These vegan chocolate cupcakes with vanilla buttercream are decorated with piped roses, making them the perfect treat for Valentine’s Day. The cupcakes are rich yet light and fluffy - no one will be able to tell these cupcakes are both egg free and dairy free!
Preheat oven to 180°C and line a muffin tin with 12 patty cases / cupcake liners.
In a small bowl, mix together the white vinegar and almond milk. It will split and curdle but this is ok! Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the plain flour, self raising flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the canola oil, sugar and vanilla until combined.
Add the dry ingredients to the oil and sugar mixture, alternating with the milk until the batter just comes together, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
Spoon mixture into patty cases ensuring they are only ¾ full before placing them in the oven for 18 minutes or until they spring back when lightly touched. Remove from the pan and set aside on a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
For the Vegan Vanilla Buttercream
Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment fitted, beat dairy-free butter for 1-2 minutes until creamy.
Add in 3 cups of icing sugar and beat on medium until combined. As mixture thickens, add in vanilla and almond milk. If frosting is too thin, add in an extra ½-1 cup of icing sugar until it reaches the right consistency. Add pinch of salt to taste if frosting is too sweet.
Add the food colouring to the frosting and mix through until the desired colour is reached. Place the frosting in a piping bag with a piping tip attached (for the roses, I used the Wilton 1M tip) and pipe the frosting onto cooled cupcakes, starting from the inside and working out.
Notes
I use Nuttelex to replace butter in most of my recipes as it is vegan and gives a ‘buttery’ flavour without being greasy. As this is an Australian product, the closest US alternative I believe is Earth Balance. Otherwise any dairy-free spread will work.Cupcakes can be stored in an airtight container for 1-2 days, any longer than this and I recommend keeping them in the fridge.