Makes 1 dozen cupcakes
Delicate vanilla cake dotted with real vanilla bean. Glossy chocolate ganache messing up your fingers. It’s the simple things in life! This is basically the Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World cupcakes, only made a teeny bit more awesome.
For the cupcakes:
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup canola oil
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and scraped
For the ganache:
1/3 cup almond milk
1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
Bake the cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line muffin pan with cupcake liners. Spray lightly with cooking spray.
Whisk the almond milk and vinegar in a measuring cup and set aside for a few minutes to get good and curdled.
Sift the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl and mix.
Beat together the almond milk mixture, oil, sugar, vanilla extract and vanilla bean in a large bowl. Sift in the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and mix until no large lumps remain.
Fill cupcake liners two-thirds of the way and bake for 20 to 22 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool.
In the meantime, prepare the ganache.
In a small sauce pan, bring the milk to a boil and then lower the heat to a simmer and add the chocolate and syrup. Mix with a rubber spatula for about 30 seconds. Turn heat off, continue stirring until the chocolate is fully melted and the icing is smooth.
To assemble:
Let ganache cool for about 10 minutes. Dip the top of the cupcake in the ganache and then set them on a cooling rack. Spoon the remainder of the ganache over cupcakes. Let set in a cool room for an hour or so, or place in the fridge to set. Serve to happy people!
Thank you! Umm… I don’t think so? A toothpick comes out clean and they’re quite golden around the edges… I tried 20 minutes for one batch and 22 minutes for another. Should I try leaving them in another 2-3 minutes?
I mean– is it possible that being slightly off–say, by a Tbsp. or so–of flour would affect texture like that? An omni friend of mine who bakes a lot more than I do suggested that the batter seemed a little thin to her– is that typical of vegan batter, or am I measuring something too light, perhaps? I don’t even know if that would impact the cupcakes in that way, though…
OK– so 4th/5th batch was a charm! I think I learned something that may be helpful to others… I made the chocolate cupcake recipe and the vanilla cupcake recipe at the same time, and happened to notice that the vanilla batter (made with the almond milk) was noticeably thinner than the chocolate batter (made with the soy milk). It may be that my almond milk brand is particularly thin, but the good news was that I added 2 Tbsp. of flour to make the consistencies match and the results were PERFECT! Thanks for such great recipes, Isa– I’m sure people say this to you all the time, but I honestly don’t think my boyfriend and I could have sustained our veganism if it weren’t for your recipes. We’re so proud to share our food, and we love to eat it!
Wow, good for you for motoring through your problems! And yeah, when flour isn’t weighed, some tinkering is sometimes necessary.
Do you have directions for changing a cupcake recipe into a cake recipe? I would love to use either your vanilla bean recipe here or the orange pudding recipe from CTOTW book to make a Birthday cake this weekend. Would the recipe make enough for 2 nine-inch round cake pans or should I double? Any thoughts on timing for baking… 25 – 30 minutes? Would love your help… want to make this a special Birthday for my 4 year old (vegan) daughter. 🙂
I’d also love to know if/how this would work as a layer cake. Thanks!
It’s time for me to leave a comment as well. I totally adore these cupcakes. I make them with whole spelt flour and 2/3 whole sugar, which makes tem a bit darker bit the vanilla pairs up the the caramelly flavour of the sugar extremely well. Wonderfull consistency, fluffy, moist, to die for. Thanks!
mmmm, FABULOUS. thank you!!!
Thank you for this great recipe! I’m going to make them for my daughter’s slumber party. She has so many friends with food allergies that I can have any store bought foods at her party. I’m replacing the almond milk with soy milk. 3 kids with nut allergies!
Can I substitute applesauce for the oil? My dad is on the RAVE diet which doesn’t allow any oil. Trying to find a way to make him a cake for his birthday. Any help would be appreciated.
Sure, but it will be more muffiny. If he is allowed nut butters, replace half with cashew or almond butter and the rest with applesauce, or some ratio thereof.
I doubled this recipe and cooked it in a 8″ spring form pan lined with parchment paper. It took about 40 minutes to cook through. I put an open can of coconut milk in the fridge overnight, scooped out the fat from the top, and mixed it with cocoa powder, powdered sugar, and vanilla and almond extract to make a frosting for the cake. It was super moist and yummy, and I will absolutely make this again!
Thank you for this recipe, they are delicious and moist! My ganache turned out with little bumps in it, what causes this? I’d like to get it right next time. Thanks!
Hmm. Bumps. Was it possible there was something in the pan that you didn’t notice? Or in the bag of chips? That happens to me with stuff every now and again. It doesn’t sound like the chocolate seized because that would be much worse than little bumps.
Ooh, I hope it was just a weird something-or-other like that. It just never got smooth, though it tasted great…evidently I am destined to try again very soon. Thank you!
Ohh, these look yummy! Would I be able to substitute the flour, for something a little healthier like wholewheat pastry or something else? If so, would I use the same amount & would I still use cornstarch? I’m not sure I’ll be able to find a vanilla bean before I want to bake these, would the recipe really be off if I didn’t use one? Thanks in advance for your advice!
I made these for my birthday for my first attempt at vegan baking and they were fantastic! Who knew it was that easy?! Followed the recipe exactly and was thrilled with the results. Only one thing which I’m sure was user-error, was that my ganache was a bit runnier than I thought it should be, but still delicious. I loved the pretty vanilla bean specks. Thank you for the recipe!
These were really good but I realized too late that the ganache is NOT vegan as semi-sweet chocolate chips have milk in them.
