These light and delicious vegan orange cupcakes are topped with a fluffy buttercream frosting. These are a perfect party treat!
Is there anything better than a cupcake and a cup of tea? What about a fluffy vegan orange cupcake topped with dairy free buttercream?
It’s nice to find new ways to enjoy citrus in the winter months. Sure you, can drink smoothies, and it’s always nice to do an orange poppy seed cake, but an orange cupcake? That’s my kind of dessert, and it’s perfect for an allergy friendly birthday party.
These cupcakes are nice and fluffy, and the little bit of orange juice in both the batter and the frosting gives them a delicious hint of citrus flavor.
Looking for more vegan cupcakes? Try these tender vegan yellow cupcakes with chocolate frosting.
Ingredient Notes
- Flour – I used white spelt flour, but you can easily use all-purpose flour. They are very similar.
- Oil – I used a blend of organic canola oil and coconut oil, which gave these a nice flavor. You can use any neutral tasting oil or melted vegan buttery spread if you prefer.
- Oranges – I used Cara Cara oranges, which are my very favorite kind of orange. They are sweet with a unique flavor – it’s almost a bit like grapefruit. And the inside is such a pretty color – it is a gorgeous pinky, reddish orange. So pretty! I’ve found Cara Cara oranges at Costco and Kroger. If you can’t find Cara Caras, any orange will do!
Substitutions
If you aren’t dairy free, you can use regular butter and milk. If you would rather do a whole wheat flour, you can do that as well, but they will be a bit heavier and not as fluffy.
If you aren’t a fan of orange, you can try this recipe with lemon juice, or even lime juice. The texture will be the same.
Storage/Freezing
Store these in an airtight container. They should stay fresh for about 3 days.
These should freeze well. Just freeze them upright in a freezer safe container, and they should stay fresh for up to 3 months. Allow them to thaw at room temperature before eating.
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Recipe
Light and Fluffy Vegan Orange Cupcakes.
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- 1 ½ cups white spelt flour all purpose flour is okay
- 1 cup organic cane sugar
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup cold water
- ¼ cup organic canola oil or melted vegan buttery spread
- ¼ cup coconut oil or melted vegan buttery spread
- 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed Cara Cara orange juice
For the frosting:
- 2 cups confectioner’s sugar
- ¼ cup vegan buttery spread
- 1 Tablespoon fresh squeezed Cara Cara orange juice
- 5 Tablespoons non-dairy milk add a bit more if needed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.
- Cream the coconut oil, canola oil, and sugar with a mixer on medium speed. Add the orange juice and water and mix until blended.
- Add the dry ingredients and mix just until smooth.
- Spoon the batter into the cupcake liners.
- Bake at 375 degrees F for about 20 minutes until the tops are lightly golden brown. Cool on wire rack.
To make the frosting:
- Cream the vegan buttery spread with ½ cup of the confectioner’s sugar using a mixer on medium speed.
- Add the orange juice and continue to mix.
- Add the confectioner’s sugar and non-dairy milk a little bit at a time until you reach the desired consistency (this was a thicker frosting).
- Spread or pipe onto the cooled cupcakes.
Notes
Nutrition
Erin
The cupcakes turned out so well! I made a few adjustments – replacing the water for orange juice, adding orange zest and using olive oil instead of canola & coconut oil – they tasted amazing! The only comment I have is that the icing didn’t turn out like I expected. I used the exact amounts in your recipe, but it was more liquidy and definitely not pipeable. A tad sweet, but still super delicious though! Thank you!
Kelly Roenicke
Just add more powdered sugar as needed to get a thicker consistency! Glad you liked these!
Lexy
When I make this, I cut down on the sugar by a quarter, then replace 1/4 cup of the water for OJ. It gives is more orangey flavor! I also recommend adding a bit of zest to liven things up!
Lexy
This is undoubtedly my favorite cupcake recipe. It’s only downfall is that it has ruined me for all other cake recipes lol. I have also made this with other pomegranate juice, and it came out such a lovely color and delicate flavor. This
is a recipe I will always cherish! Thank you so much!!!
carina
Will it affect the recipe much if i use more coconut oil than the canola oil? Im adjusting your beautiful recipe with an effusion that i made with the coconut oil.
Iona
Just made these for Mothers Day ! Great recipe and easy too :) Thank you.
Added zest to the cupcakes, vanilla in the frosting. Taste really good.
We will enjoy them from a distance on Sunday.
Karen
I jist made it and it was excellent…
Roger
Delicious!!!
Kelly Roenicke
Thank you!
Katie
Wonderful recipe!
Kelly Roenicke
Thank you!
Allison
We have an egg allergy, not dairy, so I would like to use butter. Could you let me know how much butter to use and what to omit when using butter? Thanks!
Kelly Roenicke
Just use an equal amount of dairy butter instead of vegan buttery spread.
Gavi
I’ve been looking everywhere for a vegan recipe to suit my almost 2yo son’s allergies (dairy, soy, pumpkin, chocolate, and the list gets to 15 other stuff) and since I saw this one I thought the search was over, his bday is this Sunday and decided to make a batch ahead to get to taste and twitch…oh my, oh my, seriously delicious, and best yet, he loved them!. Thanks a lot for this recipe.
Kelly
Yay! I’m so glad that you found this recipe and that it works for your son’s allergies! It can be so tough to accomodate a lot of food allergies. Happy birthday to your son!
Gavi
Thank you! They were a big hit
Deryn @ Running on Real Food
So glad I just found your site! These look delightful! Lovely pictures too :)
aiming4simple
How neat that you know some Olympians personally! These cupcakes look incredibly delicious! I love baking with citrus. This is one recipe I have to try!
Kelly
I hope you like it! I love baking with citrus, too!
Sarah
These look so amazing!! Orange sounds so good right now! :)
And yes, I have been watching the Olympics!! Definitely cheering for Charlie and Meryl… so fun that he was a student of yours! :)
Kelly
It is fun to watch them, they are so talented!
Natalie @ Tastes Lovely
I love citrus flavored desserts. For some reason they seem “healthier” than if it were chocolate. It’s basically a fruit salad, right?! Haha!
Kelly
I like the way you think! ;)