Let’s talk cake. Vanilla cake. Vegan vanilla cupcake with serious icing!
As a kid, some mornings I’d watch in awe as Dad pulled up chair for breakfast with a slice of marble cake {always from a box made weekly by mom}. Being an adult was so cool, you got to break all the rules!
Thus while I’m not a huge cake lover, I do have an emotional reaction when I eat it and I absolutely savor it.
Finding out I needed to eliminate dairy and eggs, I was certain my cake days were behind me. Then Whole Foods in Orlando started putting out slices of Vegan Vanilla cake. In that first bite, I sighed unconsciously with relief, here was a cake I could truly enjoy for my birthday!Yes indeed last year when my Dad flew in to Orlando to surprise me, he also bought me a whole Vegan vanilla cake…which at Whole Foods was roughly the price of his plane ticket. Luckily, I learned a trick to freezing cake so I made that delicious treat last for many, many adult breakfasts!!
Why Vegan Cupcake?
Just because I want to enjoy a dessert, doesn’t mean it has to be one that will leave my stomach in knots and my stomach bloated. Of course I will have bites here and there of foods with dairy, but I kind of enjoy the challenge of finding great tasting food that skips my food allergies!
And as you know from my Muffin Tin round up of savory and sweet treats earlier this week, I’m on a roll with bite sized foods, so I had to share my birthday treat that many of you asked about after I shared it on Instagram.Upon arriving in Colorado I discovered no such vegan vanilla cake existed.
The Vegan bakeries said they couldn’t get the flavor right. Whole Foods just said no we don’t make it here.
But then, one fateful day post hike, I stumbled upon a single Whole Foods that made a Vegan Vanilla cupcake…not chocolate, not carrot, not some other fancy flavor, I just wanted classic vanilla!
I now buy in packs of 4.
I cut each one in half.
I place them in the freezer
This lasts me quite awhile!!
Vegan Vanilla Cupcake and Icing
As always, I realize that making something myself is more economical and surprise, usually healthier!!
Thus I set out to find a Vegan Vanilla Cupcake recipe that was amazing and that I could enjoy with equal amounts of icing.Are you a bigger cake or icing fan?
I’m all about the icing. I don’t deny my sweet tooth! And yup it’s part of why I run!
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/4 cup canola oil (or avocado oil)
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cup King Arthur Gluten-Free Flour Baking Mix
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Vegan Vanilla Frosting
- 1/2 cup Earth Balance vegan butter, cold
- 2 cups organic powdered sugar (must look to ensure it’s vegan!)
- 2-3 tablespoons unsweetened vanilla almond milk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper cupcake liners.
- For the cupcakes: mix all wet ingredients
- Add the salt
- Then slowly add in the flour mixture, stirring until smooth
- Pour that delicousness into your cupcake pan (about 2/3 full)
- Bake for 16-18 minutes
- For the icing: beat together the vegan butter and vanilla until light and fluffy
- Slowly add in the powder and almond milk while beating (add milk 1 tbsp at a time to keep thick consistency)
- Wait until cupcakes are completely cool before icing or it will run off the side — not that I found this out the hard way or anything.
Now before anyone emails me, remember I”m a runner not a baker!! I do my best to try out things in the kitchen and share the ideas with you, but my weirdo taste buds that like things like carrots, peanut butter and cereal might not be yours.
Are you more of a baker or a cook?
Do you have a favorite dessert?
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meredith (The Cookie ChRUNicles)
it’s all about the frosting. chocolate fudge frosting!
Allie
I am all about ice cream cake so, should I someday not be able to tolerate dairy I would be in a world of hurt!!! Happy belated Birthday!! :-)
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
We all need that perfect simple cupcake recipe up our sleeve!
Alisa @ Go Dairy Free
Wow, that recipe is vegan AND gluten-free no less – I’m impressed! Lucky for you there are like 50 Whole Foods in Colorado :) I have to admit, I’m not a cake person. It’s frosting all the way. In fact, when I test a cupcake recipe, I taste-test just one, give away the rest, and have the leftover frosting on graham crackers! Cake is just a delivery system for frosting as far as I’m concerned!
Cricket
Love that you still made a cake! Mom points!
Alexa
Glad it was a birthday that involved cake! It seems no one bakes me cakes anymore. So I take matters into my own hands :) I think Alisa and I need to hang out more. I am totally the cake person. She can have the icing! Now off to try King Arthur’s mix!
Sandi (@fearless_dining)
These cupcakes are perfect for a birthday celebration :-)
Amanda
Those are beautiful! I will have to keep this on hand for the next time I need to make a cake vegan!
Laura
You can probably guess that I’m a big believer in making anything vegan. And it very rarely disappoints if it still has the delicious flavour . . . especially if it’s vanilla! I do the same with freezing treats:) And I feel like these cupcakes would be delicious as well! They look awesome Amanda! And happy belated birthday!
Annmarie
Those look amazing, I am drooling! Pinning so I can whip them up for all the upcoming birthdays we have going on!