Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes - the SECRET recipe with NO eggs or dairy! (2024)

Healthy Pies and Cakes

by Chocolate Covered Katie

4.98 from 164 votes

Deep, dark, rich, fudgy vegan chocolate cupcakes – with no dairy and no eggs required!

Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes - the SECRET recipe with NO eggs or dairy! (2)

Chocolate Cupcakes Without Eggs

What’s the secret to making cupcakes rise without eggs?

It’s something you probably already have in your kitchen!

This basic chocolate cupcake recipe uses vinegar and baking soda to create an acid-base reaction, causing bubbles to form and thus the cupcakes to rise as they bake.

(Remember that famous volcano experiment from elementary school???)

The simple vegan chocolate cupcakes can be made with just a few basic ingredients you might already have at home – NO tofu, NO black beans, NO avocado, and NO flax eggs!

Also try this Vegan Brownies Recipe

Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes - the SECRET recipe with NO eggs or dairy! (4)

These classic chocolate cupcakes will take you right back to childhood.

Irresistibly light and fluffy, they hold their own against any box of Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker cake mix, with none of the unhealthy corn syrup or artificial ingredients.

And even if you aren’t vegan, it’s a good idea for everyone to have a go-to vegan cupcake recipe, because you never know when you’ll need it!

For example, have you ever been asked to make a last-minute dessert when you didn’t have any eggs on hand?

Or needed a recipe suitable for a child with dairy allergies or a guest who’s a vegan?

Or maybe you just want a foolproof basic cupcake recipe that’s super quick, easy to make, and turns out perfectly every single time.

Trending now: Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes - the SECRET recipe with NO eggs or dairy! (5)

This has been my go-to cupcake recipe for over three years now, and it’s incredibly versatile.

Every time I serve the cupcakes, they are always completely devoured, by vegans and meat eaters alike!

You can easily turn the basic chocolate cupcake into new flavors by using different extracts, fillings, or frostings.

Top them with your favorite vegan frosting, nut butter, or Coconut Whipped Cream.

If you want to be fancy, you can even pipe the frosting through a pastry bag fitted with a 1M star tip, as seen in the photos, effortlessly turning the cupcakes into a culinary work of art.

And if you can find Dutch cocoa, I like to include a few tablespoons in the recipe, because it really heightens the chocolate flavor and gives these cupcakes a classic straight-from-the-bakery taste.

*For the cupcakes in the photos, I used my favorite Basic Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting.

Above – Watch the video how to make vegan cupcakes

Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes - the SECRET recipe with NO eggs or dairy! (6)

The recipe was adapted from this classicVegan Chocolate Cake Recipe.

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Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes

The best easy vegan chocolate cupcake recipe, with no eggs or dairy!

Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes - the SECRET recipe with NO eggs or dairy! (7)

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Print Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Yield 9 – 10 cupcakes

5 from 164 votes

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup water
  • 1/4 cup applesauce or nondairy yogurt
  • 1/4 cup oil
  • 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp white or cider vinegar
  • 1 cup spelt, white, or bob’s gf flour (Low carb option: Keto Cupcakes)
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 tbsp Dutch cocoa powder or additional unsweetened
  • 3/4 cup sugar, unrefined if desired
  • 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips, optional
  • 1/2 tsp + 1/8 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda

Instructions

  • *If you want to frost them, I mentioned a few of my favorite frosting recipes earlier in this post, or use your own favorite frosting. For the additional 2 tbsp cocoa, you can use either Dutch or regular. I highly recommend Dutch for heightened chocolate flavor. To find Dutch cocoa, just look for the word “alkali” in the ingredients. Be sure to use regular unsweetened (not Dutch) for the initial 1/4 cup.

    To make the vegan cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a cupcake pan with liners. In a large bowl, whisk first 5 ingredients. Do not forget the vinegar. Let sit at least 10 minutes, and sift all remaining ingredients in a separate bowl while you wait. Pour wet into dry, stir just until evenly mixed, and smooth into liners. Only fill up 2/3 of the way at most, because they rise a lot and you don’t want them to burst and then sink in the middles (although if it happens, just hide it with frosting!). Bake 20 minutes on the center rack. Let cool. These taste even better the next day, and the liners will peel off easily after a day.

    View Nutrition Facts

Notes

For a vanilla version, try these Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes.

Have you made this recipe?

Tag @chocolatecoveredkatie on Instagram

Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes - the SECRET recipe with NO eggs or dairy! (8)

More Vegan Chocolate Recipes

Vegan Chocolate Mousse

Deep Dish Cookie Pie

Black Bean Brownies

Peanut Butter Brownies

Chocolate Truffles

Vegan Chocolate Mug Cake

Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes - the SECRET recipe with NO eggs or dairy! (2024)

FAQs

What was the missing ingredient in Izzy's cupcakes? ›

Izzie had trouble remembering the secret ingredient to her mother's cupcake recipe -- in fact, she needed a psychic to help her remember, if you recall. But now that she remembers what it is (coconut extract!), you should have trouble making the cupcakes yourself."

