Baking cupcakes that are moist, light, eggless and dairyless seemed like an almost insurmountable challenge to me when I first went vegan.
Brainwashed as I had been through years of baking about the importance of butter and eggs to the process of cakemaking, I believed that a good cake was impossible to make without these ingredients.
I admit I lived through a few mistakes: cupcakes that weren't fluffy, cupcakes that were too tough, and cupcakes that just weren't, well, what cupcakes ought to be. Until, inspired by some cake veganizing tricks from other bakers, I scored a winner.
My Lemony Vegan Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting are, to me, a small triumph for veganism. They taste so good, I bet they'd convert any sceptic. Desi is a regular cupcake gourmet and even he agrees these are among the best he's tasted.
So go on, I dare you. Put on your baking gloves and take a stab at these. I know you'll be back for more!
Try these vegan cakes next:
- Vegan Carrot Cupcakes
- Vegan Brown Sugar Pound Cake
- Vegan Banana Coffee Cake with Chocolate Streusel
- The Best Vegan Chocolate Cake
- Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes
Vegan Lemon Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
For the lemon cupcakes
- 1 ⅓ cups cake flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ cup sugar (you can use regular)
- 1 cup almond milk
- 1 teaspoon vinegar
- ½ cup vegan butter (at room temperature)
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the cream cheese frosting
- 8 oz vegan cream cheese (left out of the refrigerator for at least an hour to soften.)
- ¼ cup sugar (powdered)
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom (optional)
- ½ teaspoon pure lemon extract
Instructions
Make lemon cupcakes
- In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and mix well. Set aside.
- Mix the milk and vinegar and set aside.
- In another bowl, with a hand mixer or a stand mixer set to medium speed, cream the vegan butter and the sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Add the two extracts.
- Add the flour mixture in three batches alternating with the almond milk, beating in well after each addition so there are no lumps. Scrape down the bowl after each addition.
- Line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners. Divide the batter equally among the cups, filling each cup about ⅔rds.
- Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven about 22 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Set aside on a rack to cool completely before frosting.
Make cream cheese frosting
- Put all ingredients in a bowl and beat with a hand mixer for a minute or two until light and fluffy. Using a spatula or, if you have one, a pastry bag, decorate each cupcake any way you wish. I go for abstract art, as you can see!
raaji
nice colorful cupcakes.....look delicious....
Cham
I love especially the topping , the vegan version sounds perfect 🙂
Miri
Sounds delicious Vaishali...do you get almond milk or do you have to extract it?...
sowmya
have to try your vegan versions when baking next time..looks really delicious..amazing ingredients..
jayasree
Yummy cup cakes... Looks yummy and love the frosting.
Vaishali
Destiny, Kitchen Flavors, Happy Cook, Tami, Thanks!
Divya: Thanks. They were really light and fluffy...not dense at all.
Sunshinemom: 🙂 that's lovely. I think you have a very smart son!
Sagari, Anjali, Usha, Madhuram: Thanks, ladies.
Madhuram
OOhhhh! The cupcake looks so moist and lovely icing.
Usha
Very clever,looks perfect...
ANJALI J.
aah! delicious! lovely picture too..
Sagari
yummm ,cup cake look beautiful
Sunshinemom
Hey! My son heard the title and has bookmarked this cake for next week as a tribute to his favourite author - Lemony snicket!!
Divya
Looks beautiful... so how was it? Dense or fluffy?
Tami (Vegan Appetite)
Those look like heaven! What's not to love about lemony goodness topped with cream cheese frosting?
Happy cook
I have never made a vegan cake. These cup cakes looks really delicious. Love the frostinf too
Kitchen Flavours
Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmy cup cakes. Looks awesome.
Destiny's Vegan Kitchen
Ooh, something tangy for the end of summer! They look great, especially the zest garnish. Perfect!