These were so great ani have to say seemingly fool proof! I am not a Baker; pies, biscuits, cakes, etc all die a terrible death when I am in the kitchen. So imagine my surprise, as a newly veganised person, when the first vegan cupcakes I cook are awesome. I had to hide the extras from the four kids! (And carnivorous partner) thank you Isa! Your site has given me tasty inspiration and confidence, love your work! Bec
Made these for my mom’s birthday. The one I ate (to test the batch) was wonderful! I’m sure they’ll be a hit. Used vegan chocolate chips. And, anyway, even if there is a *trace* of dairy in it it’s still better than buying flat out milk chocolate. At least we’re trying 🙂
These are OMG! delicious! As most recipes I’ve tried from Isa. Love the muffin and cookie cookbooks; I’m going to buy the pie cookbook next.
These look scrumptious! Can’t wait to taste them. Gonna make them today!
I just made these (minus the ganache) for the vegans who will be present at my stepdaughter’s 18th birthday party tomorrow. I made two batches, which made exactly 12 jumbo cupcakes. I’m using buttercream frosting on them and can’t wait for people to eat them. The batter was HEAVENLY! 🙂
Love the chocolate ganache. That’s probably the most tasty part.
I love this chocolate ganache! This and the macadamian nut frosting with the strawberry shortcakes (scones) in Vegan with a Vengeance have frosted every cake I know!
Amazing. Best cupcakes ever. I topped them with a vanilla buttercream frosting, though.
I have made these twice – both times the cupcakes came out AMAZING but the 2nd time the ganache just didn’t set right and was thin and not really pretty or super tasty. Also, the 1st time I got 14 cupcakes and not 12, 2nd time 10 cupcakes and not 12. Weird, eh?
Once I got to mixing stuff I realized I was out of apple cider vinegar and I don’t drive so I couldn’t run and get some so I just sorta used white vinegar tho I know it had chances of messing with the recipe. and that it did! They didn’t get to fluffy they did raise just not fluffy like I’m use to and they were a tad heavy. so make sure you have all the correct ingredients! I also couldn’t find any vanilla bean go figure the time I need one they are nowhere to be found in the store, so I added a tad of cinnamon. I also do not have any pam or spray stuff so the cupcakes did stick to the wrapper! I typically don’t like anything can spray like that food related but next time I make these I suppose I’ll pick some up. Over all they did taste good not as fluffy as I’d like, I have made vegan cupcakes in the past but used apple sauce. My chocolate ganache did have a few tiny chunks like someone else mentioned but not many for it to effect anything it came out good. So just my input tasty but make sure you have ALL of the correct ingredients! I also like how it doesn’t make a huge amount so i’m not stuck being the one finishing them all off like typical with deserts in my house lol. not cause they don’t like ti just because they prefer candy.
i think this recipe has potential but i was honestly a little disappointed with the flavor. maybe it needed more vanilla bean, i used a whole madagascar one but still didnt get that wow vanilla taste. next time ill have to tweak it a bit to get it past the plain vanilla white cake i ended up with.
i have to say though, my friends i served this to really liked it. but im really picky with vanilla cake and am trying to find a recipe to break my prejudice. thank you for the inspiration though!
I made these this weekend and they were a big hit at a party (I topped them each with a raspberry for extra pretty). But for the ganache I had to use 2/3 cup of choc chips t get a consistency that was soft but set.
Delicious and easy! Thanks for sharing!
This is a delicious cupcake recipe. It’s my about fav, go-to for cupcakes. However everytime I’ve made the ganache, the chocolate seizes up on me when I add almond milk. I usually just add a touch of coconut oil instead, but was wondering if it’s something I’m doing and can avoid doing in the future.
I made these yesterday and all I can say is OH MY!!!! I don’t know what it is about these cupcakes but they taste/look nostalgic to me. Like the other readers, I had minor issues with the ganache but regardless it worked out and it still tasted great. The cake itself wasn’t too intense of a vanilla (I used a high quality vanilla bean) but it was just right for this dessert. I can totally see this cupcake as having a berry topping or icing (sans ganache)….The possibilities are endless! I also like the idea of using it as a layer cake too. Thank you for the inspiration!!!
I made these with white whole wheat flour and a tad less sugar and they were great… thanks for the recipe. They were a win with the hubs!
This recipe looks incredible! I was wondering if it’s possible to use this recipe to make a cake instead? I’m thinking the cooking time might be different but would that be all? Thanks so much!
I too had the Ganache fail for me on two occasions. I was running through all the possibilities — thought it might have been the altitude (5300′) . But in googling about Ganache — it turns out that if it is too runny — just add more chocolate… It’s also unclear why the almondmilk needs to boil. I may avoid the boiling / just heat / add more chocolate and see what happens…
Making these for my son’s 6 month birthday party! I think he’s going to be very disappointed that he has to stick with sweet potatoes when he sees these though… 🙂
Runny Ganache solved — just add more chocolate chips! I think the proportions are off in the recipe == I think doubling the chocolate (maybe 2/3 of a cup) will suffice, although I did not measure exactly…
Just wondering if the cupcakes can be frozen and the ganache added after defrosting?
I’ve tried this recipe just a few days ago, I changed it up a little bit, well actually just the decoration because they were Easter cupcakes.
When I made the chocolate ganache and I tasted it…oh boy! It was love at first sight! This ganache is by far the best chocolate ganache I’ve ever tasted! 🙂
Here’s my recipe, hope you like how my cupcakes came out Isa!
http://cinnamongirldelights.blogspot.com.es/2013/04/easter-cupcakes.html