Black Velvet Cupcakes (Vegan)

Name: Black Velvet Cupcakes
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Ingredients: 1¼ cup / 190g all-purpose flour; ⅓ cup / 60g black cocoa powder; ¾ tsp baking soda; ¼ tsp baking powder; ¼ tsp salt; ¾ cup / 180ml soy milk; 2 tsp apple cider vinegar; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 1 cup / 220g raw caster sugar (or caster sugar); ⅓ cup / 80ml sunflower oil; ½ cup / 125g yoghurt (vegan); 1 cup / 250g vegan butter; 3 cups / 450g confectioners' sugar (icing) (sifted); ⅓ cup / 60g black cocoa (sifted); 1 tsp vanilla; 1 tbsp dairy-free milk (or more as needed)

Last updated on November 11th, 2022 at 10:51 am

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Get ready to try the smoothest dark chocolate cupcakes you've ever tasted. These black velvet cupcakes are simple to make, super light and dreamy and effortlessly vegan. Plus they're a little spooky. If you like my black candy apples, you are going to love these.

Black cupcakes on a rustic wooden table.

Why We Love These Black Velvet Cupcakes

How much time do you have? I could wax lyrical about these little cakes for days. They are:

wonderfully light and airy
naturally black
smooth with an amazing cake crumb
super simple to make
triple tested and
perfect for Halloween or as an elegant dessert.

What You'll Need

Black velvet cupcake ingredients in a grid labelled.

Flour. I use regular old all-purpose flour. You could swap to cake flour for a lighter cake but honestly, I wouldn't bother. These cakes are super light with a beautiful crumb.

Buttermilk (soy milk + apple cider vinegar). Buttermilk helps create a light and tender crumb in cakes. We are making our own vegan buttermilk by combining soy milk with apple cider vinegar. I find soy milk works best to mimic traditional buttermilk. The apple cider vinegar also works to activate our baking soda.

Black Cocoa. Most of the ingredients for these black velvet cupcakes you'll have in your pantry or fridge. To make these cakes gloriously black, you're gonna need black cocoa. I get mine here in Australia at Cakers Warehouse (not sponsored) but I've also seen it on Amazon. You'll find it at most specialty cake suppliers.

Coconut yoghurt. Using yoghurt or sour cream in cakes adds moisture without making the batter more liquid. You can use any plain vegan yoghurt here.

Sugar. I use raw caster sugar for pretty much all my cooking. Regular caster sugar works or you can use a finer granulated sugar.

Oil. Any neutral flavoured oil will do here although I tend to use sunflower oil most often. Oil adds moisture and fat but also helps to keep cakes moist for longer than butter based cakes.

Baking powder & soda. While both of these are leavening agents, baking powder gives us height while soda gives more horizontal air. Does that may sense? One goes up while the other goes out.

What is Black Cocoa?

Black cocoa powder is cocoa powder that has been heavily dutch processed or alkalised. It is smoother tasting than other cocoa-powders and has no colouring, making it an awesome natural black food colouring.

If you've had an Oreo, you know what black cocoa tastes like.

How to Make Black Velvet Cupcakes

You'll find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.

Step 1. Sift the flour, black cocoa powder, baking soda and powder and salt into a large mixing bowl.

Step 2. In a separate bowl combine the milk and apple cider vinegar and leave for 2-3 minutes. Stir in the remaining wet ingredients and whisk in the wet mixture to the dry until combined. Don't over-mix, just whisk until most of the lumps are gone but a few is OK.

Step 3. Line a 12-pan muffin tray and fill each one two-thirds with the batter. Bake in a preheated oven (170° C or 350°F) for 18-20 minutes or until cooked through.

Step 4. Remove from the oven to completely cool before frosting.

Two images of black cupcakes before baking and after.

Step 5. Prepare buttercream and pipe onto cold cupcakes to serve.

Recipe Tips

Sift the black cocoa. Like all cocoa, black cocoa gets a bit lumpy so sift it into your cake batter and buttercream.

Be careful with the black cocoa. I'm not going to lie, black cocoa can get in everywhere and it's a bugger to clean. I haven't had it stain anything but I have been a hot mess with black hands on more than one occasion.

Don't over-mix the batter. I should get this stamped on my forehead, I say it so often. Always whisk or stir cake batters until combined and most of the lumps are gone but stop there. A few lumps won't hurt as much as rubbery cakes. Rubbery cakes? Now that's a tragedy.

Darken the buttercream. To make your buttercream super black, add a drop or two of natural black food colouring. I actually don't do it myself, but if you want a true black you'll have to give it a little help. You can also add a touch of food quality charcoal if you have it.

Recipe FAQ's

What do black velvet cupcakes taste like?

Like the smoothest dark chocolate cake you ever ate. In fact, these cakes are so smooth that some people can't really detect the chocolate - it's not a strong flavour but geez it's good. They taste like Oreo cookies.

Do black velvet cupcakes freeze?

Yes they do! Without the buttercream of course. After allowing them to cool completely, wrap the cakes (only) in foil and transfer them to a sealed, freezer-proof container. Freeze for up to three months. To thaw, remove from the freezer and thaw at room temperature for 2-3 hours. Top with buttercream to serve.

Can I make these gluten-free?

You can. I use Bob's Red Mill One-to-One Baking Flour for best results.

More cupcake goodness...

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