So here it is: this is my recipe for the most perfect, bestest in the westest, (and eastest) vegan vanilla cake. Strike that, this is my recipe for the most perfect vanilla cake. Period. Vegan or not, this is a damn good cake. Sweet, buttery, vanilla-infused, fluffy and moist all at the same time.
When I served this vegan vanilla cake recipe as cupcakes to a group of strangers, one girl declared that it was the best cupcake she had ever eaten… and then I told her it was vegan. Winning!
I originally posted this recipe way back in 2014, so I decided it needed a little face-lift. Not the recipe, the recipe for the vegan vanilla cake is perfect, just the photos.
You can see below ↓ my original photo for the best vegan vanilla cupcakes, but when I shared a picture of the cake above ↑ on my Instagram, everyone was asking for this vegan vanilla cake recipe. Some people didn’t realize that most cake and cupcake recipes are exactly the same, the only difference is the pan you use and the baking time. So I wanted to make it clear that this vegan vanilla cake recipe works wonderfully both ways.
I designed this recipe after hosting a “vegan vanilla cupcake-off” party. A cooking competition style party where I compared 3 top vegan vanilla cupcake recipes to determine which one was the winner. My friends voted, and the result was that there was no clear winner. So I had to do the only logical thing I could think of: make my own winner.
It took a lot of experimenting, but oooeee was all that effort worth it as 4 years later, this is still the best vegan vanilla cake recipe I’ve ever made.
Whether you make these into adorable cupcakes or you opt for a full-sized two layer cake, everyone will love it. Perfect for birthday parties, holidays, celebrations, or anytime you need a glorious sweet fluffy cake.
To make The Best Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes: In a big bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together. In a medium bowl, mix the wet ingredients together. Then pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix lightly. Whisk until the batter just comes together, don’t over mix it.
Evenly divide batter among the cupcake pan or the cake pans and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
To make the frosting: mix all the ingredients together with a hand mixer or stand mixer. Make sure the cakes are cooled completely before frosting, so the frosting won’t melt. Frost your cakes as desired.
Sweet, buttery, vanilla-infused, fluffy and moist all at the same time. Easy to make and even easier to eat. No one will even notice it's vegan! Perfect for birthday parties, celebrations, or holidays.
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cup white sugar
- 2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/3 cup non-dairy milk (such as soy or almond)
- 2/3 cup light oil (such as canola or vegetable)
- 1/4 cup lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup vegan butter
- 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 - 4 tablespoons non-dairy milk (such as soy or almond)
- Sprinkles for decoration (optional)
Preheat your oven to 350F (180C). For cupcakes: lightly grease or line a cupcake pan with 24 paper liners. For a cake: lightly grease two 9-inch round cake pans.
In a large bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together.
In a medium bowl, mix the wet ingredients together. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until the batter just comes together, don’t over mix. Evenly divide batter among the cupcake or cake pans. For cupcakes: Bake 18-20 minutes until the tops are lightly golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. For 9-inch cake: bake for 22 - 28 minutes until the tops are lightly golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
To make the frosting: mix together the vegan butter, vegetable shortening, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. Add 1 - 4 tablespoons of non-dairy milk as needed to reach desired frosting consistency. Let cakes cool completely before frosting.
Bon appetgan
Sam.
So I’m looking for a recipe to substitute for the box of yellow or white cake in a pineapple upside down cake recipe. The original recipe calls for making the box cake mix to directions but subbing in pineapple juice for part of the water. Do you think I could sub it in for part of the milk? The only other liquid is the vinegar or lemon juice which from the comments sounds necessary. Or would you suggest one of your other cupcake recipes? Also, it will be baked in a 13×9 pan, any thoughts on the cooking time?
Sam I don’t know how you do it! I made these for my Omni mother in laws birtbday today and they turned out so well! These are AMAZING! This will now be my go to recipe for cakes! I’ve only tried to make a cake once since going vegan and it didn’t turn out right at all, it was dense and gooey and as a new vegan I was worried I would never have a good cake again, I’m so glad that you proved me wrong with this amazing recipe! the texture of these turned out PERFECT! I Absolutely loved them, and so did my Omni mother in law
Aww that’s wonderful!!! I’m so thrilled and flattered you loved the cakes so much, Rebecca 😀
I see that the recipe says you can either use lemon juice or apple cider vinegar. Will the lemon juice give it more of a lemon flavor? I know that the Apple cider vinegar will bake out but I’m not so sure about the flavor of the lemon. This will be my first time baking vegan. My sister-in-law’s vegan and I want her to be able to enjoy cupcakes at my sons birthday Coming up.
There might be a slight lemon flavour but with either choice, I don’t think you will taste it much. I hope you love the cupcakes!
Hi Sam,
Just wanted to say I love your vanilla and chocolate cake and I just used your recipes to make a three tier wedding cake that was a huge hit! I would love to send you a picture but not to sure how,
Thanks, for the amazing vegan recipes.
Amazing!!! You can tag me in a picture on Instagram @itdoesnttastelikechicken or you can share publicly or send a message privately on my Facebook page. 🙂
On the “apple sauce instead of oil” question, I can report that I tried that earlier this week, replacing 3/4 of the original quantity of oil with unsweetened apple sauce (and not adding any oil).
Result: The taste was good (a bit apple-y), but the texture was not as nice and light and fluffy as in the original version, but a bit more on the dense & moist side. So if someone can’t have oil or fat (like the friend I made the muffins for), it’s ok, but otherwise I’m going to stick to oil in the future.
I’ve only baked and cooked a few times in my life (and I’ve always managed to ruin them all) so I knew I wouldn’t be able to perfect this, but the taste came out so well and I loved it.
That’s awesome! Thrilled you enjoyed them, Perla 🙂
This is seriously the best cake I’ve ever made. Soooooo good! Many thanks for the recipe!
You’re most welcome, Niki! Thrilled you enjoyed it!
Hi!! This recipe is perfect! Turned out sooo amazing! Not sure if this was asked already , should the cupcakes be stored in the fridge? There is no icing on them (because I didn’t have any vegtable shortening ) thank you!
Baked goods are always best stored at room temperature to keep them nice and fluffy. A fridge can dry them out. Enjoy!
Does this recipe make 24 mini cupcakes or 24 regular size cupcakes?
regular
I can’t use vegan butter and vegetable shortening, could I switch them for something? I’m looking for a good frosting overall, the base sounds great.
Hi petri, that would be a completely different recipe as those are the ingredients that hold the frosting together. I don’t know what ingredients would be suitable for you so I suggest having a google around for a recipe that suits your needs.
I just found your website and I am soooo excited to try the tiramisu recipe. Can I sub applesauce for the oil in the cake recipe ?
Welcome, Becky! I’ve never tried that so I am not sure how it would work out. Good luck!
Using your cake recipe as a base for cupcakes for my little ones birthday I opted for chocolate frosting. They were a huge hit. Having tried several other vegan cake recipes for a vanilla cake, yours “takes the cake” and doesn’t hold a candle to the others that come out dry, flavorless, or mediocre. This cake is moist and delicious and will be my go to vault for the many years to come. Thank you!!
Aww so thrilled you enjoyed it so much, thank you so much for the wonderful comment!! Honoured that you found your new go-to recipe 🙂
Just tried this recipe today and it was beyond amazing!!! I myself am just learning to cook and am super proud of how it turned out. Of course I did have nightmares as what happens whenever i cook something, this time the shortening was hard as a rock when i added to the frosting i tried to whisk it in it didnt work at all just too hard and lumpy. So i put it in the microwave to melt the shortening but then of course it all turned to frosting water. But all was good once i mixed it in and popped it in the fridge!
Also I used some homemade marmalade made from homegrown oranges and lemons inbetween the two cakes and that gave it an extra fruity lil flavour and it was phenomenal!
Thanks so much Sam I <3 u!!
That sounds delicious, Charlie!! Thrilled you enjoyed it so much, I love the addition of marmalade 😀
Can I use coconut sugar for this instead of white?
From my research it looks like it should work ok, but I haven’t tried it myself so I can’t know for sure. Enjoy!
Hi Sam, I received your cookbook from Amazon just yesterday. I ordered it because I had seen a few of your videos on YouTube, and your recipes seemed pretty straightforward, but somehow, so far, I never spent much time on your website. That is going to change!!!
I opened the cookbook and made these vanilla cake muffins right away, and bc they were so easy and super fluffy, I made the chocolate ones right afterwards, too (lots of happy colleagues today !). I looooooove the spongy texture, I never ever achieved this in vegan muffins before (and I tried a lot of them!!). It’s amazing how it works without any chia/flax/aquqfaba/banana egg replacement, I had my doubts when I read the recipe, but girl, was I wrong!!! This is genius, thank you! Can’t wait for fall to make the pumpkin pie spice version. And I’ll become a regular on your site now, that’s for sure.
