Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes
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These Ultimate Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes are sooooo divine with a vegan chocolate frosting recipe on top! Heavenly divine & sinful at the same time! These are so awesome for birthdays, celebrations and whenever you’re craving chocolate.
Check out these 80 Best Homemade Frostings Recipes Roundup to elevate your all your cupcakes with vegan options available to you! And for more chocolate, check out these 75 Heavenly Chocolate Dessert Recipes!
Why This Easy Vegan Cupcake Recipe Is Actually A Depression Cake
This vegan chocolate cupcake recipe is also Chocolate Depression Cake, Crazy Cake AND Wacky Cake. Does it ring a bell?
So, this recipe originates from the Great Depression era and has been handed down from generation to generation, because it works and tastes so good!
Back in the depression days, eggs, butter and dairy were expensive or hard to come by, so bakers were inspired to find other ingredient substitutions with what they had in their pantries for recipes.
About Vegan
Egg-free and dairy free, these cupcakes taste exquisite and it’s an especially wonderful recipe for those with allergy issues, or parve dietary restrictions.
Vegan means no meats, eggs or dairy. But vegans can have sugar and chocolate. 🙂
Our healthy vegan chocolate cupcakes are an easy and delicious alternative to traditional recipes that require animal products. They are healthier, more environmentally-friendly, and a great way to include more plant-based items into your diet.
Why These Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes Are So Moist
Being that these healthy chocolate cupcakes have no eggs, it’s absolutely crazy that these would even be moist, but they are super moist, with a rich chocolate flavor.
The eggless batter means that the structure of the cake is entirely supported by gluten, which in this case, is strengthened by the acidic white vinegar and salt added in.
All I know is, it has the perfect amount of chocolate flavor in these sinfully delicious moist and light cupcakes and equally in that luscious ultra chocolate frosting.
I could eat the whole bowl of that vegan chocolate frosting, let me tell ya!
You will never be able to tell that it’s eggless, and the best part these cupcakes stay fresh & moist up to 3-4 days!
I know my son would especially love this vegan chocolate recipe. He’s vegan, but he lives in way down in Florida, and I’m in Indiana.
So, I’ll have to make these for him and the family when I go down in March for the arrival of our second grand-daughter. 🙂 And now he’ll have this vegan chocolate cupcake recipe when he wants to make them for his girls and maybe stash a few for himself.
In the meantime, are you ready to make some vegan chocolate cupcakes?
Ingredients You Need
Vegan Chocolate Cupcake Recipe
- almond milk + 1 teaspoon white vinegar (let mixture sit for 5-10 minutes to curdle to make vegan buttermilk)
- canola oil
- granulated sugar
- chocolate, coffee or vanilla extract
- all purpose flour
or gluten free flour
- unsweetened cocoa powder,
sifted
- baking soda
- baking powder
- salt
Vegan Chocolate Frosting
- Vegan butter, room temperature I used Earth Balance
- unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
- powdered sugar
- chocolate, coffee or vanilla extract
- almond milk
How to Make Chocolate Cupcakes Vegan
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line prepared muffin tins with cupcake liners. Lightly spray with non stick cooking spray and set aside.
Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes
- In a measuring cup, stir almond milk and vinegar together. Set aside to curdle.
- In a large mixing bowl, using electric mixer, beat oil and sugar together. Mixture will be gritty.
- Add in extract of choice and mix.
- In a different bowl, whisk together all dry ingredients together until evenly mixed. Alternate mixing in wet ingredients and dry ingredients to the oil/sugar batter starting and ending with dry.
- Pour evenly into prepared muffin tins or cupcake pan with cupcake liners, fill ¾ of the way full and bake 15-18 minutes.
- Make vegan chocolate frosting while cupcakes are cooling.
How to Make the Vegan Chocolate Frosting
Vegan Chocolate Frosting
- Using mixer, whip butter and cocoa together until smooth in large bowl. Stir in extract of choice and powdered sugar. Add in almond milk and whip until frosting reaches desired consistency until light, fluffy and smooth, 1-2 minutes.
- .When the cupcakes are fully cooled, pipe frosting on top or spread over top of cupcakes. Frosts 12 cupcakes.
For the frosting, you can substitute butter for the vegan butter if you don’t care about the vegan option.
Storing & Freezing
Store vegan chocolate cupcakes in airtight container. Vegan cupcakes can last up to 3-4 days at room temperature, seven days in the fridge or six months in the freezer.
