These vegan yellow cupcakes are tender and light, and so delicious when topped with chocolate frosting!
One of my favorite cakes growing up was yellow Duncan Hines cake mix with canned chocolate frosting. Of course, this is probably not the healthiest option, and now that I can’t eat eggs or dairy, it just isn’t an option at all for me! But I still associate “yellow cake with chocolate frosting” with birthdays and celebrations.
We had a little gathering a few weeks back and I wanted to recreate this cake, but using ingredients that were safe for my family to eat. I wound up making vegan yellow cupcakes, and I was really happy with how they turned out! The texture is just right – very light and fluffy. You might be surprised that an egg free cupcake can be so light.
The frosting is amazing, rich, delicious, and perfect on top of the yellow cake. If you don’t want to frost these, you could just dust them with powdered sugar, or serve them with a scoop of vegan ice cream on the side.
Can these cupcakes be made with all-purpose flour?
Yes, if you don’t have spelt flour, all-purpose flour will be fine!
Can these cupcakes be made with gluten free flour?
I haven’t tried that with this particular recipe. If you try it, use a light gluten free flour blend without any gums. You may also like to try this recipe for vegan gluten free vanilla cupcakes.
Can this frosting be made ahead of time?
Can this frosting be made with a sugar substitute?
Notes about these vegan yellow cupcakes:
- You can use brown sugar or coconut sugar if you want, but then the cupcakes will be more tan than yellow.
- You can use melted vegan buttery spread or organic canola oil. Coconut oil may make the batter too oily.
- If you want to make mini-cupcakes, shorten the baking time to about 12 minutes.
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Vegan Yellow Cupcakes
Moist and delicious vegan yellow cupcakes are perfect when topped with rich and decadent chocolate frosting!
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes:
- 1 1/2 cups white spelt flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 7/8 cup cold water
- 1/2 cup organic canola oil You could also use melted vegan buttery spread
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar or white vinegar
For the Frosting:
- 1/4 cup vegan buttery spread
- 2 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1-3 Tablespoons non-dairy milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place cupcake liners in a muffin pan.
Place the oil and sugar in a mixing bowl and mix on medium speed.
Add all other ingredients and mix on medium speed. Spoon the batter into the prepared cupcake pan.
Bake for about 20 minutes, or until cupcakes are nicely golden on top. Allow to cool for a few minutes before moving the cupcakes to a wire rack to cool fully.
Place the vegan buttery spread in a mixing bowl and beat until light and fluffy. Add the cocoa powder, some of the confectioner's sugar, and a little non-dairy milk. Continue to mix, adding more sugar and a little milk until the frosting is thick and creamy.
Frost cooled cupcakes. Store any leftover cupcakes in the refrigerator.
Recipe Notes
If you don't want to use canola oil, try melted vegan buttery spread, or coconut oil.
These cupcakes can be frozen. Wrap them well, and they should stay fresh in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Serving size is one cupcake with frosting.
Recipe adapted from VegWeb.
I was very happy to see that these were really moist and stayed moist for a couple of days. Not that there were many left…but there were a few leftovers. I think these would be good with any frosting or topping, but I LOVE them with chocolate frosting.
This post was originally published in July 2013. It has been updated.
Can you successfully substitute the spelt flour with a gf flour blend?
These were delicious! Thank you so much for the recipe. My whole family enjoyed them. I can’t wait to try more of your recipes.
Looks delicious. I have not baked with spelt flour before but am itching to try it. Can’t wait to try these!
I think it’s really a nice flour, but these will work just fine with all-purpose flour as well!