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Four vegan chocolate cupcakes on a plate.

Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes

5 from 1 vote
Tender, chocolatey Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes frosted with a sumptuous vegan chocolate buttercream are out-of-this-world good! This one-bowl recipe is easily adapted to be gluten-free.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings: 12 cupcakes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 329
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour or all-purpose flour
  • ¾ cup packed light or dark brown sugar
  • ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ⅓ cup oil
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar or white vinegar
  • 1 cup water
For the Frosting
  • 4 ounces vegan chocolate chopped
  • 3 cups powdered sugar sifted
  • ½ cup non-dairy butter
  • 2-3 tablespoons non-dairy milk plus more, if needed

Method
 

  1. Preheat oven to 350℉. Line a 12-cup cupcake tin with cupcake liners.
  2. Whisk together the 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour, ¾ cup packed light or dark brown sugar, ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, and ½ teaspoon fine sea salt. Add the ⅓ cup oil, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar, and 1 cup water. Whisk and mix together until smooth.
  3. Pour into prepared pan and bake for about 20-25 minutes, until a tester inserted in the middle of a cupcake comes out clean.
  4. Remove from oven and cool in pan for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.
For the Frosting
  1. Heat 4 ounces vegan chocolate in a double boiler until melted. Let cool to room temperature.
  2. In a bowl, using an electric mixer, combine 3 cups powdered sugar, ½ cup non-dairy butter, and 2-3 tablespoons non-dairy milkand beat on low speed until combined, about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Increase the speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes, then reduce the speed to low.
  3. Add the chocolate and beat until combined, then increase the speed to medium and beat for 1 minute more.
  4. Frost the cooled cupcakes.

Notes

  • Make these gluten-free. For easy gluten-free vegan cupcakes, swap 1 ¾ cups of gluten-free all-purpose flour for the wheat flour.
  • Make these refined sugar-free. Substitute coconut sugar for the brown sugar for a natural sweetener option.
  • Make a cake. This recipe bakes up beautifully into a 9-inch cake layer. Double the recipe for a double-layer cake.
  • Top with other frosting: Use this vegan chocolate cupcake recipe as a base for all sorts of frosting! Try cream cheese frosting, vanilla buttercream, salted caramel frosting ... you get the idea.