That’s so awesome, yulca!!! Thrilled you loved my recipes so much already. I do a lot of recipe testing, so you can trust that my recipes will turn out (as you found out for yourself). Haha. I hope you enjoy many more recipes to come 🙂
Hi Sam, making these for the tiramisu:) is there a way to make these gluten free?
Oh yay! I haven’t tried it myself yet but I have heard wonderful things about Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 gluten-free flour. 🙂
King Arthur has an awesome Gluten Free flour for baking as well. My hubs was gluten free for a bit and I found for cakes that King Arthur was my personal preference over Bob’s. Sometimes Bob’s would get gritty on me. I also found that if I sifted my dry ingredients they were fluffier when doing gluten free. We are no longer gluten free so I have not tried gluten free flour in this recipe, but good luck. .
Great tip!
I have tried countless vanilla vegan cake recipes, and this one is definitely THE BEST!!!! I did everything as described, and it turned out amazing!!!!! Thank you thank you! This will be an all-time favourite now 🙂
Woohoo!! That’s so awesome, thrilled it’s the best one, Sara! Thank you for the comment 🙂
I made your chocolate vegan cake and it was amazing! I’m excited to try the vanilla! Do you use regular white sugar and powdered sugar or do you use organic? I am not vegan myself; I just bake for a couple of my friends that are, so I wasn’t even aware that sugar wasn’t vegan until recently. Any thoughts on this?
Hi Courtney, glad you enjoyed it. I use regular white sugar and powder. Some brands of sugar use bone char to whiten sugar. That isn’t super common anywhere other than the US I believe. Here in Canada, a very common brand is Redpath which clearly states on their site that it is safe for vegans. You could check the brands you use where you are to see if they are vegan, or as you mentioned, organic is always a good way to go as well as it is always vegan. Enjoy!
Would applesauce work in place of vegan butter? I don’t keep any of that in my house 🙁 Thanks!
For the frosting? I can’t see that working very well, unfortunately.
Hi, I made this cake for my vegan best friend and th ecake has come out of the oven about 30 minutes ago. I trimmed to top to level it and when I tried it it wasn’t very sweet at all, I am wondering if the icing evens it out so it tastes or if you think I made a mistake.
Hi Sinead. It’s definitely a sweet cake so it sounds like a measurement may have been off somewhere. It’s difficult to know exactly went wrong without being in the kitchen with you. Hope that helps!
Just wondering 1/4 cup of lemon or apple cider vinegar, not 1/4 tsp? Just never seen this much acid in a cake recipe before.
Yep it’s correct, 1/4 cup. It’s my hack to replace eggs. The acid reacts with the baking soda and makes the cake rise and get fluffy and delicious. 🙂
Made these today for my birthday and frosted them with your chocolate frosting. Oh my goodness! So delicious! Thank you 🙂
So happy you enjoyed them!! Happy Birthday!
Is it okay to use butter flavored shortening instead?
I’ve never even heard of that before, but as long as it’s vegan, I am sure it will work fine 🙂
I made this today. It tastes good but my frosting started to separate and I’m not sure why.
Oh no! It sounds like your ingredients might have gotten too warm, or perhaps the brand of vegan butter wasn’t great.
I’m so in love with this recipe! I’m featuring it in my video~ <3
Awesome 🙂
Cakes were never my strong suit in my pre-vegan days, so I was pretty nervous about how it would turn out, but I made this last night for mum’s birthday and it was delicious! Everyone loved it! Really fluffy and moist, not oily at all, with a lovely vanilla flavour. The cake wasn’t sticky and I could easily remove the baking paper.
I’m in Australia, so I followed the measurements as per previous comments to make one cake:
– 200g plain flour
– 160g sugar (cut back from 180g, I wanted it slightly less sweet)
– 150ml soy milk
– 85ml canola oil
– 35ml lemon juice
For the frosting:
– 165g icing sugar
– 50g Crisco veg shortening
– 1 1/2 tablespoons (forgot to weigh!) BioButtery spread
– 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
I didn’t need to add any milk to the frosting,
I used an 18cm/7″ cake pan as that was all I had. I baked the cake for 22 minutes.
Thanks for the recipe, would definitely make again!
So happy you enjoyed it, Millicent!
I plan to use this recipe for the lady fingers in your tiramisu recipe for my daughter’s birthday this weekend. The tiramisu recipe calls for two batches of this recipe and provides the link. Yet, this recipe appears to be doubled already for 24 cup cakes. Do I need 1 or 2 batches of this recipe for the tiramisu? Thanks! I’m excited to make this as your recipes always turn out so great!
Oh yes that is confusing, sorry about that Donna!! I had updated this recipe and didn’t think to update the tiramisu recipe info as well. I just updated the tiramisu recipe so the information is now correct. It will be one batch, which will be enough to make a two layer cake or 24 cupcakes. Enjoy!
I just made this and am so blown away that I have declared that this is the best vegan vanilla cake ever. Normally with the recipes that I’ve made the texture would always have a gumminess to it, but this really delivered on the light and fluffy aspect that non-vegan versions always have. I made sure not to over mix it and I think that helped a lot.
FYI I made 2 6-inch cakes and 5 cupcakes. I have yet to make the frosting.
Thanks for the recipe!
I frosted it with your chocolate frosting. Every bite is a piece of heave!
Wow thank you so much, lillian!! Thrilled you loved it so much 😀
hi ive always made this as my go to vanilla cake and cupcake recipe but now that its changed to a double layer cake recipe, have the measurements changed? i changed the cupcake size to 12 but im not familiar with 0.13 cups of apple cider vinegar. what was it prior to the change – was it 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar? thanks
Hi amy! I tried to make the recipe easier for people who want to make it a cake version. Did I end up just making it more confusing you think?? I want to do what’s best for everyone 🙂 Yes, 1/4 cup is 4 tablespoons, so half would be 2 tablespoons. Hope that helps!
That is great thank you I’ll remember it from now on. The way it is now is good however as u may know, I was super set w what it was before and I just spaced out at the converter while doing the muffins for school and panicked lol. Every time I make this muffin recipe into a vanilla cake, I do a layer of the vegan chocolate cake recipe and make my double layer cake that way so I get the best of both worlds! It’s always been a hit and everyone is always amazed it’s vegan. Thank u!
Oooh that sounds amazing! You’re most welcome, Amy 🙂
I just finished baking this as a cake. It tastes amazing and has a fantastic texture. this is my new go to vanilla cake!
Wonderful!! So happy you love it so much, Emma 🙂
Hey there, I just came across your recipe and I’m eager to try. I have a couple of concerns though, I make my own almond milk so it has no thickening agents, and I use organic unbleached sugar(larger crystals). Do you think this will be a problem? If so any advice? Thanks!
Hi Aly, I don’t think it should be a problem. I hope you enjoy the recipe!
Woow! These were a hit for Easter with my family. I made mini cupcakes, 48, and they were all gone by the end of the night. I definitely enjoyed telling everyone after that they were vegan. Thanks for a great recipe! Also, and tips on how to make these in a strawberry flavor naturally, without flavoring liduid? Thanks!
So happy they were enjoyed, Aly! I would have to toy around with the recipe to know exactly how to make them strawberry, but generally you would need to reduce the liquid a bit when adding strawberry pulp. Hope that helps!
Hi Sam! Any tips to get my frosting thicker/stiffer? I tried to add more sugar and even a bit of flour, but it stayed pretty thin and didn’t fluff up.
Also- I’m a huge fan of this site and your cookbook. You’ve helped make my first months of being vegan such a fun adventure.
Thanks, Katie! SO happy you love the book. I’m guessing that your vegan butter or vegetable shortening (or both), have a high water content that the kinds I was using. So I would start by adding all of the powdered sugar and cocoa to the bowl, along with maybe half of the vegan butter and half the shortening. Blend to combine. If it is too stiff, start adding more bit by bit as needed. You probably won’t need the extra non-dairy milk. Hope that helps!
So i just tried making these after using your chocolate cake recipe to make chocolate cupcakes (they turned out amazing). Sadly, they did not turn out at all! My dough was almost lumpy, which I thought was strange but I went with it anyways. After baking them, they still remained lumpy looking, not mention that some of them just sort of baked up and poured up over the cups and all over the pan. Ive never had quite the baking fail. I haven’t tried them yet but the raw batter tasted okay? Any ideas? I doubled the recipe, could that have anything to do with it? Ive looked over the ingredients several times and I’m sure that there were no measurement errors. My baking soda might be a little old, do you think that could be the culprit? Any insight would be great – I’m making these for a baby shower and would love to have them be my go to vegan cupcake, since the chocolate ones were so great!
Hi Monica, that’s odd. It’s difficult to know what when wrong without being in the kitchen with you… I’m not sure I can be much help! It does sound like somehow some liquid measurement was off. Sorry I can’t be more help!
