome. It reminded Jaye of a strawberry milkshake.
You’ll love these cupcakes for their beautiful color, light and fluffy texture and lovely blend of flavors.
Cupcakes are so easy they’re my new favorite thing. So much easier than full cakes (though I love making cakes!), because they bake in less time and you don’t have to cut out parchment paper for the cake pans.
The only tricky part for me was in transferring the batter to the cupcake liners, my first batch of cupcakes was very messy, until I figured out that the best method was to transfer the batter to a jug with a pouring nozzle and pour it neatly into each cupcake liner.
Messiness problem solved.
The great thing about these cupcakes is that the flavors are so mild and blend so beautifully together. You’ve got the light flavors of vanilla blending with the sweet scented flavors of strawberries.
The texture of these vanilla cupcakes is also perfectly light and spongey.
Decorating
Decorate them with some fresh chopped strawberries if you’re serving them right away. If you want to keep them (they keep very well in a covered cake container in the fridge for up to a week), then don’t use fresh fruit for decoration as the strawberries will run and the cakes will become soggy.
Alternatively decorate with vegan sprinkles or dried coconut.
Make Them Gluten-Free
For a gluten-free version of these cupcakes, check out our vegan gluten-free vanilla cupcakes.
Make A Layer Cake
This recipe can adapt to a three layer 6-inch cake. Bake time is 20 minutes.
Storing and Freezing
These cupcakes keep very well in a covered container at room temperature for 2-3 days or in the fridge for up to a week.
They can also be frozen (frosted or unfrosted, but don’t add any fresh strawberry decoration if you’re freezing them) for up to 3 months.
More Delicious Vegan Cupcakes
- Vegan Lemon Cupcakes
- Vegan Red Velvet Cupcakes
- Vegan Strawberry Cupcakes
- Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes
- Vegan Funfetti Cupcakes
- Vegan Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes
Ingredients
Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes:
- 1 ¾ cups All Purpose Flour (220g)
- 1 cup White Granulated Sugar (200g)
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- ½ tsp Salt
- 1 cup Soy Milk (240ml) or other non-dairy milk
- ⅓ cup Canola Oil (80ml) or Vegetable Oil*
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 Tbsp Distilled White Vinegar
Strawberry Vanilla Frosting
- ½ cup Vegan Butter (112g)
- 3 cups Powdered Sugar (360g)
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 2 tsp Strawberry Extract
Decoration:
- Fresh Sliced Strawberries optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and line a cupcake tray with 12 cupcake liners.
- Sift the flour into a bowl and add the sugar, baking soda and salt.
- Then add the soy milk, vanilla extract, oil and white vinegar.
- Mix until just mixed, using a hand whisk to get rid of any big lumps. Don’t overmix, tiny lumps are fine.
- Pour the batter into a jug that allows for easy pouring and pour evenly into the 12 cupcake liners, ensuring that all the batter is used up.
- Place into the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes. Check the cupcakes at 20 minutes and if a toothpick inserted into the center doesn’t come out clean, then put them back in for a further 5 minutes.
- Move to a cooling rack and allow to cool thoroughly before frosting.
- Prepare the frosting by adding the vegan butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract and strawberry flavoring to an electric mixer bowl. Begin mixing on low speed, gradually increasing speed until you have perfectly smooth frosting.
- Decorate with fresh strawberry slices before serving (optional).
Video
Notes
- We have also made these with a light olive oil (as in the video) and they worked great! But for more consistent results across brands canola oil or vegetable oil is a better option.
- These cupcakes keep very well in a covered container at room temperature for 2-3 days or in the fridge for up to a week.
- They can also be frozen (frosted or unfrosted, but don’t add any fresh strawberry decoration if you’re freezing them) for up to 3 months.
Samriddhi Jain says
What a simple and wonderful recipe. Many thanks for sharing. I gave a small twist to the icing making it special for Valentines ? can I upload a pic here of my final one?
Alison Andrews says
So happy to hear they were a success! Unfortunately our comment section doesn’t accept photo uploads, but if you’re on instagram, we’d love to see it there, just tag us @lovingitvegan and #lovingitvegan 🙂
Melissa says
Hi! Is there any way to reduce the sugar without compromising the taste? Or substitute with applesauce?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Melissa, I haven’t tried reducing the sugar in these so I can’t advise. I probably wouldn’t substitute for applesauce though as I think the result would be too wet.
