Vegan Easter Cupcakes

Publised on 14/03/2024. Last Updated on 08/07/2024 by Richard

Indulge in the fluffiest vegan Easter cupcakes with chocolate buttercream and crunchy chocolate eggs. The perfect sweet treat for vegans during Easter!

These vegan Easter cupcakes are a celebration all on their own – think of them as Easter joy bundled up in a sweet, irresistible package that's as delightful to look at as it is to devour. These little beauties are the perfect answer to that age-old question: "What in the world do vegans eat during Easter?"

Last year, my (admittedly last-minute) quest for vegan Easter chocolate turned into something of a comedy show. I ended up hopping from store to store like a deranged Easter bunny on a mission, only to end up with a basketful of everything but chocolate. Moral of the story? Wonderful vegan Easter chocolate is out there, but homemade treats, like these cupcakes, are a guaranteed win.

Love cupcakes but fancy some different flavours? Why not try these Rose and White Chocolate ones, or maybe my Vegan Tiramisu Cupcakes!?

🥚 What do vegans eat at easter?

Times have changed since I was a kid, and vegan chocolate treats are easier to find than ever. In fact, at Easter time (the unofficial international chocolate day) there's almost TOO MUCH vegan chocolate to choose from. That's why I've included a list of my favourite brands (in the UK) below, so you can get your plant-based easter egg bunt under way!

But Easter for vegans ain’t just about foraging for dark chocolate in the garden (though, let’s be real, that’s a pretty fab part of it). It’s also about reinventing classics and indulging in plant-based delights that keep the spirit of the season alive. Everything from freshly baked vegan hot cross buns to delightfully crispy vegan spanakopita or the undeniably spring-time joy that is my vegan creamy spring veg pasta. Or how about wedges of my vegan blueberry lemon cake! Nothing could be more fun!

🐣 The Best Vegan Easter Chocolate (UK)

📝 Vegan Easter Cupcakes Ingredients

Before we dive into the kitchen to conjure up these delightful vegan Easter cupcakes, let's get our ducks (or should I say bunnies?) in a row with the ingredients. Making these cupcakes is like embarking on a mini treasure hunt, where every ingredient plays a crucial role in bringing together the magic of Easter in vegan form. Aah, the metaphor you didn't know you needed! Here's everything you'll need to create these irresistible treats:

🔀 Ingredient Substitutions and Swaps

Need to make some swapsies, no problem! Here are my recommendations:

• Plant Milk: Almond, soy, or oat milk are perfect, but go wild with whatever you have.
• Vegan Yoghurt: Any brand is good here but try to stick to something with little flavour and sweetness. I use Coconut Collab.
• Vegetable Oil: Swap in melted vegan butter or any neutral oil.
• Cake Flour: All-purpose flour will work in this recipe, but I highly recommend using cake flour if you can get it. See "How to guarantee light and fluffy vegan cupcakes" section below for more info.

🧁 How to guarantee light and fluffy vegan cupcakes

Achieving the pinnacle of lightness and fluffiness in your vegan Easter cupcakes isn't just a stroke of luck; it's about making smart choices with your ingredients and baking process. Here are three golden rules to ensure your cupcakes are so airy, they might just float off the plate:

1. Always use cake flour: Cake flour has a lower protein content than all-purpose flour, which means less gluten is formed during mixing. The result? A finer, lighter crumb that elevates your vegan cupcakes from good to ethereal. It's tricky to find in the UK so I buy Special Bun Flour from my local Asian supermarket, because it's the same thing!
2. Swap butter for oil: Unlike butter, oil remains liquid at room temperature, ensuring your vegan cupcakes stay marvellously moist and tender from the first bite to the last. This simple switch makes all the difference in texture and mouthfeel.
3. Bake at 170ºC: Temperature precision is key. Baking your vegan cupcakes at 170ºC/340f strikes the perfect balance between cooking them thoroughly and retaining their moisture. Too high, and you risk drying them out; too low, and they won't rise as they should. This sweet spot ensures they puff up beautifully without losing any of that precious moisture.

🤲 How to Make Vegan Easter Cupcakes

With a few simple steps, you can transform basic ingredients into a batch of delightful treats that are bound to impress anyone (yes, even that kid who hates everything!). Here's how:

Make the Batter: This recipe is a simple one: just whisk together the wet ingredients and dry ingredients until smooth. I would highly recommend sifting your dry ingredients, since this batter is quite wet and can turn out lumpy if you're not careful.

