Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes

Makes 1 dozen cupcakes

A lemony, tender cake topped with the most strawberriest (that’s a word) fruitiest buttercream, these vegan strawberry lemonade cupcakes are bright, pink, and exactly what you want when berries are in season. Maybe you have some strawberries burning a hole in your pocket. What better way to use them?

They’re a great fit for Mother’s Day brunch, baby and bridal showers, Easter dessert tables, graduation parties, a kid’s birthday, a Pride picnic, or any summer get-together where you want something that looks like it came from a bakery window.

This recipe is originally from I Can Cook Vegan. If you choose to buy the book, I promise to do only good things with the money.

So What’s In The Cupcakes?

For the cakes:

• Granulated sugar. Standard white sugar.
• Vegan milk. Soy, oat, or almond all work. I lean soy for baking because it has the most protein and gives the best structure, but use what you have. Make sure it’s at room temperature so the coconut oil doesn’t seize up when you mix.
• Refined coconut oil. Refined, not virgin. Virgin coconut oil has a strong coconut flavor that will fight with the lemon and strawberry. Refined is neutral and behaves like butter. Vegan butter works too if you’d rather.
• Vanilla extract. Pure, not imitation.
• Fresh lemon juice. Bottled lemon juice tastes flat and a little metallic. Squeeze a real lemon, please.
• Lemon zest. This is where most of the lemon flavor actually lives. The oils in the zest are what give you that bright, perfumey lemon hit. A microplane is the best tool for the job. Only zest the yellow part, the white pith underneath is bitter.
• All-purpose flour. No need to get fancy. If you’re testing gluten-free, a cup-for-cup blend should work, though I haven’t tried it.
• Baking powder and baking soda. Both. They’re doing different jobs, so don’t skip one.
• Salt. Balances the sweetness and makes the lemon taste more like itself.

For the strawberry buttercream:

• Coconut oil. Same deal as the cake, refined only. It needs to be softened but not melted, somewhere between solid and liquid so it can be beaten into a fluffy frosting.
• Powdered sugar. Three and a half cups sounds like a lot, but buttercream is buttercream. If your sugar is lumpy, sift it first.
• Fresh strawberries. A full cup, pureed in the food processor. If your berries are a little tired, toss them with a teaspoon of sugar and let them sit for 10 minutes before pureeing to draw out the flavor.
• Vanilla extract. Rounds everything out. Always there for us.

Tips to Make The Best Vegan Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes

Watch the batter consistency. After you beat together the sugar, vegan milk, and coconut oil, it should look like applesauce. Once you have that, mix in the vanilla, lemon juice, and zest before sifting in the dry ingredients.

Don’t overmix the batter. Once you sift in the flour, mix just until the lumps are gone. Overmixing develops gluten and you’ll end up with tough, dense cupcakes instead of tender ones.

Fill the liners three-quarters of the way, no more. It’s tempting to top them off so you get tall domed cupcakes, but they’ll overflow and spread out flat on top, which makes them hard to frost neatly. Three-quarters full gives you a nice gentle dome and a flat enough surface for piping.

If the buttercream is loose after blending, pop it in the fridge for a few minutes and fluff it with a fork before piping.

More Vegan Cupcakes For Your Face:

Pink Grapefruit Cupcakes

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Margarita Cupcakes

A tequila lime cupcake base, pale green tequila lime buttercream, and a rim of coarse green sugar that mimics a salted margarita glass

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Chocolate Mousse Cupcakes

A rich, tender chocolate cupcake topped with a silky chocolate mousse

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Vegan Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes

Isa Chandra

Lemony, fluffy vanilla cupcakes topped with an intensely fruity, vibrant pink strawberry buttercream. A simple, bright summer dessert that tastes like sunshine in cupcake form.

5 from 2 votes

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Servings 1 dozen cupcakes

Ingredients

  

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For the cake:

• 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup vegan milk at room temperature (or favorite non-dairy milk)
• 1/4 cup coconut oil melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest finely grated
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

For the strawberry buttercream:

• 3/4 cup coconut oil softened at room temperature
• 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup fresh strawberries chopped, stems removed
• 6 strawberries cut in half for decorating

Instructions

 

Making the cupcakes:

• Preheat oven to 350 F and line a muffin pan with paper liners.
• Vigorously beat together sugar, milk and coconut oil until it resembles applesauce. Mix in vanilla, lemon juice and zest.
• Sift in about half the flour, all the baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix until relatively smooth. Add the remaining flour and mix until smooth and no large lumps remain.
• Lightly spray the liners with cooking spray and pour batter into liners, filling 3/4 of the way. Bake 16 to 18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

Making the buttercream:

• First, puree the strawberries in a food processor. In a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the coconut oil and strawberry puree and gradually add the powdered sugar, scraping the bowl as you go. Add the vanilla and mix until smooth and creamy. If it seams loose then place in the refrigerator to set up a bit, then fluff with a fork.
• Spread frosting onto cooled cupcakes using the back of a spoon (or your preferred method). Top with a strawberry half!

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