Can these cupcakes be frozen for later use? Tastes good still?
For sure. Freeze the cupcakes and frosting separately. THen just thaw and frost when ready. Enjoy!
Thank you for the amazing recipe. I am making 100 of them for a fundraiser. The cake does taste quite strongly of baking soda. Is there anyway to mask it?
Wow amazing! I didn’t find the cupcakes to taste at all of the baking soda. Perhaps there was a clump of baking soda when you tasted one? Make sure to whisk well. Hope that helps!
These are so good! I found them spongey in a great way. I used vegan becel in the frosting and it worked well.
Awesome! So happy to hear you loved them, Alanna 🙂
LOVE these. Did anyone take them as cake? if so, what modifications did you make? Any advice?
*make them into cake
I only made the cupcakes, not the frosting. I made my own frosting.
Hi Evie! The recipe for 12 cupcakes would make enough for a one 9″ round cake. You can bake at the same temperature and for longer, 22-28 mins probably. You will know it’s done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Enjoy!
I made this today (without the frosting) and I am happy with the result. Thank you for this recipe! They are pretty light and fluffy. Mine were still very dense and heavy after 20min so I had to bake them for additional 10min! They were not oily at all as one person commented. The problem is that the cupcake, although fluffy, becomes heavy and sticky as soon as I put it in my mouth. This happens with most of the vegan cupcake recipes that I’ve tried. Is there any way to fix that or is is just a result of baking without eggs?
Also, although I filled my cupcake liners only half-way, I was only able to make 8 cupcakes! Should I have filled them less than half-way?
Hi Vesna,
So happy you enjoyed the recipe. It sounds like somehow an ingredient or measurement was off here? Or perhaps you had an extra large cupcake pan? You should have had way more batter than that, and that baking time is too long for cupcakes! My guess is that there was an error somewhere that caused your problems. Glad you enjoyed them anyway!
I would like to know if Almond Oil or regular vegetable oil can be substituted for the Canola oil? Also, can I leave the shortening out of the frosting recipe and just use the sticks of vegan butter? I’ve been told that there is too much trans fat in shortening (?)
Also–I recently made your chocolate cake recipe and the results were tremendous. Everyone loved the cake!
Vegetable oil would work perfectly! You can use all vegan butter but the frosting will be softer and meltier so make sure to keep the cake in a cool place, and you may need to reduce the non-dairy milk. You can buy trans fat free shortening sticks as well, Earth Balance makes them and they are usually what I use. Enjoy!
I mis-judged and ended up with 11 cupcakes instead of 12. Oops! I was not in the mood to bake, but it’s my best friend’s birthday tomorrow so I have to. (at 11:14 p.m., and I just put them in the oven…) I was thinking about getting a box mix, but I didn’t want the chemicals, not to mention I had all the ingredients. I was so pleased at how quickly they came together! I am starting to smell them now. Thank you for posting such an easy and vegan treat!
Yay! So happy you like them, Zuzu and love that they were easy enough for you to throw together last minute 🙂
My friend, the birthday girl LOVED them. I used chocolate frosting per her request. I didn’t have canola so I used avocado oil. Totally fine. I am back on this site because another friend’s baby is turning 1, and I am going to make these again. I’m going to experiment, half applesauce, half oil. Thank you so much again for posting this recipe! It is a hit, and definitely a go-to and repeat for me.
Yay! Thrilled you loved it so much that you came back for round 2! 🙂
Hi, thanks for the recipe, but going by a lot of reviews saying these turn out greasy/oily (same for my experience making them too) it might be good to adjust the recipe or put at note in the recipe about this. I measure ingredients to the exact gram and followed the instructions to a T, so I don’t think it was an error with anything going on there. They have a spongey texture,, but they are still quite greasy throughout. A cupcake should be fluffy and light, with rich decadent frosting. If it’s an oily cupcake with buttery icing on top, it will be overwhelmingly heavy and not pleasant. I’m no health nut and love greasy and oily vegan treats often, so the fact that even I found it oily was very unusual for me. Sorry for a downer comment, I just think with some slight adjustments this could be great, and it would be good to warn people before they use a bunch of ingredients on it.
Hi Claire, sorry you didn’t enjoy the recipe. The problem may be that you converted the recipe to grams (which is weight), and my recipe is written in cups and spoons (which is volume), so it’s two completely different ways of measuring. One does not equal the other. These cupcakes always come out perfectly moist and fluffy for me, and they do for many other people who bake them all the time, so my guess is that is the problem.
The thing is that volume can be converted into accurate weight using conversion websites (such as Traditional Oven). You can even select the country of the tools, so I used north american so it would be same as yours (e.g. how many grams of all-purpose flour fit into 1 North American cup). It doesn’t change the amount, it just makes it more accurate for me, because my country’s tools have different volume to northern america. This is one of the biggest problems w/ recipes online. Measuring tools of different countries actually have different volumes. 1 US cup is different volume from 1 AU cup. If I used mine, it would turn out even worse and less accurate. I think the issue might be the type of flour, I would suggest recommending a different gluten flour in the recipe, as it can effect oil absorption, such as cake flour. I don’t mean to be a downer on it, I just think it has so much potential to work great for everyone if they’re aware of these things, as it seems many others had the problem with oiliness too. Anyway thanks for your reply though!
So sorry you didn’t enjoy the recipe, Claire. The recipe works out perfectly for me every time and isn’t oily. I can’t really fix a recipe that always works for me! Maybe there is another recipe that will suit your tastes better. Sorry I can’t be more help.
Don’t feel the need to apologise at all! As I said I don’t mean to be a downer, but since so many other people said it turned out oily for them too there must be a consistent error that comes from the recipe, I just thought it would be helpful for others to be wary of how they make it so they don’t end up wasting a bunch of ingredients. The texture of them was great so it definitely has potential 🙂 thanks for your reply!
do you think I could use whole wheat flour instead?
Whole wheat flour is heavier and makes baking denser. You can use this guide to help you substitute some of the flour, but I have never tested it myself, so I can guarantee results. Enjoy!
These look so cute and scrumptious!! I’m in love with the Earl Grey cupcake recipe, I can’t wait to try this one!
I am also looking to make my first vegan cake, but I’m having no luck finding a white cake recipe. I am assuming that kind of cake would be good topped with berries… Do you know of a yummy recipe for one?
Have a wonderful Monday. 🙂
Hi Christie, you could make these cupcakes into a cake. 12 cupcakes would equal one 9″ layer cake. Just pour into a lightly greased cake pan, and bake. You could doulbe the recipe for 2 layer cake. It will just take a little longer to bake, but you will know when it is done when it is lightly golden on top and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Enjoy!
I made this cake and it was delicious so moist! Thank you I will be making this for my daughter birthday.. I was wondering could u use whole wheat flour?
Glad you enjoyed it! Whole wheat flour is much denser and requires more moisture. It will definitely change the texture of the cake, so I recommend sticking to the all-purpose. You could try a whole-wheat pastry flour which may get you a better result, but I haven’t tried it myself.
I don’t think these are the best cupcakes I just followed and made the cupcakes to exact ingredients and they are blah. They taste like horrible they need more flavour
Aww too bad you didn’t love them, Faith!
I have never left a review of a recipe I found on the internet until now. So that’s something. I have been vegan for a while, and because I have a HUGE sweet tooth, I have made many, many cupcakes. I have tried dozens of recipes but this one takes the (cup)cake. This is by far the best recipe I have tried, thus living up to its name of “The Best Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes”.
I followed the recipe almost exactly. My only substitutions were baker’s sugar (very fine sugar as opposed to regular granulated sugar), and real vanilla bean instead of vanilla extract in the frosting. I also took the extra steps of sifting all of my dry ingredients, grinding the sea salt into a fine dust with a mortar and pestle, and letting the almond milk and ACV marinate for a while (~5 min) before adding them to the mix.
I ate the entire batch in 3 days. And I thought THAT was exercising self-restraint! Lol! Ever since then I have been craving them almost daily. I am planning on making these again the same way for my friend’s birthday party, and using food coloring to dye the frosting rainbow colors! Thanks for the recipe.
Wow! I am so flattered that this recipe inspired you to leave your first comment! Thrilled you loved them so much, Avery! I hope you enjoy many more of my recipes 🙂
I absolutely love this recipe! I omitted the vinegar and added lemon juice instead and also grated the lemon rind into the batter. Instead of almond milk in the frosting I added a lavender infused blueberry puree. Absolute heaven. These are the lightest, fluffiest cupcakes ever! Thank you for sharing your recipes, I’m never disappointed!
Woah! Lavender infused blueberry puree!! Sounds like heaven! So happy you enjoy my recipes so much, Theresa 🙂
Wow you did an amazing job with this recipe. I find them a little salty could I leave out some of the salt with out afecting texture?
