An easy recipe for delicious, moist, vegan chocolate cupcakes or muffins with chocolate pudding buttercream frosting, which can be made gluten-free too. Perfect as a grab and go snack or for dessert for cozy afternoons or as a birthday gift!
Moist Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes (Muffins)
Cupcakes or muffins are always perfect when you’re craving a delicious, fluffy cake that is done quickly. These treats are great for grabbing and sharing with friends because you can eat them right out of your hand and everyone loves them! Not only kids, but also adults are always happy to have a homemade chocolatey dessert. After all, as we all know, chocolate makes everyone happy!
Simple recipe with few ingredients
To make these vegan chocolate cupcakes, you only need a few simple plant-based ingredients. Plus, the recipe is very versatile, as you can try other flours and plant milks. Be sure to follow the tips and recipe variations listed below.
If you want to make the muffins without frosting, you can also omit the chocolate buttercream and just sprinkle some vegan chocolate chips or chocolate sprinkles on top as a topping.
Here are the ingredients you’ll need:
For the chocolate muffins
- Flour: all-purpose or spelt flour or gluten-free 1 to 1 baking flour.
- Cocoa powder
- Vanilla: ground bourbon vanilla or vanilla extract.
- Baking powder and baking soda
- Salt
- Banana: or sub applesauce or pumpkin puree.
- Plant milk: such as soy, oat, cashew or almond milk.
- Coffee: or more plant milk.
- Oil: e.g. canola or sunflower oil.
- Apple cider vinegar: or white vinegar.
- Sugar: such as raw cane sugar, brown or white sugar, or coconut blossom sugar. Syrup is also a good alternative.
For the chocolate buttercream
- Soy milk: or almond milk, but please do not use oat milk or the custard may not set.
- Chocolate pudding powder: alternatively, sub cornstarch plus cocoa powder as this is pretty much the same.
- Sugar
- Vegan butter
- Powdered sugar
- Cocoa powder
- Vanilla: optional.
How to make vegan chocolate cupcakes
As always, I recommend checking out this step-by-step instruction and the recipe video first. Then you’ll find the full recipe with exact measurements in the recipe card below!
Step 1: Make the chocolate batter
First, sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder and ground vanilla into a bowl. Then add baking soda and salt and whisk together. Next, mash the banana. Then combine with plant milk, coffee, oil, apple cider vinegar and sugar. Then add the banana mixture to the flour mixture and stir everything together to form a batter.
Step 2: Add the batter into muffin cups and bake.
Pour the batter into muffin cups and bake at 356 °F (180 °C) for approx. 25 minutes. Allow the chocolate muffins to cool in the pan. Then carefully remove from the mold and enjoy immediately or decorate with the vegan chocolate buttercream.
Step 3: Make the chocolate buttercream
First, cook a pudding (custard) from soy milk, chocolate pudding powder (or cornstarch + cocoa powder) and sugar as instructed in the recipe card below. Then transfer the pudding to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming, and let cool to room temperature.
Next, beat the softened vegan butter with a hand mixer or in a food processor until fluffy. Add the pudding, one tablespoon at a time, while the mixer is running. Sift in powdered sugar, cocoa powder and optional vanilla. Continue mixing for a short while until you get a smooth buttercream.
Spoon the chocolate buttercream into a piping bag and place in the refrigerator until ready to use. Once the chocolate cupcakes have cooled, decorate with the vegan buttercream and puffed amaranth as desired and enjoy!
Tips and recipe variations
- To make these muffins gluten-free, I recommend using a gluten-free 1 to 1 baking flour.
- If you want to use a different flour, such as oat flour or whole wheat flour, the cupcakes will not be as soft and fluffy as when using a lighter flour. Also, I recommend adjusting the amount of liquid as different flours may absorb different amounts of liquid.
- The cocoa powder dissolves better in lukewarm or hot liquid. Therefore, I recommend using warm dairy-free milk and hot coffee.
- The coffee intensifies the chocolate flavor. However, if you don’t like coffee, you can just use more plant milk.
- You can also use other sweeteners of your choice, such as maple syrup, agave syrup, coconut sugar or raw cane sugar. If using syrup, you may want to use a little less liquid.
- For even more chocolate flavor, you can fold some vegan chocolate chips into the cupcake batter or sprinkle them on top as a topping instead of the chocolate frosting.
How to store cupcakes
Basically, it’s best to store cupcakes in an airtight container and in a cool, dry place. They will keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
If you store the muffins without frosting, you can gently heat them up in the microwave for a few seconds before eating them. This will make them super soft and fluffy again and they will taste just like freshly baked!
How to freeze cupcakes
Simply place the unfrosted cupcakes in a freezer-safe container or freezer bag. Then seal tightly and freeze for up to 3 months. I recommend separating the individual muffins with a piece of parchment paper or plastic wrap so they don’t freeze together.
