Vegan Red Velvet Cupcakes

We think that everyone deserves to taste our signature red velvet cupcakes, so we’ve developed a vegan red velvet recipe. Yes - that even includes a recipe for vegan buttercream icing!

These iconic red, mild chocolate cakes really pack a flavour punch, and you won’t know the difference between our vegan version and our original recipe. They taste so good!

The cake itself as an incredibly light, mild chocolate cake, that gives you a hint of chocolate without it being overpowering. It’s paired with a buttercream that’s almost impossible to stop eating - trust me, you’ll be licking the bowl for this one!

Now, you might have noticed that the ingredients list apple cider vinegar as one of the cake ingredients. I know it sounds completely crazy to put vinegar in a cake, but there’s science behind it, I promise. Do you remember when you used to make volcanoes in science class? You added vinegar to baking powder and watched it bubble up! Well that’s exactly what’s going to happen inside the cake mixture. The reaction of the baking powder with the acidic vinegar means your cake will rise up to its full potential giving you the lightest, fluffiest cupcakes in town.

Because the cake itself is such a knockout colour, we tend to keep the decoration pretty simple. Just take a little bit of each cake, and crumble it between your fingertips to make a crumb, then sprinkle it on top of the buttercream icing. These cupcakes look really beautiful, especially if you pipe the icing on, but don’t worry if you’re not comfortable with a piping bag - it’ll taste just as delicious if you spread on a liberal layer of icing with a knife!

We think they make perfect treats at Christmas time, or for a Valentine's day treat - but since they’re such a crowd pleaser, and their velvety texture means they’ll be a hit with adults and kids alike, they’re practically perfect for any event. They’ll be a treat for vegans and non vegans alike.

Ingredients

For the cake

240 ml plain soya milk

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

220g plain flour

2 tbsp cocoa powder

1 tsp baking powder

A pinch of salt

200g caster sugar

160 ml vegetable oil

2 tbsp red food colouring

2 tsp vanilla extract

For the icing

200g soya spread

1 tbsp vanilla extract

750g icing sugar

2-3 tbsp soya milk

How to make vegan red velvet cupcakes

1. Preheat the oven to 190ºC.
2. Mix the soya milk and the vinegar together in a bowl and set aside.
3. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt into a mixing bowl.
4. Add the sugar.
5. Add the oil, food colouring and vanilla to the soya milk mixture and mix.
6. Pour into the dry ingredients and mix.
7. Transfer the cake mixture to a jug since it will be quite runny.
8. Pour the mixture evenly into your cupcake cases in a muffin tin.
9. Bake the cakes for about 20 minutes.
10. Remove from the oven and let cool completely before you start to decorate them.
11. Make a start on the vegan buttercream icing. Put the soya spread in a mixing bowl with the vanilla.
12. Sift in the icing sugar.
13. Beat the mixture until it’s all combined, then turn up the speed and beat for about 2 to 3 minutes.
14. Add a little bit of your soya milk if you need to loosen up the mixture.
15. Slice a sliver of cake off the top of each cupcake with a sharp knife. Crumble it up between your fingers and set aside.
16. Pipe / spread the icing over the cakes, then sprinkle on your crumbled up cake for decoration.

Love vegan cakes? Then check out Lola’s delicious vegan range here.

If you’re still not convinced by vegan cakes, and you don’t believe us when we tell you that you won’t be able to taste the difference then watch the Lola’s Vegan Blind Taste Test here.