As Thanksgiving approaches, I know all of you -- vegan or not-- are looking for great options to the same-old-same-old orange-colored dessert that typically graces your table. Well, I have one for you and every word of it is like a fresh, sweet, tropical kiss: Vegan Mango Cupcakes with Mango Buttercream Frosting.
You might also like these recipes for vegan mango cake and vegan mango bread.
Mmmm...As you already know, I love my vegan cupcakes, especially ultra-creamy, tender ones like these vegan vanilla cupcakes. After all, how can anyone not love portion-controlled indulgence?
And yes, I'll admit, these mango cupcakes are indulgent, and rich, although probably nowhere near as rich as a non-vegan version could be. Besides, all of us need a little indulgence every now and then, don't we? And what can be more comforting than a soft, fluffy cupcake covered with mounds of soft, fluffy frosting.
I use canned mango puree in these cupcakes because here in the United States, it's not easy for me to get my hands on the ultra-sweet and delicious Indian mangoes that these cupcakes so badly need. Try to use the puree of Alphonso mangoes (which is available at Indian stores) because this is by far the richest and most full-bodied and sweetest mango you'll ever taste, hands down. If you're lucky enough to live in India where mangoes are in season during the summer, use fresh mango puree by all means. Lucky you.
The mango buttercream for these vegan mango cupcakes is made with vegan butter (like Earth Balance) and shortening, with a dash of mango puree and trust me, one bite of this and you will feel like you've just died and gone to heaven. It's a beautiful, versatile icing and one that you can use to frost all kinds of cakes. You can leave out the frosting and still have a delicious cupcake, but why would you?
Here are the recipes for my Vegan Mango Cupcakes and Vegan Mango Buttercream Frosting. Enjoy, all!
More delicious mango recipes
Recipe card
Mango Cupcakes With Mango Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
For the Mango Cupcakes:
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom (use green cardamoms)
- 1 ½ cups mango puree
- ⅓ cup avocado oil or any neutral oil
- ⅔ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the Mango Buttercream Frosting:
- 16 tablespoon vegan butter (like Earth Balance, softened at room temperature)
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- ¼ cup mango puree
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
Make Mango Cupcakes:
- Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Mix in the green cardamom powder.
- In another bowl, beat together until well-mixed the mango puree, oil, sugar and vanilla extract.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix with a whisk just until you have a smooth batter. Do not overmix or overbeat.
- Divide the batter equally among 12 cups of a standard-sized muffin pan lined with cupcake liners. Smooth down the tops with the back of a spoon or spatula or you will have a lumpy top (it'll still taste delicious, though 🙂 )
- Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven about 27 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Make Mango Buttercream Frosting:
- Cream the butter with a hand mixer or in a stand mixer, with the whisk attachment, until fluffy, about 1 minute.
- Now add the mango puree and vanilla and half the sugar. Beat until mixed, then add the remaining sugar and beat until mixed. This should take no more than 2 minutes altogether.
- Frost the cupcakes after they've cooled completely.
Nutrition Information
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Jessica says
Has anyone tried these gluten free, and do they work?
Puneetpal Kaur says
Finally I found this link again! I first made these a long time back and was just looking for this recipe again. So happy to have found it again.
Is it easy to turn this recipe into a cake instead of cupcakes? Should I increase or decrease anything? I might be using a large tube bundt pan.
Manasi Pawanaskar says
Tried these yesterday...nd they turned out ammmmmaaazinnngg!!!!!!!
Great and simple recipe!!!!!
The flavour of mango nd cardamom is just fantastic!!!! Cheers!!!!
veganlove says
Hi Vaishali,
I am a big fan of your recipes. I am making this for my future in-laws and want to get it right :). The mango puree / pulp I bought at the Indian grocery store seems sweet - Swad's Kesar Mango Pulp (can says sweetened). Would you suggest cutting down the sugar the recipe calls for or did you also use the canned pulp?
Vaishali says
Hi! I used the canned pulp, pretty sure it was Kesar too.
John Easton says
Can't wait to try these. What brand of vegetable shortening do you recommend?
Vaishali says
Hi John, I use Earth Balance.
Sanil R. says
Can this be made into a regular round cake instead of cupcakes? If so, would the baking time or temperature change? Thank you for your wonderful eggless cake posts.
Vaishali says
Yes! Bake a little longer, for about 35 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Cheers.
Laura Sava says
Hi, Vaishali, your delicious recipe travelled through the world and ended in our sunny kitchen, in Romania 🙂
I made a beautiful mango cake instead of cupcakes and everybody was happy! My son, the most 😀
Excuse my poor english, please!!!
We wish you all the best!!!
perspectivesandprejudices says
Hi Vaishali, I'm going to try making this cake over the weekend. Came over to your blog to find a lovely cake to make for my husband's birthday 🙂 Can I substitute the shortening with a stick of regular non-salted butter? Also, should the almond milk be warmed up to curdle or does it curdle without needing any warming? I'm planning to make it as one cake instead of different cupcakes.. does that change the baking time? Would appreciate your comments! Thank you for this lovely recipe 🙂
Dimple says
There is no alkond milk in the rcp dear
Anonymous says
How far in advance can they be baked for an event?