Yay! Thank you so much! Absolutely. Salt to taste. 😀
Also have you made them chocolate? I am making the Vanilla ones today for easter but will
Like to make chocolate also. Thanks
Sure, you can make The Ultimate Vegan Chocolate Cake into cupcakes. Enjoy!
Loved the cupcakes and super simple recipe as well….came out a little dense for my liking, will try adding a 1/4 tbsp baking powder next time. Quick question, i mixed the vinegar and the milk first, and it curdled, is that OK or not?
Thank you
So happy you liked them! They are very light fluffy cakes, so it is possible that you might have overmixed them which would make them denser. The milk curdling is fine, you’re basically just making a buttermilk, but for best results, make sure to mix all the wet ingredients together in one bowl, no need to mix them separately. Enjoy!
OMG! Im an 11 vegan baker and these cupcakes work PERFECTLY! Thnx so much! Also I used the recipe to make a cake and it was great that works too right?
Woohoo! So happy you enjoyed them, and yep! Cake works too 🙂
Oh these sound delicious & id really like to give them a try!
I’m in the UK & the cup measurements are seriously confusing to me! How do I convert to grams and millilitres?
Many thanks
Haha, no problem. Grams won’t really work since cups are all volume (not weight), but here is a chart that should help you convert everything to millimeters. Hope that helps! 🙂
Thank you for the reply.
At the risk of sounding really stupid, do you guys literally use any cup that you have or is there a specific type?
It’s something I have never quite understood haha
Haha, I think that it’s probably where the measurements originated from, but no, they are specific measurements that look like this. I know some other UK fans have bought a set of US cups and spoons measurements to make cooking from blogs a little easier. I think you can order them online if that interests you.
They would make things a whole lot easier! I will definitely order some online
Thanks for your help!
Anytime 🙂
This is actually the easiest and best cupcake recipe I’ve come across, and its vegan! Thank you so much!
Haha yes it is!! So happy you loved it 🙂
Thank you for the wonderful recipe! Made today 3 batches for daughter’s birthday. For the first one I followed the recipe bit the end result wasn’t perfect. I used sunflower oil and it didn’t taste well and baking soda could be felt in the cupcakes. Then I switched the oil for coconut oil and added lemon juice instead of ACV and the final result was awesome. Had this wonderful vanilla coconut flavour and aroma! They were light and soft! Will try this as a cake on Saturday. Hope all goes well!
So I would say it does matter a lot what kinda ingredients you use, results will vary greatly from it. Especially in vegan baking.
So glad they worked out for you! 🙂
WOWzers, these are THE best!! YUM YUM.
If I double the recipe, how long do I bake for? Twice the amount of time? (new “baker”)
Yay! So happy you love them! If you double the recipe and make twice the amount of cupcakes, you bake them for the same amount of time. Enjoy!
I loves them! Very sweet and perfectly salty, I will probably use less oil next time because they turned out a bit greasy
So happy you enjoy them!
These did not work out for me but I did change the milk to water so maybe that’s the issue. They turned out greasy and wouldn’t rise and the inside stayed raw looking/feeling. I was careful only to mix until lumps were gone, and both dry/wet ingredients were thoroughly mixed prior to being added together.
They tasted very strongly of vinegar so perhaps raw apple cider vinegar is not a good thing to use? It said apple cider or white vinegar, so I assumed that meant apple cider vinegar or white vinegar and not actual apple cider.
Had to toss the entire bunch of greasy vinegar vanilla bites.
Could using water instead of milk have made that big of a difference or was it the raw apple cider vinegar? I assumed it wouldn’t since most of what’s in almond milk actually is just water.
Oh no! It sound like something went horribly awry here. The water may have been the issue, it also sounds like they were undercooked or possibly measured an ingredient wrong… difficult to tell if I am not in the kitchen with you! These cupcakes always work out perfectly every time I have made them (which is many times). So if you ever try them again, I hope they work out better for you next time!
Hello. I’d like to try to make these for vegan friends of mine, but I have a nut allergy and I’d like to be anllergylmond baking to eat them too 😉 Will soya milk work instead of almond milk? Thanks!
Sorry, autoincorrect did something weird to my comment! That was meant to say that I’d like to be able to try them too 😉
Absolutely! I bake with soy milk all the time 🙂
Great, thank you 🙂
Is it possible to make this into a cake?
Yep! Just bake it for longer, 35 to 40 minutes I would say. 🙂
Hi! I just tried this recipe and the flavor and texture is amazing. I did run into a small problem though… the cake was very crumbly. Once you removed the wrapper to eat it the cake fell apart making it difficult to eat. I live in a very humid environment and am wondering if reducing the amount of oil help with this? I’m not sure how to fix this, and really want to use this recipe to make my friends daughters birthday cupcakes. Any advise/ help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks so much!
Hi Danie,
So happy you loved the cake so much 🙂
I think your best option would be to buy parchment cupcake liners. These won’t stick to the cake so when you remove the wrapper it should hold together just fine. Hope that helps!
Shoot. That won’t work for me as I don’t live in the US and Amazon only ships specific items here. Any other thoughts?
My grocery store carries the parchment liners, but if yours doesn’t a kitchen supply store might. You could also try cutting squares of parchment and just shoving them in the cupcake pan.
**Update** I Just pulled these out of the refrigerator this morning, let them get to room temp, and then peeled off the wrapper… Perfections! No crumbles!
Oh yay!! Who knew? Great tip!
This recipe doubled beautifully ❤
Yay! Happy to hear 🙂
Oh my goodness, these cakes are AWESOME!!
I made them for my friends sons birthday. They were on holiday here and I wanted to do a little something for him but was worried as he is a vegan. I trolled through the Internet looking for a good recipe that had great reviews and found this one. It lived up to and even exceeded the rave reviews. The non vegans enjoyed it as much as her son. Pure awesome-ness! What a hit!
Yay!!! So happy you found this recipe and it was a hit, not only with the vegan, but for everyone. Maybe you will be inspired try more vegan recipes now 🙂
I made these for a baby shower and they turned out perfectly! The icing split but that was my fault. There were lumps of vegetable shortening in the icing so I popped the bowl in the warm oven to try and melt it. Think that’s why it split! But still tasted fine! Just wondering how long they last for iced in a airtight container? Thanks!
So happy you enjoyed them Lauren, and too bad the icing split. Yeah, an oven for the icing it a no go. Next time if it’s lumpy use a mixer to blend. If you don’t have a mixer an immersion blender works well too. To keep the cupcakes, I would keep them covered at room temperature. They should last a few days, but will be the softest and fluffiest on day one. Alternatively, cupcakes and frosting can be frozen separately. Thaw and then frost. Hope that helps!
Oh I did use a beater to try and get the lumps out! Nothing worked. I was in a hurry so that’s why I popped it in the cooling oven. Next time I’ll beat the shortening and vegan spread first before adding the other ingredients! Had the last cupcake last night (4 days later) and it was still tasty! Thanks for replying xx
No problem! So happy you enjoyed them 🙂
These turned out amazing. Very yummy and super easy to make. I added fresh blueberries also. I didn’t make the frosting for them as I didn’t have any of the ingredients on hand.
Yay! So happy you loved them Sabra. Mmmmmm blueberries 🙂
Well I am sad to say that this recipe did not work out for me at all. First, I have to say that I am not vegan, so I guess I didn’t really know what to expect. Second, I live at about 8000 feet elevation, so that may have had some effect on the outcome of the finished product.
I made this recipe twice, back to back. The first time I followed the directions exactly. They sunk in the middle and were considerably greasy, but they tasted pretty good The second time I added a little more flour, hoping to compensate for altitude, and made sure not to over mix. They still sunk, not as bad, but they didn’t taste as good- they had a bitter, baking soda flavor, and they were still quite greasy.
As this was my first attempt at vegan baking I am going to chalk up my failed cupcakes to inexperience, but I don’t think I’ll attempt this recipe again.
Oh no! That’s too bad. I know nothing about cooking at higher elevations so I’m not sure if that is the problem, but these cupcakes work for me every time. Not sure what to recommend! Sorry they didn’t work out for you Emily!
When it says 1/2 cup plus what does that mean
You add 1/2 cup sugar and you add 1/3 cup of sugar. When writing the recipe I just found 3/4 cups of sugar was to little and 1 cup was too much, so that is the in-between measurement. Hope that helps!
Hi! These tasted delicious although they sank in the middle. I used earth balance vegan buttery sticks for the frosting and it was a little runny, so I’ll try putting them in the fridge prior to frosting.
Both toddler and husband declared them yummy. I’ll be making some for her birthday in a few weeks.
I was wondering if this would work for mini cupcakes, too. I plan on making 24 big ones and a batch of minis.
