These tender vanilla cupcakes are topped with a vibrant blueberry frosting that is both beautiful and delicious! These treats are perfect for springtime.
I love to make pretty desserts in the springtime. There’s something about the Easter season that just makes me want to bake things that are beautiful.
Using different kinds of fruits is one way to make colorful frosting. If you’re avoiding food dyes, you might think that you can’t make vibrantly dyed icing. Not so! Take a peek at these sugar cookie sandwiches and these blood orange shortbread cookies to see some gorgeous hues that are all natural.
This time, I chose to use freeze dried blueberries to make this vivid purple frosting. It was the perfect topping for these light and tender vanilla cupcakes. These were made for a birthday party, and they were a big hit!
Jump to:
Ingredient Notes
- Flour – I used white spelt flour, but you could use all-purpose flour if you like.
- Vegan Buttery Spread – We like Earth Balance Soy Free Vegan Buttery Spread for baking. If you have a different brand you like, you could try that. Organic canola oil would also be fine for the cupcake batter.
- Powdered Sugar – Wholesome Sweeteners makes powdered sugar that is vegan and corn free, and that’s the brand we use.
- Freeze Dried Blueberries – Karen’s Naturals is the brand of freeze dried fruit that we like. The last time I checked, this brand of fruit was made in a fruit-only facility.
Step by Step Instructions
- Whisk the dry ingredients together, and add the wet ingredients. Stir well.
- Spoon into a muffin pan that has been lined with paper liners.
- Bake at 375 degrees F for about 20 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- Mix up the blueberry frosting. If you want to pipe it on, spoon it into a piping bag fitted with your choice of tip.
- Pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes.
Special Equipment
If you want these cupcakes to look like mine, you will need a Wilton 1M tip to pipe on the swirl of icing.
You can find this tip as well as piping bags on Amazon or at stores like Michael’s.
Freezing
As a food allergy mom, I know that it’s nice to have allergy friendly treats on hand so that I can provide one for my son when he needs one. If he has an event he’s going to, it’s nice to be able to pull a safe cupcake out of the freezer for him to take along.
These will freeze well. You can place them in a freezer safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. Take one or more out at a time and thaw them before you need to serve them.
👩🏻🍳 Are you ready to learn more about gluten free and vegan baking? Join my community today and get emails with delicious recipes that really work!
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
Recipe
Vanilla Cupcakes with Blueberry Frosting. (Dairy Free, Vegan).
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- 1½ cups white spelt flour or all purpose flour
- 1 cup organic cane sugar
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup cold water
- ½ cup melted vegan buttery spread or melted coconut oil, or organic canola oil
- 2 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
For the frosting:
- ½ cup freeze dried blueberries
- ¼ cup vegan buttery spread
- 3 cups confectioner’s sugar sifted
- 1-3 Tablespoons water
Instructions
Make the cupcakes:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place cupcake liners in a muffin pan.
- Put the dry ingredients in a bowl, and whisk with a fork. Add melted vegan buttery spread and water and mix well by hand or with an electric mixer.
- Pour the batter into the prepared muffin pan.
- Bake at 375 degrees F for about 20-25 minutes, until the cupcakes golden brown.
- Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting them.
Make the frosting:
- Place the freeze dried blueberries in a mini food processor, and process until they are ground up.
- Put the ground blueberries in a fine mesh sieve over a bowl, and sift them so that any large chunks are left behind.
- Mix the vegan buttery spread on medium speed in a mixing bowl. Add the powdered sugar, berry powder, and one tablespoon of non-dairy milk and continue to mix.
- If the frosting is too thick, add a little bit more non-dairy milk until a spreadable consistency is achieved.
- If you'd like to pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes, spoon the frosting into a piping bag that is fitted with an icing tip. I used a Wilton 1M tip. You can also spread the frosting onto the cupcakes with an offset spatula.
- Frost the cooled cupcakes and enjoy!
Darryl
We love these! The frosting is delicious.