Description
These Vegan Gluten-Free Chocolate Cupcakes are moist, delicious, and a healthier chocolate cupcake with a soft crumb. You can eat these by themselves or top with a velvety smooth vegan buttercream – your choice! Plus, they are super easy to make!
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
1 3/4 cup All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour, I used Bob’s Red Mill 1:1
1 cup of coconut sugar
1 cup organic granulated sugar (see notes)
3/4 cup organic unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons of baking soda
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon salt, I used Himalayan salt
Wet Ingredients:
1 cup Vegan Buttermilk (see notes)
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice (use this to make the vegan buttermilk)
1/2 cup of organic coconut oil
2 Tablespoons of ground organic flax seeds (To make the flax eggs: mix 2 Tablespoons of ground flaxseed with 6 Tablespoons of warm water, stir, and let it sit for a bit to thicken. You can also use 2 large eggs if you like)
6 Tablespoons of warm water (for flax eggs)
1 teaspoon quality organic vanilla extract
1 cup of fresh hot coffee (can be decaf as well)
Vegan Vanilla Buttercream:
1 1/2 cup Vegan Butter, softened, I used Earth Balance
1 1/2 cup Organic Vegan Shortening
6 cups powdered sugar, sifted (this is important or you will have lumpy frosting)
1 Tablespoon quality organic vanilla extract
1–2 Tablespoons non-dairy milk
Instructions
1.) Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line 2 cupcake pans with liners that total 24 regular sized cupcakes.
2.) To make the vegan buttermilk, use a measuring cup meant for liquids that can hold at least 1 cup. Add 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice, then pour any non-dairy milk of choice to fill the 1 cup line. Let it sit for a bit to thicken while you getting the rest of the recipe together.
3.) Make the flax eggs and let them thicken while you are gathering the rest of the ingredients. To make the flax eggs: mix 2 Tablespoons of ground flaxseed with 6 Tablespoons of warm water, stir and let it sit for a bit to thicken. You can also use 2 large eggs if you like.
4.) In a large bowl, sift the dry ingredients together and set aside.
5.) In another bowl, combine the wet ingredients (except the coffee) – vegan buttermilk, flax eggs (already mixed with water), vanilla extract. Stir to combine.
6.) With a hand mixer on low, start slowly adding the wet ingredients (minus the coffee) to the dry ingredients. Beat until all the ingredients are combined.
7.) With the mixer on low again, slowly pour in the hot coffee. Be sure to scrape the bowl with a spoon to incorporate all the batter. The batter will be thin not but that’s exactly the way you want it!
8.) Pour the batter evenly into 24 cupcakes and bake 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick is inserted in the middle of a cupcake and comes out clean or with a few crumbs on it. Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove them and place them on a drying rack to cool completely.
9.) While the cupcakes are cooling, it’s a good time to make the vegan buttercream. Using a hand mixer, add the butter and shortening to a bowl. Mix on high for about 3 minutes.
10.) Scrape down the sides and add the vanilla extract, mix on medium to incorporate.
11.) Gradually and the powdered sugar and mix on low speed and stop to scrape the sides when needed. Mix until all the powdered sugar is incorporated.
12.) Add 1-2 Tablespoons non-dairy milk and whip for 2-3 more minutes to make sure it is all combined and fluffy.
13.) Frost the cooled cupcakes however you like and enjoy!
Notes
To make the vegan buttermilk: use a measuring cup meant for liquids that can hold at least 1 cup. Add 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice, then pour any non-dairy milk of choice to fill the 1 cup line. Let it sit for a bit to thicken while you getting the rest of the recipe together.
To make the flax eggs: mix 2 Tablespoons of ground flaxseed with 6 Tablespoons of warm water, stir and let it sit for a bit to thicken. You can also use 2 large eggs if you like.
To make this completely free of refined sugar, you can use 2 cups of coconut sugar instead. It will have a slight molasses taste to it. In the end, I decided in the end to use 1 cup of granulated sugar so the molasses flavor doesn’t overpower the cocoa flavor but both tasted delicious!
