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.
Rita says
Hi this looks great! How can I make it gluten free? Can I easily substitute the all purpose flour for the same amount of gluten free flour? Thanks!
Alison Andrews says
Hi Rita, check out our gluten free vanilla cupcakes based on this recipe. 🙂
Rita says
Thanks!!
Fabian says
This recipe is so perfect! Especially the buttercream. I use Flora ‘Buttery’ and it works so well. This is gonna be my new base for cupcakes ????
Alison Andrews says
So happy to hear that! Thanks for sharing and the awesome review. 🙂
Marion says
For the frosting can I use vegtable shortening instead of vegan butter?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Marion, I don’t really have experience with shortening so I’m not sure. I would rather look for a frosting recipe that uses shortening to pair with the cupcakes. All the best! 🙂
Bayan says
Can I freeze them?
I made them.. they raised beautifully, but some domed badly! Could that be the oven temperature?
They are very soft indeed especially that I used the reverse creaming method.
Alison Andrews says
Yes, you can freeze them. They do dome at the top, I didn’t have an issue with this. 🙂
Claudia Hamilton says
Hi Alison, I hope you can help me, my Granddaughter is vegan and I bake cakes for all the occasions in the family. Do you have a recipe for a Whipping Cream topping that will hold up well when I decorate a cake? Thank You Claudia
Alison Andrews says
Hi Claudia, I do have a recipe for vegan whipped cream, but whether or not it will hold up well in cake decorating is another story! Have a look and see what you think. You do also get coconut whipping cream which is very consistent with its results.
Laura says
Would coconut oil work also ?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Laura, I assume you mean in the cupcake recipe (not the frosting) then sure, if you melt it first, it will be fine to use.
Laura says
Thank you, that’s exactly what I meant.
I’m new to baking vegan, and am doing this recipe for a friends birthday. I’ve bought egg replacement powder should I add this or follow the recipe as is ?
Alison Andrews says
Follow the recipe as is, no need for egg replacement powder. all the best! 🙂
Wendy Tang says
Amazing turn out! This was the first time I have attempted to make vegan food.
My vegan and non vegan friends love them. I think I have also converted my husband to eating healthy snacks! He said the frosting was better than the normal cupcakes.
Somehow my cake is still dry.
May I ask how to make them light and spongy?
Thank you for the recipe xx
Alison Andrews says
Hi Wendy! So glad they came out great! Thanks for the awesome review! In terms of getting them light and spongey, I would highly recommend weighing out the flour, they are definitely supposed to be light and spongey and a common reason for them not to be would be accidentally using too much flour. All the best! 🙂
Hannah says
I am 14 years old and I made these for my family today! We love cooking and eating vegan, and we have tried a lot of vegan vanilla cupcake recipes and this one is by far the best! The recipe was so easy to follow and didn’t take a lot of time. My family and I thought they were delicious! I definitely recommend them!
Alison Andrews says
Thanks so much Hannah! So glad to hear they were easy and a success! xo
Kelly says
Hello,
If you don’t have the total amount of all purpose flour for the vegan vanilla cupcakes, can you use a little whole wheat flour with the all purpose flour?
Thanks,
Kelly
Alison Andrews says
Hi Kelly, a little whole wheat mixed in should work out just fine! All the best! 🙂
Kelly says
Thanks! I’ll let you know how it turns out when I make them.
Mary says
Amazing! Tastes better than non-vegan cupcakes. I’m not vegan but made these for a vegan friend. Just found my new go-to cupcake recipe!!! ❤️
Alison Andrews says
So wonderful to hear that Mary! Thanks so much for the awesome review and rating. xo
ella says
i made these for my vegan sister through her stressful exams and she couldn’t believe they were vegan!! thank you so much, these were enjoyed by my whole family! also instead of using strawberry flavoring i added strawberry jam and it worked great!’
Alison Andrews says
Wonderful to hear that Ella! Thanks so much for the awesome review. xo
Claudia Hamilton says
Made the Vegan mini cup cakes today, came out great. Decorated them with a lemon frosting.
Melanie Beckmann says
I’m not vegan but we are dairy free. Just wondering if the texture and flavor and richness would be improved if I used an egg, and if I need to remove any ingredients if I do. Thanks!
Alison Andrews says
Hi Melanie, no not at all. This recipe is pure perfection as is seriously. It is not missing anything. I would not recommend adding an egg to it. If you really want to use an egg then I would rather look for a recipe that uses egg in it and just switch out the milk for non-dairy milk. All the best! 🙂
Viktoria says
Great recipe! Non vegan friends were impressed how you can get such a fluffy cupcake without egg. I made mine with oatmilk and they turned out beautiful!
Alison Andrews says
Wonderful! So happy they were a hit! Thanks for the great review. xo
Katie says
Thank you thank you! These cupcakes were delicious. My almost 5 year old son has never eaten a cupcake and he devoured this. He is allergic to dairy and egg. I have tried many recipes the past couple of years and this was finally it! Happy mom here.
Alison Andrews says
I’m sooo happy to hear that! Thanks so much for sharing and the wonderful review! xo