Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes

These vegan chocolate cupcakes are rich, soft and full of chocolate flavour, with a light, tender crumb. Made with simple pantry ingredients and no eggs or dairy, they're easy enough for everyday baking but special enough for birthdays, parties and celebrations

Top with a quick and simple basic chocolate frosting or indulge in my vegan chocolate buttercream frosting. If you are after a larger classic chocolate cake, try my Classic Vegan Chocolate Cake recipe.

When I qualified as a nutritionist, I briefly considered removing all the cake recipes from My Goodness Kitchen. Thankfully, I came to my senses about 30 seconds later.

Cakes are a treat, but they can absolutely have a place in a balanced diet. Food is about nourishment, but it is also about celebration, connection and joy. I think it's healthy to bake a little joy every now and then for your family, your friends and for yourself.

Baking from scratch also means you know exactly what goes into your food, giving you a little control over the ingredients you use. That said, buying a cake is perfectly OK too. We all do the best we can with the time, energy and resources we have.

So, let's head to the kitchen and bake a batch of joy.

Rich, tender and full of chocolate flavour, these vegan chocolate cupcakes are wonderfully easy to make and perfect for vegans and non-vegans alike. I've made them for birthday parties big and small, and they never last long.

Why We Love These Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes

"When I make these I don't tell anyone they're vegan at first. My clients prefer these over regular chocolate cupcakes. Amazing!" (Gigi) ★★★★★

Need More Cupcake Flavours?

Love these chocolate cupcakes? Try one of these other vegan cupcake recipes.

Vegan vanilla cupcakes

Soft, fluffy vanilla cupcakes that are perfect for birthdays and celebrations.

Pina Colada cupcakes

Celebrate the flavours of Summer everyday with light pineapple and coconut cupcakes with coconut frosting.

Black velvet cupcakes

Rich and dramatic, these black velvet cupcakes are made with black cocoa powder and are perfect for Halloween parties.

Pumpkin cupcakes

Warmly spiced and beautifully tender, these vegan pumpkin cupcakes are perfect for autumn baking.

Chocolate beetroot cakes

Made without flour, nuts, eggs or milk, chocolate beetroot cakes are a tasty solution to low allergen baking.

How To Make Cupcakes Without Eggs

If you've read my article DIY Vegan Egg Substitutes you'll know that before you choose an egg replacement for plant-based cooking, you need to know what the egg does in the original recipe.

In traditional cupcakes, eggs provide moisture, fat and structure. Eggs coagulate as the cake bakes and, with the starch from the flour, form the crumb.

Meanwhile butter, and all fats in general, create baked goods that are more tender. Think about a plain bread roll verses a buttery brioche bun. Butter also provides flavour.

In this recipe we are using a mixture of buttermilk (for a tender crumb), sunflower oil (for fat) and leavening agents for lift and structure.

All of these ingredients are most likely in your pantry! We're going to make the buttermilk ourselves, so that's simple too. Are you ready?

Equipment You'll Need to Make Chocolate Cupcakes

This eggless cupcake recipe is pretty dang simple - no beaters or blenders required. You are just going to need:

1 x 12-cup cupcake pan.

1 x whisk.

2 x large mixing bowls.

What is in Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes?

Vegan chocolate cupcakes come together with pantry ingredients. We'll be using all-purpose flour, natural cocoa powder, raw sugar, vegan buttermilk (we'll make that ourselves), vanilla, some leavening agents and a neutral oil.

That's it. Let's talk about substitutions.

All-purpose flour. Nothing fancy here, you could use cake flour but all-purpose is my go-to. It's easy to find and I always have some in my pantry.

Natural cocoa. I use natural cocoa to provide a rich chocolate flavour in a lot of my baking because it's readily available. For this recipe, avoid Dutch processed cocoa - we are using baking soda in this recipe which doesn't activate as well with Dutch Processed Chocolate. So regular it is!

Buttermilk creates a light, tender crumb. The vinegar reacts with the baking soda to create carbon dioxide bubbles. These bubbles help the cupcakes rise while keeping the crumb light and tender.

Dairy-free milk. We are using plain milk to create the buttermilk. Soy milk makes the best vegan buttermilk. I've also seen it made successfully with pea milk. Something about the protein in these two types of dairy-free milk works better than other types to produce a thick buttercream most similar to traditional buttermilk.

Raw Caster Sugar. I prefer raw caster sugar when baking with chocolate because you get a more caramel, fudgy flavour, but regular caster sugar will work too.

Oil. Neutral flavoured oil is 100% fat and coats the flour particles during mixing which helps to create a soft, moist crumb that keeps fresher for longer. While butter requires creaming with sugar to incorporate air, oil is just added to the mixture and stirred. Less fuss.

How to Make Vegan Cupcakes (Step-By-Step Guide)

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

This recipe for vegan chocolate cupcakes is easy-peasy. It only takes a few steps.

Step 1. Sift dry ingredients

Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Whisk in the sugar.

Step 2. Combine wet ingredients

Combine apple cider vinegar with dairy-free milk (not coconut) to make vegan buttermilk in a separate bowl. Whisk in the oil and vanilla.

Step 3 and 4. Add wet ingredient to dry and fill pans

Add the wet ingredients to the dry. Whisk until just combined and fill your cupcake (patty) liners half-way. Only half-way - this is important.

Step 5. Bake

Bake for 21 minutes at 175 degrees C.

Then, it's the fun part. Allow the cakes to cool and top with your favourite frosting.

Oven Temperatures

Ovens can vary in temperature by up to 20 degrees! So, the best way to ensure perfect baking is to use an oven thermometer. They are only a few dollars and you get a perfect temperature whether you have a convection or conventional oven.

How to Tell When Your Cupcakes are Done?

The easiest method to tell if cupcakes are done is to insert a toothpick or skewer into the centre of a cake and if it comes away clean, or with just a few crumbs, the cakes are done.

Properly baked cupcakes will also bounce back quickly when you gently press your finger into the centre.

Cupcake Trivia

I can't help myself, I love a random food story or factoid.

These gorgeous vegan chocolate cupcakes taste just like traditional cupcakes but are so much simpler. Because we aren't using butter or eggs there is no creaming or faffing around. They are simple, reliable and effortless.

Storage

These vegan cupcakes last 4-5 days on the kitchen counter in a cooler climates. However, transfer them to a sealed container and store them in the fridge if you live in tropical or hot areas for up to 5 days.

To freeze, cool the cupcakes completely before transferring the un-frosted cakes to a freezer proof container to store in the freezer for up to 3 months, To thaw, move them to room temperature for a few hours or thaw them in the fridge overnight.

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