Vegan Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream
Soft and fluffy vegan strawberry cupcakes with strawberry buttercream frosting. So Delicious and beautiful, they make the perfect treat for any celebration!
Servings: 12
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 6 oz strawberries makes ½ cup of strawberry puree
- 1 ⅔ cup All Purpose Flour
- 3 tablespoon Tapioca Flour*
- 1 ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup canola oil*
- ¾ cup water
- 2 ½ teaspoon strawberry extract
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ teaspoon red food coloring* optional, see here
Strawberry Buttercream
- ½ cup vegan butter Earth Balance, softened
- ½ cup vegetable shortening
- 3 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon strawberry extract
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
Prepare cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a 12 count muffin pan with paper liners or spray the cups with non-stick spray.
- Wash your strawberries and remove the hull. Puree them in a food processor or blender until smooth and no chunks remain. You should have ½ cup of puree. Set aside.
- Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, sugar, and salt together in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.
- Add the oil to the dry mixture. Mix on low for 30 seconds, and then increase to medium for 30 seconds more. Add the vanilla extract, strawberry extract, strawberry puree, and slowly incorporate the water. Mix on low until you have added all of the water. Stop to scrape down the bowl with a spatula as needed. Increase to medium-low and mix until the batter is velvety smooth. Do not overmix.
- Spoon batter into cupcake liners, filling ⅔ of the way full. Bake for 20-24 minutes (mine are perfect at 22), or until a toothpick comes out (almost) clean.
- Allow the cupcakes to cool for 3-4 minutes in the muffin tins before removing them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the frosting
- With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the vegan butter and vegetable shortening until well combined. Add the lemon juice, strawberry extract, vanilla extract, salt, and half of the powdered sugar. Mix on low until everything is combined, and then add the remaining powdered sugar and continue mixing. Once incorporated, increase the speed to high and beat for 2-3 minutes. If frosting is too thick, you can add one tablespoon of non-dairy milk or water to thin it out.
- Frost the cupcakes. You can simply frost with a butter knife, or if you are feeling fancy, I like to pipe the frosting on using a Wilton 1M tip and a piping bag. Here is a wonderful tutorial on piping techniques. It's so much fun and looks beautiful!
Notes
- Tapioca Flour- Tapioca flour is great to have in a vegan kitchen, as it's a great thickener and binder. But no worries if you can't get your hands on some. Just substitute half the amount of cornstarch.
- Canola Oil- You can substitute vegetable oil or melted coconut oil in place of canola oil. If you go with coconut oil, be sure to have ½ cup after the oil is melted.
- Red Food Coloring- I use this McCormick Red Food Color. It's optional, as they will taste just as delicious without it, but they will not be that pretty pink color.
- I like to pipe the frosting on using a Wilton 1M tip and a disposable piping bag. Here is a wonderful tutorial on piping techniques. It's so much fun and looks beautiful!
- Cupcakes and icing can be made a day in advance. Store the cupcakes in a sealed container at room temperature and the icing covered tightly in the refrigerator.
- Store prepared cupcakes at room temperature for one day or in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.