So happy they were declared yummy! The sinking in the middle is likely due to over-beating the batter. If you make them again make sure to mix them until just combined. They will definitely work for mini cupcakes, the cooking time will be much shorter so just keep a close eye on them. Enjoy!
yes yes yes! I agree with every positive comment about these cupcakes. Heaven in the ease of making them, heaven in the eating of them. 🙂 Just happiness.
I made a batch with fresh cut up strawberries in them, and honestly they were extremely delicious. I’ve made these twice in 2 days, and had no problems with sinking in the middle. These are the fluffiest vegan cupcakes I’ve ever made. Thanks.
Yay!!!! Thanks for the lovely comment, I’m so happy you loved them so much PniB! 🙂
I’m excited to try this recipe but I was wondering if you could use gluten free flour? My sister is vegan and she also has a gluten allergy and it would be awesome to make them and surprise her for her birthday. Will it work?
Hi Gabrielle,
Gluten free baking is very different than regular baking. I know there are some gluten free all-purpose flour mixes, but I have never tried them in this recipe so I am not sure how well they work. If you give it a try, I would recommend doing a test batch first. Hope that helps!
Well these are just perfect. I made a test batch last night for my daughter’s birthday on Saturday (she has a milk, egg. & almond allergy) and had only planned on making enough for the kids because I didn’t expect them to be so delicious! So I threw them in the freezer & will definitely make another batch before the party. I wanted to say thanks for such a great recipe, so happy my little one doesn’t have to miss out because of her allergies!
Aww yay!! So happy you loved them so much, and happy birthday to your daughter! I hope she loves them too 🙂
These cupcakes turned out great!! I did mini cupcakes. I just floured my pan and shortened the cooking time to 10-13 mins.
Just not sure about the frosting. I followed the recipe exactly, however mine was very thin. Tasted great, just not thick enough. Any suggestions?
So happy the cupcakes turned out! For the frosting, was it a very hot day? If the vegan butter and shortening start melting it will be very thin for sure. The solution on a hot day is to chill all of the tools you are using, then keep the frosting in the fridge until ready to use. Hope that helps!
Can I convert the flour to grams. Is there a standard for that.
Here is a good chart that should help you. 🙂
Last minute Birthday Cupcakes-
Didn’t expect to make these last Sunday BUT i remembered this recipe and made them! OMG they were amazing… I’m vegan but my grown sons are not- as we sat around eating these wonderful light airy cupcakes, my son said ” your not suppose to be eating these” haha yes I can cause they are vegan!!! They could not believe they were vegan! This recipe is one of the best cupcake recipes out there vegan or non vegan. Thanks for sharing
Haha! “you’re not supposed to be eating these”!! Love love love it! So happy you made last minute cupcakes 😀
My.cupcakes collapsed directly in center on all 12 why?
It sounds like your oven temperature could be too high. If the oven is too hot, the cupcakes would raise too quickly and then collapse into themselves. If you think that may be the problem, you could pick up an oven thermometer to help get the temp right. Hope that helps!!
Hi Samantha,
This recipe looks great. I’m just starting to feel my way through dairy free for my son. He’s only 16months old but is already jealous his older sister can have cupcakes. I was wondering if I can freeze these cakes? I don’t think a toddler would get through 12 cupcakes quickly enough. Thanks
Yes, if you freeze them without the frosting they should be fine. You could freeze the frosting separately, thaw, and then apply. Alternatively, you could half the recipe to make just 6 cupcakes 🙂
Can you use almond flour, or white whole wheat flour? I ran out of APF. Thanks!
Hi Amanda, from my research it looks as though white whole wheat flour should work out fine, but almond flour will not work at all. Hope that helps!
Oh, yes! Almond Flour was an epic fail! I don’t even know what came out of the oven, but it exploded onto the bottom, and crystallized on the sides I’ll try whole wheat flour next time! It was a super easy recipe.
One more question, the sugar. Do you really need 1/2 and 1/3 cup sugar, or should they be split somehow?
Haha, oh no!!
For the sugar, yes, both. When I wrote the recipe I just didn’t think that 3/4 cup was enough, but 1 cup was too much. I’m picky I know! Haha.
Love this recipe. I made the best cupcakes ever! 😀
Before turning vegan , the cupcakes I used to make had this strong egg smell.Now, It is light, fluffy and fragrant full vanilla cupcakes. Thanks a lot for this recipe.
Aww that’s so awesome! So happy you like it so much Angela! 🙂
Great recipe! I dyed my batter, and it turned out great. My advice for some of those whose didn’t turn out: let the wet ingredients sit for about 5 mins before you mix with the dry (the cinegar helps “sour/thicken” the milk). also, do NOT over-mix, and check your oven. I cooked mine at 25 degrees hotter because my oven temp is off.
So happy you love it Carolyn, and I totally agree with you, over-mixing the batter is a total killer! Better to have lumps than to mix it too much. 🙂
Great recipe. These truly are the best vanilla cupcakes i have tasted. I shared a link to your recipe with my danish vegan community on Facebook. I hope that was ok 🙂
Aww so happy you loved them so much 🙂 Absolutely, share on Facebook as much as you like 🙂
Hi, Samantha! I made these cupcakes a couple weeks ago for a trial run and they didn’t disappoint!! I was wondering what the conversion would be to bake the batter in a 5″-6″ cake pan? I want to make a 3-4 layer cake for my daughters 1st birthday. What would be your recommendations? Double batter? Thank you:)
Hi Kelly,
So happy you loved them! I would say this recipe would make a one layer 9″ cake, so yes, I think doubling it would get you 3 layers, maybe 4. Sounds like it’s going to be gorgeous! Tag me on instagram or post a photo on my Facebook page 🙂
Will do! 🙂
Hi
I have searched and searched for a decent recipe for vegan vanilla cupcakes! Yours is definitely the best I’ve tried.
Just one thing, I found the sponge to be a little oily!! I used pure vegetable oil. the texture was super moist, but did compact when touched. Would it alter the texture too much if I added a little less oil?
Please let me have you thoughts, the recipe is definitely worth it.
PS How do I add a photo?
Love Jean x
Oh yay! So happy you love the cupcakes so much! Too be honest I am not sure how much the recipe would change with a reduction of oil. I know some people replace some oil with apple sauce in baking, but I have never tried it in this recipe. If you give it a try, I would love to hear how it works for you!
You can’t up load a photo on my site, but I would love to see one on my Facebook page, or if you tag me on Instagram. 😀
wow….I was a little concerned because these fell a little in the middle after I took them out of the oven….but omg the taste is to die for. I didn’t frost them, they absolutely don’t need it and I don’t need the extra calories. I am so happy I found this recipe.
Yay!! So happy you loved them Diane 🙂
The recipe works ! i did make a few changes: sunflower oil, soya milk and self raising flour. The cupcakes were light and fluffy. I made 10 cupcakes.
I didn’t use cup measurements :
200g flour
280g sugar
150ml soya milk
85ml oil
I would advise to use a deep cupcake tray and 2 cupcake cases for support.
I’m sure i mixed the batter in less than a minute. I stopped when it appeared smooth because i did not want to overmix. I didn’t use an electric whisk.
Unfortunately I forgot to add vanilla essence so it is a bit bland.
I made my own buttercream with vitalite dairy free butter and icing sugar.
live in England and my daughter recently became allergic to egg and milk. I’ve struggled to find recipes that worked, they’re usually too dense. But this has to be the best by far! Thank you so much for posting
So happy the recipe turned out for you Natasha 🙂
Oops I meant 180g of sugar
I used rapseed oil so im not sure if this is why they didnt turn out great they did rise they were fluffy but the smell made me think of fried eggs and the top of the cupcakes didnt look so great. i dont no what conala oil is so o just bought what i found in the shop. Can i substitute the oil for a vegan butter? Thank you
Hmm I don’t think rapeseed oil was the problem here, that should work fine. Vegan butter would be to heavy for this recipe. I really don’t know where the fried egg smell came from! If you wanted to try another oil, any oil that is very light in flavour would work such as vegetable oil. Hope that helps!
Thank you for the reply im trying it now with Vitalite butter melted the butter to see what happens … Lol wish me luck .. Maybe its my sences in quite sensitive to smells but other than that recipe was great
Good luck!
Maybe the oil was rancid. It is an awful smell and will make whatever you are making taste bad.
Oh yes, something was off for sure, the batter should taste and smell like regular vanilla cake batter. I eat it from the spoon 😀
The texture turned out amazing! I didn’t like the aftertaste that the vinegar left so for the second batch I used 2T lemon juice and they turned out much much better tastewise with no compromise to the texture.
Sneaky, this doesn’t allow me to rate it anything other than 5 stars. I got 9 cupcakes with the measurements provided.
Really? There must be a glitch in the recipe software. I just tested it from my end and all appears to be working, can you tell me if you are on mobile or desktop? You should be able to pick however many stars you like!