Vegan chocolate cupcakes can be a sweet treat for any occasion. So why not give them a try and see how delicious and moist these vegan cupcakes are?
As the plant-based food revolution continues to grow, it’s clear that vegan foods are here to stay. Try vegan chocolate cupcakes today and discover a whole new world of sweet indulgence.
They are a healthier, more sustainable alternative to traditional recipes and can be a way to enjoy a sweet treat while still taking care of the planet. So, don’t wait any longer, give healthy chocolate cupcakes a try and enjoy the sweet taste of a conscious lifestyle.
Let’s rock ‘n roll these Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes out! Share on Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook!
More Cupcake Recipes
- Ultimate Strawberry Cheesecake Pudding Filled Cupcakes
- Ultimate Kit Kat Cupcakes
- Heavenly White Chocolate Buttercream Frosted Vanilla Butter Cupcakes
- “Lovey-Dovey” Chocolate Heart Raspberry Chocolate Mousse Cupcakes
- Magically Delicious ‘Dew’ Cupcakes
- Double Stuffed Peanut Butter Cup Bliss Cupcakes
- Halloween Skull Cupcakes
- Ultimate Oreo Cupcakes
- Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes
- Perfect Hershey’s Chocolate Cupcakes
Ultimate Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes
Ingredients
Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes:
- 1 cups almond milk + 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- ⅓ cup canola oil
- ¾ cups granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon chocolate coffee or vanilla extract
- 1 cup all purpose flour or gluten free flour
- ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder sifted
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Chocolate Frosting:
- ½ cup Vegan butter, room temperature I used Earth Balance
- ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder sifted
- 2 ½ to 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon chocolate coffee or vanilla extract
- 1-2 tablespoons almond milk
Instructions
Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a muffin tin with paper liners and lightly spray with non-stick spray.
- Stir almond milk and vinegar in a cup; let curdle for 5–10 minutes.
- In a large bowl, beat oil and sugar until gritty. Mix in extract.
- Whisk dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Alternate adding dry and wet ingredients to the oil mixture, starting and ending with dry.
- Fill liners ¾ full and bake for 15–18 minutes. Cool completely before frosting.
Chocolate Frosting
- Beat butter and cocoa until smooth. Mix in extract, powdered sugar, and almond milk. Whip until fluffy, 1–2 minutes.
- Frost cooled cupcakes by piping or spreading.
Notes
Check out the Vegan/Plant-Based Dessert Collection & Daily Vegan Meal info!
For more celebrating, you’ll love these Birthday Sugar Cookie Bars, this Peanut Butter Cup Chocolate Cookies, Chocolate Banana Dream Cake Loaf too!
So moist and delicious! My daughter has an egg allergy and this was her first cupcake ever – yum!
Thank you Mary! They were a huge hit here and they last for several days if you have leftovers. 🙂
wow! that sponge of the cupcake looks so fluffy and that is the beauty of a cupcake and the topping looks delicious great one! 🙂
Yes you can substitute any milk you wish ! I hope you enjoy!! xo
I have a family member who is allergic to eggs so this would be perfect. However, I have another family member allergic to tree nuts. Can I use regular milk with the vinegar and follow the rest of the recipe since it doesn’t need to be completely vegan?
Hi Nella, this recipe makes one 8 or 9 inch cake, so if you want a double layer or 9×13, you need to double the recipe. Hope you enjoy as much as we did! 🙂
Is it enough to make into a cake? Or do I double the recipe?
These ingredients will be in everyone’s pantry…. so no excuse not to try them!!
I’ve GOT to try these! I love a good chocolate cupcake. I’ve heard of “depression cake” before but I never imagined it looking this delicious 😉 Have a good week, Kim!
Kim, these look fantastic! Definitely going to make these, my daughter lives with 2 Vegan roommates, so she’ll be thrilled to make these as well! Thanks, and pinned!
This beauty proves how important is to be creative when there is a lack of ingredients and the times are hard. I am so happy you have turned our attention to these beauties 🙂 Thank you so much Kim !
A cupcake recipe I can dive into! I am such a love of almond milk and of course chocolate. I just want to face plant in that luscious looking chocolate frosting!!
Thanks so much Kelsie! I’ve been wanting to do one for a while now and it’s no wierd ingredients. LOL 🙂
Oh em gee. I can’t even believe these are vegan! It’s rare to see a vegan dessert that actually looks decadent–and these totally do!