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Fully decorated vegan chocolate cupcakes on a cooling rack.
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Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes

These Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes are moist, rich, and incredibly decadent! Together with a silky-smooth chocolate frosting, they are a chocolate lover's dream come true.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Cooling Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings 12 people
Calories 189kcal

Equipment

Ingredients

Chocolate Cupcakes

    Wet Ingredients:

    • 1 cup soy milk (see note)
    • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (sub lemon juice)
    • 1 cup granulated sugar
    • ¼ cup applesauce , unsweetened
    • cup canola oil , or any neutral flavored oil
    • 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

    Dry Ingredients:

    • 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour (*see note about measuring)
    • ½ cup dutch processed cocoa powder (sub unsweetened cocoa powder)
    • 1 teaspoon baking soda
    • ¾ teaspoon sea salt

    Frosting

    Instructions

    • Preheat oven to 350 °F (177 °C). Now fill a 12-slot cupcake pan with liners and set aside. 
    • In a medium bowl, combine the soy milk and apple cider vinegar then let it sit for 10 minutes to create vegan buttermilk. It will curdle and thicken slightly.  
    • In a large bowl with a mesh strainer on top (or use a Flour Sifter), sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine and set aside.
    • In the bowl with the buttermilk, add the applesauce, oil, sugar, and vanilla then whisk to combine well.
    • Pour the wet ingredients into the large bowl of dry ingredients and whisk together until just combined. (*Don't over mix or it can create a dense and chewy cupcake- a few small lumps are fine)
    • Divide batter evenly into each liner about ⅔ full (an ice cream scoop works great for this). Bake them in the oven for 20-24 minutes. To check for doneness, lightly press the surface - It should spring back. You can also push a toothpick through the center - it should come out clean from wet batter.
    • Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing them. Now completely cool on a rack for at least 30 minutes before frosting.

    Notes

    • Soy Milk -  it yields a consistency that is very similar to dairy buttermilk when an acid is added. If you can't have soy, you can use any non-dairy milk. It won't thicken much, but that's ok and the recipe will still work.
    • Measuring Flour - don’t scoop the flour with a measuring cup directly from the container. Instead, Aerate the flour first, then scoop it out of your container with a spoon and then into a measuring cup. Don’t pack or tap the cup. After filling, lightly sweep a butter knife across the top to remove the excess flour.
    • Use room-temperature ingredients for the best results. If some are cold, leave them out while you pre-heat the oven and prep. At least 20 minutes.
    • It's important to maintain the right oven temperature for successful results. An oven thermometer is the best way to detect the accuracy of your oven.
    • Frosting - these cupcakes will also go well with my Vegan Buttercream Frosting or Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting
    • Yields 12 cupcakes
    • Nutritional info doesn't include the frosting. This will vary depending on which one you choose. 

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1cupcake | Calories: 189kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 140mg | Potassium: 78mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 1IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 8mg | Iron: 1mg