Hmm, I guess so. Was using my phone. Anyway, would have given it a 4 star rating =)
Thank you 🙂
I have contacted my mobile site team about this, they told me that a few of the other sites they are managing are also experiencing this problem, so they are working on fixing it. I will let you know when the star system is running again 🙂
Just to update you, the issue was fixed, and everything should be working fine now 🙂
So happy you love the texture so much and were able to make them your own 🙂
Can I use water instead of almond milk? Thanks
I haven’t tried it myself, so I can’t know for sure, but I think it might be ok. If you give it a try, let us know how it turns out. 🙂
Hi! Do you know how I would adapt this to make 2 nine inch rounds?
Hi Mina,
Yes, one batch of this recipe would make enough for one 9″ round, so I would double the recipe. It will probably take longer to bake, so I would keep an eye on it and you will be able to tel when it is cooked when a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Enjoy!
2nd time around and not a flop! yay!
1st time around I used brown sugar, and it wasn’t as sweet. 2nd time around I am using white sugar, seems to have fixed the issue even though the 1st round wasn’t bad.
1st time around I used cup measurements and only got 9 cc; 2nd time around got 12 and I used the g and ml measurements provided in the comments.
I didn’t make the frosting, because in South Africa, vegan margarine is not available. If it is, not readily so. And shortening I have never even heard of.
I am not a champion baker, so I hesitate to alternate recipes, but I would love to try out some healthy alternatives to some of the ingredients. Maybe. One day.
Thanks for the recipe.
Yay! Glad it worked out the second time for you. Enjoy!
Hi Nadya
You can use Wooden Spoon White Margarine or Blossom Lite. I checked the ingredients yesterday. Don’t worry about shortening. I always do marg (only about 2T), icing sugar, vegan milk and vanilla. For chocolate frosting add a little cocoa.
Hayley
Good tip!
white sugar isn’t vegan, bone char is used in the processing
That is true of some brands, but many brands are safe for vegans. Usually you can just check on their website. One of the more common brands of sugar here in Canada is Redpath, and a visit to the Redpath FAQ page shows me that it is indeed safe for vegans.
In South Africa, all white sugar is vegan. And actually this is true for a large part of the world. Using bone char is a very old method as I understand it, but for some reason the US is still clinging to it and many other outdated methods in processing items.
We just need to watch out for sweets made in the US therefore, but our Oreos for instance, are vegan because ours come from the UK, or some other vegan Oreo maker 🙂
Just to let you know, that ALL Tate and Lyle sugars are Vegan friendly 🙂
Not sure if I was clear on my last question, my main concern is doubling or tripling the apple cider vinegar and the baking soda? Do I triple those ingredients if I want to triple the recipe? Thanks.
Oh just saw this. Yes, if you are going to triple the recipe, make sure you triple every ingredient exactly. 🙂
how should I store these cupcakes if I want to use them for the next day? Also can I triple the recipe or do I need to make each batch individually? Thanks!
Hi Quyen,
The only concern for tripling the recipe is if your cupcake batter is left sitting around at room temperature for a long time it may fizzle out before the cupcakes are baked. I would try to keep the batches to however many you can fit in your oven at once. You can always have the wet mixture and the dry mixtures ready and waiting, just don’t mix them together until you’re ready to bake. To store them, I would keep them in a cool area (but not the fridge), covered with plastic wrap or something similar. Hope that helps!
Have you tried this recipe with adding something to it, like bananas? Is it still fluffy? How much bananas could I add to flavor it but still remain light and fluffy?
Hi Quyen,
I haven’t added bananas to this recipe, but because bananas are quite wet, I would reduce some to the liquid to make the cupcakes. That said, I haven’t tried this myself, so I can’t predict how it will turn out for you. Enjoy!
I want to make this as a cake for my daughter’s birthday party Friday. So I baked up a test batch yesterday and sent the cupcakes off with my husband this morning. He called me and said that one of his co-workers said it was the best cupcake he’d ever eaten. (And I used to work in a cupcake bakery and brought in cupcakes daily!)
So…it doesn’t get much better than that! 😀
WOW!! Really!? I am so so flattered!!!! I love that. Thank you so much for sharing. I am so happy the cupcakes were such a success! 😀
just made these – they taste delicious, but the texture turned out to be very sticky? i don’t know if i did something wrong or they’re supposed to be like that.
Hmmmm… I’m not sure what could have happened. Do you live in a very humid climate? Perhaps humidity is the cause!
same here…they got kinda doughy. what do I need to add more of to make them more fluffy? Cause I think I got the ratio slightly wrong. had to convert the recipie into grams/ml and got conflicting information on the internet.
Hi Franziska,
Yeah, I think switching the recipe from volume measurements to weight measurements (grams) is what didn’t work too well. None of my ingredients are listed by weight, so to try and switch them to that is probably what through off the recipe. If you want to convert the entire recipe to ml, here is a handy chart. Hope that helps!
I bought a Tala metal cone that measures american cups, uk cups, mls etc. Well worth buying. And when you make the cake you can weigh the ingredients after measuring them in the cone to make a note of. Makes passing the recipe to others easier 🙂
Oh awesome idea tamlyn! I need one of those 🙂
I made them today and weighed the ingredients after measuring them in american cups.
1 1/4 cup flour is 200g.
1/2 + 1/3 cups sugar is 180g sugar.
2/3 cups soya milk is 150ml.
1/3 cup oil is about 85ml.
They were yummy, rose very well. I butterflied the tops and filled the dip with strawberry jam and vanilla buttercream and topped with the cut-out cake and a strawberry and dusted with icing sugar. Victoria sponge cupcakes 🙂
Thanks for translating the recipe tamlyn! I am sure you aren’t the only one that will find that helpful. So very happy you enjoyed the cupcakes 🙂
My cupcakes also came out sticky. I tried used 1/2 the batter with liners and 1/2 by greasing the pan. I had a hard time getting them out of both the wrapper and the pan. When I set them on a wire rack they stuck a bit as well so I put them on parchment. Handling them for frosting was problematic because they kept sticking to my hands and coming apart. Wah wah. I know I didn’t miss anything. There is a chance I may have added just a drop too much almond milk . . . That’s all I can think of as far as a misstep. I baked them for 18 minutes. Perhaps I should have gone an extra minute or two? They taste good; however I’d like to try again for a not-so-sticky batch, perhaps using the lemon juice as someone else suggested.
Hmmm, I don’t know what’s going on here. My cakes are maybe slightly sticky, but definitely not sticky enough to pull apart in your hands! Are you in a very humid place? Humidity could affect the stickiness. Otherwise it could be a combo of too much liquid and undercooking slightly. The next time you try to make the cupcakes, try removing them from the pan and cooling in a place with lots of fresh air. I am also a big fan of parchment cupcake liners. I hope some of these tips help a bit. Glad you liked the taste of them 🙂
So . . . they only stick to the wrapper when you eat them fresh and hot out of the oven because you just can’t wait to taste their deliciousness. The cupcakes that were allowed to cool came out just fine but they were still a little more fragile than the average cupcake. Yes, I do live in a more humid climate; however, Florida isn’t crazy humid just yet. I will try to be more precise with the milk next time. I may have accidentally gone up to the 3/4 cup mark. I will also cook them an extra minute or two. Other people are getting cupcakes that turned out just fine so it must be something on my end. Fingers crossed!
Haha! I love that you couldn’t wait to eat them right out of the oven! I hope they turn out a less sticky for you next time 🙂
I loved this recipe! I had some issues with any alterations I made so I keep right to the recipe now. I had no success doubling it. And adding baking powder was a DISASTER for me! Embarrassingly so… I do wish mine were a little lighter (why I tried the baking powder recommendation) but I think that is more my ovens issue than the recipes. Thanks!
So happy you enjoyed the recipe Jessica! You might want to get an oven thermometer, sometimes if the temperature of your oven is a little off it can mess with recipes, especially baking. Enjoy!
Made these yesterday! Yummy! These have great flavor and are so light and fluffy. I didnt have canola so I used sunflower oil and I also made a chocolate buttercream frosting. Delicious. This is my new go to recipe.
Yay!! So happy you loved them Cici! Light and fluffy cupcakes are the way to go 🙂 Now I need to make a chocolate version soon…
Hi!! I just made these and they are amazing!! The icing was perfect when I first made it but now it’s melting some… It might be that my kitchen is warmer because of the oven? Should I just wait it out and see if it hardens on the cupcakes?
Yay! So happy you enjoyed them.
Yes, your kitchen may be just a little warm. You could pop the icing in the fridge for a bit to let it firm up, and I would store the cupcakes in a cool area of your home. So happy you love the cupcakes Michele 😀
The wedding cake turned out perfect!! Thanks for the receipe!