Bake the Cupcakes: Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake cases (I used reusable silicone ones but paper are fine too) and bake for 18-20 minutes. Be sure to let them cool fully before decorating! In the meantime, make your vegan buttercream!

Make the Buttercream: This vegan chocolate buttercream is super simple. Just beat together room temp vegan butter with a little cocoa powder until smooth. Slowly add the icing sugar, but by bit, then loosen the mixture with some plant milk.

Decorate the Cupcakes: After allowing the vegan cupcakes to cool fully on a wire rack, pipe on the vegan chocolate buttercream to form a nest shape. Sprinkle with vegan chocolate sprinkles, and top each one with three vegan chocolate eggs for that festive Easter touch.

🤷‍♀️ Vegan Easter Cupcakes FAQs

So there you have it, a guide to crafting the most splendid vegan Easter cupcakes that are sure to bring smiles and a bit of whimsy to your Easter celebrations. If you’ve enjoyed this little Easter adventure, why not try your hand at Vegan Eggs Benedict for breakfast, my Spring Veg Creamy Pasta, or my Cardamom Hot Cross Buns!? Oh and I've also made a list of all my favourite Easter recipes for you! Enjoy!

Vegan Easter Cupcakes

The fluffiest vanilla vegan Easter cupcakes with chocolate buttercream and crunchy chocolate eggs. The perfect vegan easter treat!

5 from 6 votes

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes minutes

Servings: 12

Calories: 354kcal

Author: Richard Makin

Equipment

• 12 hole cupcake tin

Ingredients

For the Cupcakes

• ▢ 125 ml plant milk unsweetened and unflavoured, at room temperature
• ▢ 75 g vegan yoghurt unsweetened and unflavoured, at room temperature
• ▢ 50 ml vegetable oil or any neutral oil
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 180 g cake flour see notes in blog post above
• ▢ 140 g sugar
• ▢ 1 ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

For the Vegan Chocolate Buttercream

• ▢ 113 g vegan butter at room temperature
• ▢ 20 g cocoa powder
• ▢ 220 g icing sugar aka confectioners sugar, sifted
• ▢ 1 tablespoon plant milk unsweetened and unflavoured, at room temperature
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For Decorating

• ▢ 3 tablespoon vegan chocolate sprinkles
• ▢ 160 g vegan chocolate eggs ideally 36 eggs

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

To Make the Cupcakes

• Preheat the oven to 170 °C. Line a 12-hole cupcake tin with liners.
• Place the plant milk, vegan yoghurt, vegetable oil and vanilla extract in a medium bowl and whisk until smooth. Set aside.
  125 ml plant milk, 75 g vegan yoghurt, 50 ml vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• In a large bowl, sieve then whisk together the cake flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
  180 g cake flour, 140 g sugar, 1 ¼ teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
• Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until just smooth. Don’t over mix.
• Divide the cake batter evenly between the cupcake cases and bake for 18-20 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool fully on a wire cooling rack.

To Make the Vegan chocolate Buttercream

• Place the vegan butter in a stand mixer (or a medium bowl, if using a hand mixer). Beat until light and fluffy - about 3-4 minutes.
  113 g vegan butter
• Add the cocoa powder and beat to combine.
  20 g cocoa powder
• Add the icing sugar, a few tablespoons at a time, beating after each addition until fully incorporated. The mixture will look very dry and crumbly at this stage.
  220 g icing sugar
• Add the tablespoon of plant milk and vanilla extract then beat until light and fluffy.
  1 tablespoon plant milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

To Decorate

• Use a piping bag to pipe a nest shape on the top of a cupcake. While the buttercream is still wet, sprinkle with the vegan chocolate sprinkles and top with 3 chocolate eggs.
  3 tablespoon vegan chocolate sprinkles, 160 g vegan chocolate eggs
• Repeat with the remaining cupcakes until all decorated. Store in a container at room temperature if consuming that day. Alternatively, store in a container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Remove from the fridge an hour before serving to come to room temperature.

Nutrition

Calories: 354kcal | Carbohydrates: 53g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 2mg | Sodium: 129mg | Potassium: 103mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 40g | Vitamin A: 443IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 74mg | Iron: 1mg