Mini Vegan Cupcakes (Birthday Cupcakes)
These mini vegan cupcakes are perfect for birthday parties, small children, or bite-sized desserts. This easy, 1-bowl, vegan vanilla cake recipe bakes up into delicious little cupcakes that will impress your family and friends.
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Add sprinkles for funfetti cupcakes for a festive look that’s perfect for kids’ birthdays.
❤️ Why make this cupcake recipe
These vegan birthday cupcakes can be made with simple ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry. They’re made in one bowl without special equipment like a mixer.
This basic vanilla cupcake recipe is plant-based, dairy-free, egg-free, and easily made gluten-free and soy free too, so all of your party guests can enjoy them.
These mini cupcakes are the perfect size for children’s parties where people want a small dessert. This way you won’t have a bunch of half-eaten cupcakes all over your house.
🧾 Ingredients and substitutions
- Soy Milk – or any other plant-based milk like oat milk, almond milk, or coconut milk. I use soy milk since it has the most protein and will curdle into buttermilk the best.
- Apple Cider Vinegar – or lemon juice. This acidity mixes with plant milk to make vegan buttermilk.
- Vegan Sugar – any granulated sugar will work. Look for organic sugar to ensure that it’s vegan.
- Oil – you can use vegetable oil, canola oil, or light olive oil. Just use an oil with a neutral flavor.
- Vanilla Extract – you can swap this out for almond extract for an almond-flavored cake.
- Flour – all-purpose flour or cake flour works best.
- Cornstarch – this helps the texture be soft and cakey. You could also use arrowroot, potato starch, or 2 additional tbsp of flour.
- Baking Powder – to help them rise
- Baking Soda – to help them rise.
- Salt – for flavor.
- Spray Oil – to make the cupcakes peel away from the liner easier.
🔪 Helpful tools
The great thing about this cupcake recipe is that you don’t need anything fancy, just a mixing bowl and a whisk. To make mini cupcakes you will need a mini cupcake tin lined with mini cupcake liners.
🥄 How to make mini cupcakes
Step 1 – Preheat the oven to 350° F (176° C). Line mini cupcake tins with cupcake liners and spray the liners with a little spray oil.
Step 2 – In a medium mixing bowl add 1 cup of plant-based milk and 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar and let it sit for about 5 minutes until the milk curdles.
Step 3 – Then add 3/4 cup of sugar, 1/3 cup oil, and 1 tablespoon of vanilla, then stir with a whisk until the sugar dissolves.
Step 4 – Add 1 1/4 cups of flour, 2 tablespoons of cornstarch, 3/4 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, and 1/4 tsp salt.
Step 5 – Stir again for 30 -45 seconds until you have a smooth batter, but don’t overmix. (Then if you are making funfetti cupcakes, gently fold in 1/3 cup vegan sprinkles just before filling your cupcake liners.)
Step 6 – Fill your prepared liners 3/4 of the way full with cake batter. (This will be about 2 tablespoons of batter in each one. I find that a cookie scoop is a perfect tool to get the exact amount needed for each cupcake.)
Step 7 – Bake the cupcakes at 350° F (176° C) for 15 minutes.
Step 8 – Allow them to cool completely before frosting.
Note – If you don’t want to make these cupcakes from scratch, you can use my easy soda cake recipe made with a box cake mix and simply bake it in mini cupcake tins.
👩🏻🍳 Pro Tips
- Be sure to spray the cupcake liners with some spray oil before baking, so they don’t stick to the paper.
- Fill the mini cupcake liners 3/4 of the way to the top of the liner. You only need a small amount (a little less than 2 tablespoons) of cupcake batter. You don’t want it to overflow and bubble over.
- If you forget to spray the liners before filling them with batter, they may stick to the liner especially when warm, but after they sit for an hour or two they will come out of the liners without sticking.
🧁 How to frost mini cupcakes
Use my vegan buttercream frosting in any flavor like vanilla, chocolate, or strawberry, or my vegan whipped cream frosting for a lighter, creamier frosting. I like to use a cupcake decorating tool to help control the frosting and give a perfect little swirl on top of each cupcake.
📋 How to make them gluten-free?
To make this cupcake recipe gluten-free, simply use a grain-based gluten-free flour mix. For best results, add 1/2 teaspoon of xanthan gum to the flour if your mix already doesn’t contain xanthan gum. Don’t use almond flour or other nut-based flour, they will not work the same way.
🥡 Storage
These plant-based cupcakes will keep well on the countertop for up to 3 days. You can make them a day or two ahead of time and frost them the day of your party.
You can also freeze unfrosted cupcakes for up to 3 months in a sealed container. Just make sure they are wrapped well and sealed tightly so no air is getting to them.
🌟 More vegan cake
You can also bake any of the following vegan cakes in mini cupcake tins for any flavor variation that you want. Bake all flavors of mini cupcakes at 350°F for 15 minutes.
- Vegan Strawberry Cupcakes
- Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes
- Vegan Lemon Cupcakes
- Vegan Carrot Cake
- Chocolate Water Cake
📌 Be sure to follow me on Pinterest for new vegan recipes!
📋 Vegan mini cupcake recipe
Mini Vegan Cupcakes
Ingredients
- spay oil, (to spray on cupcake liners)
- 1 cup soy milk
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar, (or lemon juice)
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup cooking oil, (any neutral flavored oil)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 1/4 cup flour
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Frosting
- 2 cups vegan buttercream frosting
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F (176° C). Line mini cupcake tins with cupcake liners and spray the liners with a little spray oil.
- In a medium mixing bowl add 1 cup of plant-based milk and 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar and let it sit for about 5 minutes until the milk curdles.
- Then add 3/4 cup of sugar, 1/3 cup oil, and 1 tablespoon of vanilla, then stir with a whisk until the sugar dissolves.
- Add 1 1/4 cups of flour, 2 tablespoons of cornstarch, 3/4 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, and 1/4 tsp salt.
- Stir again for 30 -45 seconds until you have a smooth batter, but don’t overmix. (Then if you are making funfetti cupcakes, gently fold in 1/3 cup vegan sprinkles just before filling your cupcake liners.)
- Fill your prepared liners 3/4 of the way full with cake batter. (This will be about 2 tablespoons of batter in each one. I find that a cookie scoop is a perfect tool to get the exact amount needed for each cupcake.)
- Bake the cupcakes at 350° F (176° C) for 15 minutes.
- Allow them to cool completely before frosting.
Notes
-
- Be sure to spray the cupcake liners with some spray oil before baking, so they don’t stick to the paper.
- Fill the mini cupcake liners 3/4 of the way to the top of the liner. You only need a small amount (a little less than 2 tablespoons) of cupcake batter. You don’t want it to overflow and bubble over.
- If you forget to spray the liners before filling them with batter, they may stick to the liner especially when warm, but after they sit for an hour or two they will come out of the liners without sticking.
Did you make this recipe?Please leave a star rating and review below!
Can you use gluten free flour for this?
Yes, any grain-based gluten-free flour mix will work well.