Oh amazing!! I wanna see pictures 🙂
Okay so I made a second batch and they were unfortunately just the same as the first ones . The taste is good, but they don’t rise, they sink in the middle, they look very oily, are not fluffy at all, and they stick to the liners. This time I used white vinegar and I added half a teaspoon of baking soda. I am kind of sad right now lol.. the only thing that i can think of that would be logical would be that my baking soda is old, but it expires on 2017!
I would really appreciate any thoughts or tips on what could’ve gone wrong. Thanks!
Hi Melissa,
that’s such a bummer that this recipe didn’t work for you! I have made these cupcakes numerous times and they always work out for me, and I know other people have tried them with success too. I found this article, on why your cupcakes might have sank in the middle. Do you think it could be any of these reasons? http://www.cupcakeproject.com/2007/01/how-to-keep-cupcakes-from-collapsing-in.html
Hope that helps!
The same thing happened to me. 35 minutes in the oven and they *still* looked oily on top/bubbly under the surface and were flat in the centre 🙁 I’m kind of disappointed as the recipe seemed to work for everyone else. I used rice milk and vegetable oil, as those were what I had. I feel like that shouldn’t have made a difference, but perhaps that was the problem?
Oh no! That’s such a bummer. I agree that the rice milk and vegetable oil shouldn’t have made much of a difference. I am not sure what the problem is here. Do you have an oven thermometer? Sometimes ovens can be quite off… Just a thought
This is my go to recipe for vegan vanilla cake / cupcakes! Tastes amazing, but every time I’ve made them I add 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder as well because I love how fluffy it makes them. Maybe that could help you!
Thanks for the tip Nicole! 🙂
I made the following mods and it came out really fluffy!
I combined the ACV and almond milk first int heir own bowl and let them curdle a while.
To the dry ingredients I added a heaping 1/4 tbsp baking powder.
When combining i used a beater to fluff up the batter.
Glad you enjoyed some fluffy cupcakes!! 🙂
I don’t know what went wrong. The cupcakes didn’t rise much and they sunk in the middle. Also, they were super oily and the texture was just awful. The taste was pretty good, though. I used apple cider vinegar and sunflower oil (we can’t get canola oil in my country), and I did open the oven door one time while they were baking, so maybe that’s what ruined them? They where nothing like in your picture. I’ll make them again and tell you if they come out right this time. I’ve got hope for this recipe!
I seriously cannot believe these are vegan, and I made them myself! These cupcakes absolutely have the best texture and taste of any vegan cake I’ve ever made (and I’ve made quite a few). I used coconut sugar in mine (I don’t eat refined sugar) and added in some pomegranate seeds for an extra treat and they came out perfectly! I will definitely be making these again soon.
Yay!! So happy you love the texture Sara, that’s my favourite part too! Thank you for the lovely review! 😀
Hi Sara, for the coconut sugar substitute, Did you just use the same measurements? Thanks!
Incase Sara doesn’t get back to you, generally you can substitute coconut sugar 1 to 1 for white sugar, so yes, use the same measurement. Check out this article about baking with coconut sugar. Hope that helps!
Can you also use this recipe for a cake—like a 4 tier naked wedding cake? Just increase the recipe? Will the texture hold up?
Hi Claire,
Some people have told me they made this into a cake with success, so I don’t see why not. The cake is very light and fluffy, so I am not sure how well it would stack. (Denser cakes tend to be better for stacking high). I think they cake would take longer to cook all the way through than the cupcakes, so be sure to check that a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean before taking it out of the oven. I would definitely give this a test before hand if you plan on using it for a wedding cake.
If you do, let us know how it turns out!
Best,
Sam
Highly recommended! I was looking for a vegan alternative because I have no eggs! I know vegan can be delicious so I made these. They’re great! I just put the whole cup of sugar as opposed to the 5/6c. I added a lot more vanilla (I taste my batter and go from there) . I filled my liners 2/3 full because it’s a more liquid batter and I wanted to have the mound on top.
So happy you loved them and that you know vegan cupcakes can be delicious!
Hi,
I’m not sure why you ask for ½ Cup plus ⅓ Cup White Sugar if we mix everithing at the same time.
Hi Annie,
Because I felt there was no better way for me to explain the measurement. 1/2 cup plus 1/3 cup equals 5/6 cup. I don’t think most people have that 5/6 measuring cup, so I was trying to make it simpler.
Ok thanks!
I will bake those in a minute 🙂
EnjoY! 🙂
I made these cupcakes yesterday for my son’s Cub Scout pack and they were a hit. Thanks so much for such a great recipe. https://flic.kr/p/tsxg3K
Oh look how cute they are!!!!! Thanks for sharing the picture and so happy they were a hit 😀
I Googled “vegan vanilla cupcake recipe,” and this was the top result — congrats on that, by the way! I used cane sugar for white sugar, and I mixed in the white vinegar with the unsweetened almond milk and let that mixture sit for a couple minutes before adding the other liquids. I also added some blue gel food coloring to the cupcakes’ centers before baking them (these were for a baby shower) and used homemade vegan chocolate buttercream frosting. I was only able to make 8 or 9 cupcakes for each of my 2 batches; perhaps I put too much batter into my liners. My 1st batch had slightly crispy edges (nothing that good frosting couldn’t save), so I pulled my 2nd batch out sooner. The party guests, who were mostly omnivores, devoured the cupcakes without knowing they were vegan, and I received rave reviews! My vegan friend wanted a copy of the recipe, so I’m glad to have her stamp of approval. I’m definitely curious to try more of your recipes for myself!
Hi Sarah,
So happy you loved the recipe and that everyone at the baby shower devoured them! Haha.
Your cupcakes sound so cute, I wish I could have seen a picture!
😀
I would love to the your favourite person of the day 🙂
I’ve never made vegan vanilla cupcakes but I’ve been searching for a recipe to use for my wedding cupcakes. I have a dairy allergy so I need something yummy for me and my hubby to be 🙂
I’m making cupcakes in a jar as we are travelling an hour out of town to get married and I thought what a great idea to dress up the jar with a pretty sticker on the top and ribbon in our matching colours.
This recipe sounds delicious and the frosting sounds perfect !!! I already use Earth Balance margarine and will look for the shortening as well.
I hope you’ll let me post a pic of the yumminess I create.
All the best,
Anj
Haha, you are my favourite person of the day Anj!
That sounds too cute, cupcakes in a jar, love it! Be sure to keep the cupcakes as cool as possible in your travels, they do hold up in heat pretty well, but just in case.
Absolutley, please share pics! You can post them on my Facebook page.
Hope you have a fabulous wedding. 😀
Hi Sam, I’m Nicoletta, the one half of sugarlovespices. Your site is beautiful and your cupcakes are amazing. Although we are not vegan, we cook vegan meals sometimes and I attended a vegan baking course becuse I realy like baking vegan desserts. I am going to try these vanilla cupcakes for sure and I’ll keep coming in!
Thank you so much Nicoletta! Vegan baking is awesome! I hope you enjoy the cupcakes! 😀
No baking powder?
Nope!
Instead of canola oil could I use vegetable or rice bran?
Absolutely! Any light oil should work just fine.
How do you scoop/measure your flour? I do the whisk/scoop/level method developed by Fran Costigan and it always results in a 4.5 ounce cup of flour which is on the lighter side? When you simply scoop it from the flour bag or container it compacts the flour and results in a heavier cup of flour. There is also the spoon/level method. Thanks! Gonna give these a try but am hoping that they don’t turn out gummy or too wet which is why I asking about how you measure your flour. Sorry for all the questions. Thanks in advance
Hi Erin,
No problem! You can always do a 1/2 batch so you are committing to the whole thing, just to test it out. I just dunk the measuring cup into the flour bag and use my finger to scrape off the top. I’m a fan of keeping it simple! 🙂
Can you provide weight measurement for dry ingredients? I’d like to make these for my daughters birthday coming up but sometimes the way one person measures flour can be different from the way another person measures, with regards to volume. Or how do you measure your flour? I’m gonna try these and maybe cut back on some of the sugar.
Hi Erin,
I don’t actually have a kitchen scale! So unfortunately no, not until I get one anyways. I just use cups like in the recipe.
I can’t guarantee success with cutting the sugar as I have never tried that, but I hope they turn out well for you.
Enjoy!
Sam
When I try a new recipe that uses cups, I measure it out in cups as instructed then weigh it and make a note. This was 150g flour and 180g sugar.
Thank you for the help!
I made these cupcakes for Easter dessert and they were a big hit. I doubled the frosting and piped it on nice and thick. I added the sugar to the wet ingredients after reading a comment above and they turned out light and fluffy. Probably wasnt necessary but that commenter freaked me out. Thank you for this delicious recipe. I can see myself making these again many times.
Hi Gary,
So happy they turned out for you! I always worry when recipes don’t work out for people, it’s such a bummer. Happy Easter!