Virginia says
Hi Alison,
Thanks for sharing this recipe. I want to make them but I only have whole wheat pastry flour.. would that work? I also have almond flour.. could I use half and half? Thank you!!
Alison Andrews says
Hi Virginia, almond flour no, whole wheat pastry flour maybe! Can’t be sure as I haven’t tried it, but it might work.
momof3 says
Im looking at making these for a little girl that has an egg allergy. She is also allergic to gluten. Could I use a gluten free 1 to 1 flour? Or what do you suggest?
Alison Andrews says
Hi, we have a recipe for gluten-free vanilla cupcakes that is adapted from this recipe. You could use the strawberry vanilla frosting from this recipe instead though as the frosting on the gluten free cupcakes is a matcha frosting which is probably not the best flavor for children. 🙂
Sarah says
I’ve been searching for a simple, yet delicious vegan vanilla cupcake recipe for a long time and I’m so glad to have finally found this one! Easy to prepare, crunchy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside, absolutely delicious! I will be making this recipe over and over again. Thank you! ?
Alison Andrews says
Wonderful Sarah! So happy they came out so well. Thanks so much for the awesome review. 🙂
Evelyn says
Can I add cocoa powder to make them chocolate cupcakes? If so how much would you say I can add? I’m making vanilla and chocolate cupcakes for my sons birthday next week ?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Evelyn, we have two recipes for chocolate cupcakes, our vegan chocolate cupcakes with mint buttercream frosting and our classic vegan chocolate cupcakes recipe. Either of those would be great options.
Shye says
Could I use Apple cider vinegar instead of white vinegar?
Alison Andrews says
Yes definitely! 🙂
Lauren says
My cupcakes didn’t rise.. Could it be because I used a hand mixer and not a hand whisk?
Alison Andrews says
Sorry to hear that! I don’t think the mixer would have made a difference unless you over-mixed it. Basically it should just be mixed long enough to be well combined but not ‘beaten’ or it can cause the cupcakes not to rise. Other reasons are letting the batter sit too long before baking, or using baking soda that may have sat too long in your cupboard so isn’t fresh anymore. Those are the usual troubleshooting steps for cakes not rising. Hope it helps!
Alyssa Winters says
Hi Alison, such a nice blog I like it very much. The recipe is very nice and I tried to make it at my home. And the cupcakes were damn delicious my kids like them very much. Thanks a ton for sharing it.
Jasmeet says
I’m not vegan, just have an egg allergy, so vegan recipes are easier to look to. Could I make this recipe with normal milk ?
Alison Andrews says
Of course! 🙂
Sarah says
Hiya! i live by your recipes so i’m excited to try these for a christmas bake – if i were to add colouring to the frosting will it be suitable for piping? i’ll be using ice cream cones and piping around them in green for trees and was just wondering if it will slide straight off or if it will hold the design! x
Alison Andrews says
Hi Sarah, I would definitely use less non-dairy milk, add in the food coloring and other ingredients first and then add non-dairy milk in very slowly and only as much as needed to get to a nice thick consistency for piping. But to be honest I don’t know how this will hold up as a decorating frosting, it’s fine for piping but I don’t know about anything else. Definitely safest to test it first.
Tk says
Everything about them is great except for the fact that the olive oil taste its stronger than I’d like. I highly suggest using a different oil instead. Still yummy but could be better if the type of oil is changed.
Alison Andrews says
Definitely use a different oil if you prefer. I used extra virgin olive oil which is perhaps milder in taste then regular olive oil. I have also made these with canola oil, I didn’t notice any difference in the outcome, but any vegetable oil will work here. 🙂
Catherine says
Hey – just wondering how you store these… are they ok to leave out on the bench, or do they need to go in the fridge because of the buttercream?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Catherine, they’re fine covered at room temperature for a few days. If it’s very hot though, then better in the fridge, but usual room temperature (not sweltering) and they’re great at room temp.
Sarah B says
Made these tonight for my sister’s birthday – subbed earth balance oil blend for the olive oil and added sprinkles to make them “funfetti” . They turned out PERFECT
Alison Andrews says
Wonderful! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Janet says
would these cup cakes be ok in the fridge unfrosted for two and a half days?
Alison Andrews says
They would be okay! Keep them covered in the fridge. They wouldn’t be at their absolute best though, best taste and texture is going to be on day 1 and day 2.