Vaishali says
A day in advance would be fine. Refrigerate until a few hours before they are eaten.
Anonymous says
Hi,
I tried this recipe and came out well. Thank u so much for posting.But a quick quest, can I keep cupcakes at room temperature for 3 or more days?
Vaishali Honawar says
Keep refrigerated please! Glad you liked it.
Thomas Watson says
Your mango cupcakes look soooo good! I've been trying to find an easy and light fluffy mango cake to bake for my birthday.
Narayani says
Hi! Thank you for posting this recipe! I've been looking for an eggless mango cake/cupcake recipe for a while and am so glad to find a tested one 🙂 . Just a quick question though: Will it work with fresh mango puree too, or does it have to be canned/readymade puree?
Thank you in advance
Narayani
Vaishali Honawar says
Hi Narayani, fresh puree is great-- better, in fact. 🙂
Sahana says
Hey, I was wondering, is there are dairy version of the frosting? Because I'm not vegan, and ingredients like non-dairy butter and vegetable shorting aren't available where I live 🙁
abc says
Where can I get vegan powdered sugar? What is the brand?
Vaishali says
I don't remember the brand but I get it from Whole Foods.
Jocelyn Blasabas Ylaya says
hello po,tanong ko lang po paano kong walang cardamom powder ano ang maaring isubstitute para sa mango cake or cupcakes,matagal ko nang gustong lutuin ang recipe nyo kaso po wala akong mahanap na cardamom powder po
Vaishali says
Hi Jocelyn, cardamom really adds flavor to this recipe but if you cannot find it you can use another "sweet" spice like nutmeg. Do you get that where you are? Cinnamon might work too. You can leave it out altogether-- you won't have that wonderful, spicy flavor but the cupcakes and cake will still be delicious.
Gavi says
Hi! thanks for the recipe, I made this and another vegan soy free cupcakes for my kiddos 2nd bday, they were a hit! They are more like muffins though.
Jay says
Hi Vaishali,
This is the first time I am visiting your blog and will be trying this recipe over the weekend. I want to make this as a sheet cake. What size pan should I use?
Thanks,
Jay
Vaishali says
Hi Jay, Use a 9 by 12 rectangular pan, or two 9-inch cake pans. Good luck! 🙂
Jay says
Hi Vaishali,
The cake turned out really well!!! Since I am not a baker in any sense, I was not sure of the end result, but there are only 4 and a half pieces left!
Thank you for the wonderful post.
Jay
Vaishali says
Jay, that's really lovely. Thanks for letting me know, and so happy you enjoyed the cake. 🙂
Debbie Mallernee says
Vaishali, I wonder if I could replace the canola oil with coconut oil, what do you think? These look absolutely delicious!
Vaishali says
Yes, you absolutely can replace with coconut oil. Happy baking!
abc says
Dear Vaishali,
We had Indian Style Thanksgiving dinner at my friend's place. It was a potluck. I took your Vegan Mango Cake and Badam Halwa to the potluck. Everyone from 3 year to 30 year liked those a lot. I even prepared your mango cashew cream as an icing for the cake. But I didn't get much time to soak cashews and thus mango cashew cream had raw cashew taste in it. However I had sprinkled almond and cashew pieces over the cake before putting in the oven and no one really missed any icing. Now I will be blending mango cashew cream with vanilla soy milk and will enjoy it as a milkshake for few days :).
Thanks a lot for wonderful, tasty, less heavy recepies which are healthier than dairy sweets 🙂
Vaishali says
Hi Mukta, your thanksgiving potluck with friends sounds like a lot of fun! So happy that you cooked and liked the recipes. Thanks for letting me know!
abc says
hi Vaishali, can u suggest frosting recipe using tofutti cream cheese?
Vaishali says
Mukta, here is a recipe with tofutti: https://holycowvegan.net/lemony-vegan-cupcakes-with-cream-cheese/
abc says
Hi Vaishali, I am left with only 1/2 tsp vanilla. Can I skip it and att 2 tsp of cardamom powder?
I have only one 9 inch square pan. I will have to half the recipe.
Thanks
Vaishali says
Yes, just use the vanilla you have and no need to increase cardamom. You'll be fine.
Anonymous says
What pan size did you use to bake the cake?
Vaishy says
Anon, just a regular muffin tin with standard-sized cups. If you bake it as a cake, use two 9-inch round pans.
Anita says
Vaishali, this is a superb recipe and very reproducible. I recently baked 70 of these for a United Way bake sale and they disappeared like crazy. Thank you!
Vaishy says
Thanks for the feedback, Anita. So glad you liked them!
Vaishali Honawar says
Lakshmi, nice and healthy substitutions. Thanks for the feedback. And yes, you can bake the 2 small pans together in the middle rack of the oven.