Healthy Vanilla Cupcakes With Easy Buttercream (Vegan)

These may be healthy vanilla cupcakes, but they are damn delicious. They’re vegan, gluten free, perfectly sweet, moist and spongey, and this vegan buttercream frosting will make your head spin it is so good. Happy baking!

Celebrating my 25th birthday today (~feeling old and nostalgic and all types of ways~) with none other than my favorite dessert!!

Turning 25 is weird, I’m definitely not where I thought I’d be in life at this point, but when does anything go according to plan?! Anyway, you’re here for the cupcakes, so let’s talk about those!

Chocolate chip cookies and rich brownies tend to be more popular desserts but I’ve been a vanilla type of gal since I was born.

The base of these healthy vanilla cupcakes are completely refined sugar free, but don’t worry, they’re still plenty sweet! They’re moist and fluffy thanks to avocado oil and have a rich vanilla flavor.

Because we’re using coconut sugar and maple syrup to sweeten the cupcakes, they are a bit darker than a traditional vanilla cupcake, but they still taste amazing!

How to make healthy vanilla cupcakes

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine the ground flax seeds and water and set aside for 5 minutes to thicken.

This will be our “flax egg” and will help bind all of the ingredients together. If you aren’t vegan, you can sub the flax egg for a real egg, which will change the texture of the cupcake just a bit, but it will still be delicious!

While the flax egg is thickening, whisk together all of the wet ingredients. Whisk in the flax egg once thickened. 

In a separate large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients and whisk together. 

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Combine the wet ingredients with the dry and beat with an electric mixer. Be careful not to over mix, only beat until all of the ingredients are combined and no visible flour remains. Over mixing can make the cupcakes gummy, especially since they are gluten free,

Add to a lined cupcake tray and fill about 2/3 – 3/4 of the way up. They will puff up/rise a normal amount while baking, so be sure you don’t fill them too high.

Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. These cupcakes require a bit of a longer baking time than normal cupcakes, but I promise it is well worth the wait!

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How to make vegan buttercream

While the cupcakes are baking, we can start the buttercream. The cupcakes themselves are refined sugar free, but the buttercream is not.

As far as I’m concerned, it’s not really possible to do refined sugar free buttercream. But, they’re cupcakes and it’s my birthday, so treat yourself, right?!

Add softened (but not melted) dairy free butter (if it was in the fridge, add to the microwave for about 20 seconds until it is lightly soft to the touch). Pour into a bowl and beat with an electric mixer until fluffy. 

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Add the chilled coconut cream and beat again. Slowly add in the powdered sugar, 1/2 – 1 cup at a time, beating continuously. It will start to get nice and fluffy but beat until no clumps remain. 

I have never had an issue with clumps of sugar forming, but to prevent this and get an ultra smooth buttercream, you can sift in the sugar so it’s nice and fine.

Wait until the cupcakes are completely cool to frost. If you are just going to spread the frosting on the cupcakes with a regular knife, you can add the buttercream to the fridge.

If you’re going to use a piping bag to do the frosting, you won’t want it to be too hard, so keep it on the counter or it won’t come out through the tip very easily. If you’ve never frosted cupcakes like this before, this video tutorial is very helpful.

Notes & tricks for these vegan vanilla cupcakes

• If using avocado oil, be sure you don’t use extra virgin because it has a very nutty taste. This is the best avocado oil for this recipe. If using coconut oil, be sure it is melted. The cupcake batter will thicken faster if using coconut oil because it will start to solidify when in contact with the non-dairy milk, but the cupcakes will turn out just the same, so avoid adding extra liquid.

• For the buttercream, I found that the Earth Balance brand sticks work best. I have tested it with Miyokos butter sticks, but it melts faster than the Earth Balance. Whichever brand you use, I recommend sticks and not tubs of butter. 

• The buttercream can be made without the coconut cream, but it does help retain the shape better. Be sure to chill the coconut cream overnight and only scoop off the top white part, not the watery/milky part at the bottom. 

• If not vegan, the flax egg can be subbed for a real egg. This will change the texture slightly but it will still be delicious!

• Because these cupcakes are gluten free, dairy free, AND egg free, they require a longer baking time than usual. A toothpick will come out clean around the 20 minute mark, but they won’t fully be done cooking, so be sure to cook for the full 30 minutes or the cupcake will break in half when the wrapper is pulled off. 

• Once the cupcakes are cool, store them in an air tight container so they don’t dry out. Once prepared, they should keep for about 5 days.

You may also like…

• Chewy Chocolate Chunk Tahini Cookies
• Gluten Free Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
• Amazing Almond Flour Brownies

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