This recipe for vegan chocolate cupcakes is:
- Dairy-free
- Requires no dairy butter and no eggs
- Can be made gluten-free and soy-free
- Quick and easy to make
- Soft and fluffy
- Moist
- Chocolatey
- Topped with creamy chocolate frosting
- Incredibly delicious!
- Perfect as a snack, for dessert or for birthday parties!
More Vegan Recipes for Cupcakes, Muffins and Mini Cakes
- Carrot Cake Cupcakes
- Vanilla Cupcakes
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes
- Mini Apple Pies
- Apple Hand Pies
- Madeleines
- Mini Cheesecakes
- Raspberry Cheesecakes
- Apricot Cream Cakes
If you try this easy recipe for vegan chocolate cupcakes with buttercream frosting, feel free to leave me a comment and a star rating! And if you share a photo of your delicious dessert on Instagram, please tag me @biancazapatka and use the hashtag #biancazapatka because I love seeing your creations! Happy baking! 🙂
Easy Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes
Author:You do not have a fitting cake pan at hand right now? Try my Cake Pan Conversion Calculator!
Ingredients
Chocolate cupcakes
- 1 ½ cup (180 g) all-purpose or spelt flour or sub gluten-free flour*
- ½ cup (50 g) cocoa powder
- 1 pinch ground vanilla or add 1 tsp vanilla extract to the wet ingredients
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 very ripe large banana or 100 g applesauce
- ½ cup (120 ml) dairy-free milk at room temperature or lukewarm
- ⅓ cup (80 ml) freshly brewed coffee or sub more dairy-free milk
- ⅓ cup (80 ml) oil e.g. canola or sunflower oil
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar or white vinegar
- ⅔ cup (120 g) sugar or more to taste
Chocolate buttercream
- ¾ cup (200 ml) soy milk or almond milk, but no oat milk, otherwise the pudding won't set!
- 3 tbsp (20 g) chocolate pudding powder or sub 2.5 tbsp cornstarch + ½ tbsp cocoa powder
- 1 tbsp sugar
- ½ cup (125 g) vegan butter
- 1 tbsp powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1 pinch of ground vanilla optional
To garnish (optional)
- puffed amaranth or quinoa
Instructions
*Note: Feel free to check out the recipe video + step-by-step pictures in the blog post above!
Chocolate cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 356 °F (180 °C). Grease a muffin pan or line it with paper cups.
- Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder and a pinch of ground vanilla into a bowl. Then add the baking soda and salt and whisk to combine.
- Mash the banana with a fork. Add the dairy-free milk, coffee, oil, apple cider vinegar, sugar and mashed banana to a measuring cup and mix well.
- Now pour this mixture into the bowl with the flour mixture and stir just until combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared muffin cups and gently tap the pan a few times on the work surface so that the batter is evenly distributed. Bake the muffins for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out almost clean. If you want moist cupcakes, don't overbake them.
- Let them cool in the pan, then remove.
Chocolate buttercream
- Add 2-3 tbsp of the soy milk in a cup and stir in the chocolate pudding powder (or cornstarch + ½ tbsp cocoa powder) until dissolved. Pour the remaining soy milk in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Whisk in the chocolate pudding mixture and sugar and bring to a boil again until it thickens. Then fill the pudding into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming, and let cool to room temperature.
- Put the softened vegan butter in a bowl and beat with a hand mixer or in a food processor for a few minutes until fluffy. Add the pudding, one tablespoon at a time, while the mixer is running. Sift in powdered sugar, cocoa powder and optional vanilla. Continue mixing for a short while until you get a smooth buttercream.
- Add the chocolate buttercream into a piping bag and place in the refrigerator until ready to use, while it can firm up a bit.
- Once the cupcakes have cooled, decorate them with the buttercream and puffed amaranth as desired and enjoy!
Notes
- To make these muffins gluten-free, I recommend using gluten-free 1 to 1 baking flour.
- If you want to use a different flour, such as oat flour or whole wheat flour, the cupcakes will not be as soft and fluffy as when using a lighter flour. Also, I recommend adjusting the amount of liquid as different flours may absorb different amounts of liquid.
- The cocoa powder dissolves better in lukewarm or hot liquid. Therefore, I recommend using warm dairy-free milk and hot coffee.
- The coffee intensifies the chocolate flavor. However, if you don't like coffee, you can just use more plant milk.
- You can also use other sweeteners of your choice, such as maple syrup, agave syrup, coconut sugar or cane sugar. If using syrup, you may want to use a little less liquid.
- For even more chocolate flavor, you can fold some vegan chocolate chips into the batter or sprinkle them on top as a topping instead of the chocolate frosting.
- More information about the recipe, including tips for storing and freezing, are mentioned in the blog post above!
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