What are the ingredients in just desserts vegan chocolate cupcakes? ›

Ingredients: vegan granulated sugar, vegan powdered sugar, unbleached flour (wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, floic acid), water, canola oil, soy milk (filtered water, soybeans, salt, natural flavor, gellan gum, sunflower lecithin, gellan gum, natural flavor), unsweetened ...

What is the difference between a vegan cupcake and a regular cupcake? ›

Vegan diets don't include any animal products so typical ingredients such as eggs, milk and butter are not included in the recipe.

Why is cupcake called fairy cake? ›

These delicious treats go by this name because of their size, which is small enough for a fairy to eat. However, a version of “butterfly cakes” is a design that has wings on top of the cupcakes. Similar to a butterfly or a fairy's wings!

What makes cupcakes gummy? ›

Cupcakes can get sticky on top due to the reaction of the sugar with the air. Sugar is hygroscopic, which means it attracts water. So, if the air is particularly humid, the sugar on the top of the cupcakes will attract water particles from the air, making the cupcakes wet, or sticky.

Why are my vegan cupcakes gummy? ›

GUMMY STREAKS

Either there is too much moisture or fat in your mixture. Whenever I notice streaks whilst testing recipes, I find that I have added too much butter. You have over mixed your batter which can cause your batter to collapse, become dense and create streaks.

Why are my vegan cupcakes sinking? ›

You used too much raising agent

This is probably the most common reason why vegan cakes sink in the middle.

Are vegan cupcakes better for you? ›

Plant-based fats have no cholesterol which is much healthier for you. Vegan cakes replace traditional sweeteners, notorious for causing health problems like diabetes and obesity. Instead, vegan baking uses alternatives such as coconut cream, macadamia butter, etc., which are rich in proteins and fiber.

Why are my vegan cupcakes not rising? ›

YOUR CAKE IS SINKING IN THE MIDDLE OR NOT RISING

You may not have used enough raising agents. I do recommend experimenting with double action baking powders. Otherwise try using 25 percent more chemical raising agents (baking soda or baking powder) if you're converting a recipe to gluten free.

Why do cupcakes need eggs? ›

Beaten whole eggs as well as egg whites on their own, are highly effective leavening agents, incorporating air into the dough or batter. As the air bubbles are trapped in the mixture, a foam is created, which will expand in the oven, causing cakes to rise, providing volume and a lighter texture.

Do vegan cupcakes go bad? ›

These cupcakes keep very well in a covered container at room temperature for 2-3 days or in the fridge for up to a week. They can also be frozen (frosted or unfrosted, but don't add any fresh strawberry decoration if you're freezing them) for up to 3 months.

Is vegan dairy-free? ›

A vegan diet excludes all animal products, including dairy, eggs, meat, and fish, whereas a dairy-free diet bans all milk products but not necessarily any other animal products. While all vegan foods are inherently dairy-free, not all dairy-free foods are vegan.

How do you keep vegan cupcakes fresh? ›

Most vegan cupcakes have the exact same shelf life as traditional cupcakes. So if you leave them at room temperature in an air tight container or wrapped in plastic wrap (not refrigerated), they should last a couple days at most until they start to become noticeably stale.

What do they do with the losers 1000 cupcakes on Cupcake Wars? ›

Slater was a judge on the pilot, and on her website's FAQs, answers the question that, apparently I'm not the only one asking: “My grandpa wanted to know what we did with all those cupcakes. The ones that didn't go to the Alma Awards were eaten by the cast and crew. Yeah, that's right.

What happened to the cupcake craze? ›

One told the Wall Street Journal that "the novelty has worn off." One analyst noted that people can bake cupcakes themselves and don't need to go to a store every time they want one of the treats. "Demand is flat," he told WSJ. And while there's less data on private cupcake vendors, anecdotal suggests a similar trend.

Do they really make 1000 cupcakes on Cupcake Wars? ›

(You can view his video at the end of this post.) Yes. They do make one thousand cupcakes on Cupcake Wars. Although he, sadly, did not win, the finalists do make 1000 cupcakes.

What is the filling in a hostess cupcake made of? ›

These homemade Hostess cupcakes are the REAL DEAL — so decadent, so indulgent, so delicious. A deeply chocolaty cupcake is filled with a cloud of marshmallow cream, then topped with a silky-smooth ganache and a curlicue of vanilla icing for the tastiest sweet snack of all time.

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