The extra 1/3 cup of sugar in the muffin recipe created many problems for me: the muffins collapsed while baking, because the extra sugar made the batter too thin and fragile to support their own weight as they rose. The muffins were granular in texture with crusty, sugary tops. They smelled heavenly, but were cloyingly sweet and had an unpleasant texture.
Sugar is considered a “liquid” ingredient in recipes like these, and I think 1/2 cup is plenty for a 12-muffin recipe.
I will definitely try them again, but minus the extra 1/3 cup of sugar and perhaps a pinch of gluten for added body.
Hmmm I’ve never had any of those problems. Bummer that they didn’t work out for you. I make these all the time and they are always light and fluffy. Sorry they didn’t work out for you Alex! If you try adapting the recipe let us know how it turns out for you.
Cheers,
Sam
Do you think coconut oil would work instead of canola?
Hi Summer, yes I do, except it will make the cupcakes a little bit heavier and less fluffy due to the fact that coconut oil hardens at room temperature. If you are ok with that, then go for it! Enjoy!
hi! I was wondering if i can use 1/2 a cup of Earth balance butter instead of 1/4 earth balance butter + 1/4 earth balance shortening 🙂
Hi Gigi,
You can, but the results will be a much softer frosting, that may melt a bit depending on the temperature. Adding the shortening helps stiffen and strengthen the frosting. If you want to go for it anyways, keep your ingredients cold. Make sure to frost the cupcakes only when they are 100% cool, and keep the cupcakes in a cool place once frosted (if you don’t eat them all immediately). Enjoy!
hi samantha! do you think it may work with spelt flour as well?
Hi amélie,
I’m really not sure, I haven’t baked with spelt much before, so it’s not something I really know well. If you are looking for a gluten free alternative, I would try an all purpose flour blend.
Best,
Sam
ok thanks!
I tried a regular cake recipe last night, but with substitutions The end result was a cake so bland and dense that I had to throw it away. The logical part of my brain finally clicked into thinking, maybe I should just look up a vegan recipe. All of the other ones I found said they had a “deliciously dense cake” which I didn’t want, I wanted a normal, light fluffy cake. I made these after seeing the good reviews. I’ll be giving them to a large group of omnivores this afternoon, for Valentine’s Day.
That’s wonderful Sydney! Yes, I love dense cakes too, but sometimes that’s just not what you are looking for, especially for a vanilla cupcake in my mind. So glad you found the recipe, I hope everyone loves them. Happy Valentine’s Day!
What changes do you suggest if I want a chocolate cupcake?
Hmm…. I haven’t perfected the recipe yet, but I would try adding 1/3 cup cocoa powder to the dry, and adding 1/3 cup of non-dairy milk, or water to the wet. I’m not 100% sure they will be awesome though as I will have to work on the recipe. So no guarantees! But if you try them let me know how they work out.
Hi Samantha
Just discovered your site & baked your vanilla cupcakes. (I’m on a quest to make the ultimate vegan vanilla cake). I thought this was a good recipe but a tad too sweet for me, so I’ll dial back the sugar next time. BTW do you think this recipe could be made gluten free? Didn’t make the icing this go round as I wanted to perfect the cupcake before moving on. Thanks again for a solid cupcake recipe.
Thank you so much JA. I think you should be able to cut back on the sugar without changing the recipe too much. I am not very experienced with gluten free cooking, but I know one of my favourite vegan chefs Chloe Coscarelli will use a gluten free all purpose flour and add 3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum for a batch of cupcakes. I haven’t tried this myself yet, so I don’t know how good well it works out. If you try let me know how it goes.
These are baking now! I’m making these for my cousin’s birthday, she’s not vegan but I am! 🙂 I filled each case 2/3 full, but was only able to make 9 cupcakes! I scraped the bowl as well. Perhaps my 2/3 gauge is a little off. Can’t wait to see how they come out!
I hope you loved the cupcakes! It could be that your cupcake pan or liners are a bit bigger than the ones I use. Either way, I am sure they will turn out great!
Made these today for my wifes Thirtieth birthday. These were super easy and very tasty. I used half the oil and added applesauce to shave a few calories. Thanks for the great recipe and I am bookmarking your page! We fed them to five omnivores and they had no clue they were vegan.
Haha! I love tricking omnivores. It’s ridiculous to me when people think vegan baked good would taste gross… Because I know so many people that like their cupcakes to taste like egg? Don’t think so! So happy you love the cupcakes and that your alterations worked too. Thanks for coming back and leaving your review Drewbie!
These were just requested for our Christmas gathering at both family’s houses! They really did enjoy them! I’m making 6 batches, thanks again!
Oh yay! Nothing like a classic vanilla cupcake to please a crowd. You’re so very welcome Drewbie. I’m glad you and your family will enjoy them this Christmas.
Hi, any suggestions on how to make this recipe into a cake. 2 x 8″ round tins. Would I need to increase the mix?
Hi Jen! Hmmm this should be no problem. I have heard other people have tried this with success. One recipe for these cupcakes (12 cupcakes worth), should make 1 layer of 2″x8″ cake. Make sure you fill the cake pan about half to two thirds full, but not more full than that, so it doesn’t overflow in the oven. The temperature of the oven should be the same but you will probably have to cook it longer, maybe 25 minutes? Just keep an eye on it and you will know its done when a tooth pick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Let me know how it turns out for you. Enjoy! 🙂
The cupcakes turned out fantastic! So much so that I was compelled to leave a comment saying you rock! 🙂
Yay!!! That really made my day, Ana! Thank you so very much. I’m really glad you loved them so much. Thank you for leaving this awesome comment!
Loved the cupcakes. My daughter is the vegan and we made these cupcakes together. She brought them to school and they were a big hit. Thanks!!
Yay!! I’m so glad to hear that Terese! Sharing the vegan love. 🙂
Every time I bake these cupcakes the rim around them turns out to be hard, while the rest of the cupcake is perfectly baked. Is there something that I’m doing wrong?
Hmmmm… It may be that your oven runs a little hot, or is extra hot at the top. You could try moving the cupcakes to a lower rack or try reducing the temperature a bit. My cupcakes to get a bit chewy around the edges after a day or two but they should be soft and fluffy when they are fresh. Let me know if that helps!
I was so excited when I came across this recipe! I need bday cupcakes for my little guy with egg allergies. They look great and the ingredients is easy and on hand. When I added my wet to dry there was not enough to make the batter smooth. It was more like dough. I followed exactly… any tips. The final products were flat, hole down the middle but were light and what I could salvage out of the liner was good. Can you confirm the sugar was 1/2 and 1/3 cup! Thank you! Yours look awesome!!
Hi lydia. Oh no! That’s such a bummer. I’m pretty sure the recipe is correct. I have followed my own recipe multiple times (yep I do that) and have heard of others successfully making these cupcakes. It’s sounds like there wasn’t a problem with the sugar quantity but the dry to wet ratio. Could you have perhaps forgot or miss-measured a wet ingredient? Or added too much flour? When you mix the wet and dry the batter should be soft and light. Let me know how it goes. 🙂
hey I find the apple cider vinegar flavour rather overpowering, it takes away from the vanilla flavour even when I cut back on it, is there something else that can be used instead? I imagine it’s to activate the baking soda and help the muffins rise and become fluffy, would it be possible to substitute baking powder which already has an activating agent, or add cream of tartar instead?
Hi Jess!
Huh. I find that the apple cider vinegar flavour cooks right out and you can’t taste it all. Apple cider is usually very mild, and also has health benefits which is why I opt for it, but you could use any vinegar. Try finding one that has the least amount of flavour or try lemon juice. You’re right it’s about the acidity, think volcano experiment from science project days. The reaction makes the cupcakes light and fluffy.
Maybe a citrus juice such as lemon, lime, or orange would give the needed acidity???? It would probably be tasty too!
Yep, that should work just fine.
Can you use another type of oil instead of canola? Thanks
Hi Eleanor.
Sure, any type of pale flavourless oil should work just fine. Sunflower, safflower, and grape seed would be good options.
Does the icing melt quickly?
Nope not at all! It acts like normal frosting. If it was very hot it might melt, but my cupcakes hang out on the counter for a few days perfectly happy… If they last that long. Haha
For vinegar, is there a specific kind? Did you use ACV? Thanks!
Yes, absolutely. Apple cider vinegar or white vinegar will work just fine. Just don’t use balsamic…gross! Haha.
Haha. I am currently baking with balsamic vinegar as that’s the only one I have in the house 😉
It’s the vinegar I use for my legendary chocolate cupcakes 😉
I shall let you know how it goes but the batter tasted great hahaha
Ooo interesting! Did it colour the cupcakes at all? I wonder if you will be able to taste it. I love the idea of balsamic in chocolate cupcakes! Yum! 🙂