Easy Vegan Cupcakes
Today’s post is coming to you from the lovely Gemma from Mummy’s Waisted blog. Luke and I love cooking and baking together, but as Luke has no food allergies, we have never really ventured into the world of vegan or gluten free recipes. Gemma has put together the perfect Vegan Cupcake recipe that’s great to make with children and ensures that even those children with food allergies do not have to miss out on all the fun!
It is estimated that 5-8% of children in the UK have a food allergy, not including those with food intolerances. Whilst there are a wide range of Free From products available, these are often very expensive and children can feel isolated when they have to have something ‘different’. I suffered from a dairy intolerance as a child (when Free From hadn’t yet taken off) and I often remember being sent to parties with ‘special food’. There is a child in my son’s class with a dairy and egg intolerance, and it prompted me to find a recipe that could be enjoyed by all of the children together.
I’ve seen great success with a basic vegan chocolate cupcake recipe from the Vegan Society, with my kids (and husband) not noticing any difference. So I thought I would try to channel my inner Mary Berry and adapt it to different flavours. My experiments were successful eventually, and I have come up with a basic recipe which you can then add whatever flavouring or ingredient you choose. It’s a great recipe for baking with your children, as there’s not many ingredients and you can’t overmix it! I made some with my 2.5 year old daughter and she loved stirring the liquid and dry textures (plus tasting the finished products!)
A few tips specific to this recipe:
- The ‘batter’ is very runny, this is to be expected but it means you do need to take care with getting the mixture into the cases!
- You will need a mixing bowl, plus an extra bowl for the dry ingredients, a measuring jug and a whisk for stirring
- If you do add in additional ingredients, try not to add anything which is too ‘wet’ as this makes the cakes very sticky. Dried fruit and chunks of chocolate are perfect. I used apple and sultana, but found that apple puree made for a better texture overall. I also include a sprinkle of mixed spice.
- You could switch the plain flour for gluten free and the caster sugar for granulated sweetener, but make sure you follow the conversion guidelines on the packet carefully!
The Recipe
250ml soya milk
1 tsp vinegar
130g plain flour
7g bicarbonate of soda
5g baking powder
130g caster sugar
80ml vegetable oil
Optional – 300g ingredients of your choice (dried fruit for example)
- This recipe will make 12 cakes if you include the extra ingredients, 8 cakes if not.
- Preheat the oven to 170 fan / 180c / gas mark 6
- In the main mixing bowl, measure out the soya milk and add the vinegar to it. Mix gently and leave for a few minutes for the milk to curdle.
- In the other bowl, measure out the plain flour, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder. You can sift the ingredients at this stage, but it is not essential (you could break up any big lumps with a fork).
- Add the caster sugar and oil to the soya milk bowl and whisk until the liquid is combined and foaming. Add the dry ingredients into the liquid in two batches, and whisk until you get a smooth batter. Try to whisk out any large lumps, tiny ones are fine.
- At this stage, you can add the extra ingredients into the batter or save it to decorate the tops after you have filled the cake cases.
- Fill the cake cases (to about 0.5cm from the top) and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. The cakes will be fairly firm to the touch.
Gemma is a mum to two children and has recently changed career from accountancy to internet marketing. She runs Waist Trainer UK and writes a blog as Mummy’s Waisted, which features healthy living and family life.
Blog: www.mummyswaisted.co.uk
Twitter: www.twitter.com/mummys_waisted @mummys_waisted
Facebook: www.facebook.com/mummyswaisted @mummyswaisted
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Lukeosaurus And Me
Rachael is a 31 year old mum to 10 year old Luke and 5 year old Oscar. She lives in England and writes about family life, crafts, recipes, parenting wins(and fails), as well as travel, days out, fashion and living the frugal lifestyle.
20 Comments
Rachel
Mmm these look good! My friend is a vegan and I’m always wondering what cakes I should make for her so now I know – thanks!
Cardiff Mummy Says - Cathryn
I’ve recently gone vegan after 27 years of being vegetarian and it’s always lovely to see recipes for sweet treats I can enjoy! Thanks for sharing. x
Claire
These cupcakes look delicious 🙂 I can imagine how hard it was a few years ago buying free from foods. My Daughter has just been diagnosed with Coeliac and I have noticed how the ranges of free from foods have doubled since we first got told she might have it 6 months ago.
Jenny
Looks so yummy! And way healthier than the chocolate cake I baked today LOL. Must give this one a go.
Beth @ BethinaBox.com
Oooh, these are great. I’ll have to give them a go and see what my monkeys think of it.
Sim @ Sim's Life
Good tonknow the batter will be slightly runny, is think I’d done something wrong and would attempt to add extra flour! Never tried cooking vegan cakes but will give this recipe a try! Sim x
Sophia
Oooh, I have a vegan friend visiting in the summer. I will have to make these for her so she can enjoy a a treat with a nice cuppa tea!
Wendy
Yum! I can’t say I’ve ever done any vegan baking but these look really yummy and sounds easy to make too xx
laura dove
Oh these are perfect for vegans! I am hosting a vegan baby shower next month and was worrying about cakes, problem solved!
Katy Stevens
These sound really nice – I might give them a go for my daughter with an alternative milk. It’s so hard to find tasty vegan cupcakes!
Jen
These look and sound delicious! And no doubt healthier than the ones I usually make!
Cal at Family Makes
What a great recipe to offer an alternative for anyone who chooses to follow a vegan diet, or who has to make substitutions for food allergy reasons. Great to know that no-one misses out on yummy cakes!
Mudpie Friday
I have a friend who is vegan and I wanted to make her a birthday cake! These would be perfect. My youngest has a diary allergy so these would be perfect for him too. Thank you x
Elizabeth
It can be really tricky to get the typical light and fluffy cake consistency without the use of eggs, but it looks like you have succeeded here! Yum!
Emily Leary
These look delicious and fun to make with the children. My son was allergic to dairy when he was small but has thankfully now grown out of it so it’s great to see that more and more of us are beginning to include vegan recipes for not only anyone on a dairy free diet but anyone who loves experimenting with different recipes!
Ondo Lady
There was a time when vegan options were limited so it is good to see that there is now a lot more to choose from. Those vegan cupcakes look so good.
kerry norris
I have a few friends who are vegan so I’ve saved this so I have something to make them when they come over for a cuppa
Jessica Bailey
These vegan cupcakes look delicious. I have a rest recipe for vegan marshmallow frosting I’m going to top them with as well!
Zoe Williams
So many kids have a milk allergy these days, these would be great to bake for parties so that all the little ones can be included! Brownies are also easy to make dairy & gluten free (or buy a kit!).
ken Miller
It looks delicious.