Gluten Free Very Vanilla Vegan Cupcakes Recipe

Birthdays should be special, no matter what time of year a person comes into the world. People born in December, closer to Christmas than farther away from it, tend to have their birthdays rushed or overlooked. But this is not the case in our family.

My g-daughter, Miss Milla Plum, is a December baby and this month she turned a whopping eight years old. Birthdays for eight-year-old girls typically mean cupcakes! And for Miss Milla, it means vanilla cupcakes.

Fortunately for Milla, she has no food intolerances or allergies that we know of. This is pretty unusual in a family that runs the gamut from gluten intolerance, dairy intolerance, seafood allergies and what I highly suspect is an egg allergy. Throw in a vegetarian or two and you can just imagine what needs to be taken into consideration for a family get-together!

I decided on gluten-free vegan cupcakes, as they seemed the safest bet. And I pulled out my secret weapon for moist, gluten-free, vegan cupcakes – Vegenaise. My trusty Vegenaise has never failed me when I use it for vegan baking.

Typically you find all sorts of vegan chocolate cupcakes but rarely vanilla. And Miss Milla requested vanilla so vanilla she got! Very, very vanilla. I made a vanilla cupcake, soaked it with vanilla syrup and frosted it with some vanilla frosting. All gluten-free, all vegan, all delicious!

Since vanilla is the star of this show it is important to use the best vanilla you can find. I like vanilla bean paste; it has a more intense vanilla flavor than extract and is even specked with those gorgeous vanilla seeds. I find it in my upscale grocery store. If you can’t find vanilla bean paste, the cupcakes will still be great but if you want them to be seriously spectacular – find the paste! The vanilla frosting will naturally have a lovely antique lace color specked with tiny flecks of brown seed. Normally I love the look but for these cupcakes we wanted white frosting so I added a few hefty squirts of white icing color to the frosting.

To let the vanilla flavor shine use really good quality gluten-free flour. If your flour tastes like beans or something else, make your own by whisking together 1 cup superfine white rice flour, ½ cup potato starch, ¼ cup superfine sweet rice flour, ¼ cup tapioca starch and 1 ½ teaspoons of xanthan gum.

Miss Milla likes her cupcakes decorated with shiny pink and purple sparkles, but you can decorate yours anyway you see fit.

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe

Gluten Free Very Vanilla Vegan Cupcakes Recipe

Prep Time30 mins

Cook Time20 mins

Rest time30 mins

Total Time1 hr 20 mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: 12 cupcakes

Calories: 286kcal

Author: Gluten Free & More

Ingredients

Soaking liquid

• ▢ ¼ cup sugar
• ▢ 3 tablespoons water
• ▢ 1 tablespoon pure vanilla bean paste

Cupcakes

• ▢ 2 cups all purpose gluten-free flour
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ ½ teaspoon kosher or fine sea salt
• ▢ 1 cup sugar
• ▢ 1 cup water
• ▢ ½ cup Vegenaise
• ▢ 1 tablespoon pure vanilla bean paste

Frosting

• ▢ ½ cup Earth Balance dairy free butter substitute
• ▢ 4 cups powdered sugar
• ▢ 1 tablespoon pure vanilla bean paste
• ▢ Pinch of kosher or fine sea salt
• ▢ Up to ¼ cup water

Instructions

• ▢
  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Insert paper liners into 12 standard muffin cups.
• ▢
  Prepare the soaking liquid by combining the ¼ cup sugar with the 3 tablespoons of water and 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, stirring until the sugar has melted and continue to boil for 1 minute or until it thickens slightly. Let cool while preparing the cupcakes.
• ▢
  In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. In another mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, water, Vegenaise and 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste until fully combined and no lumps from the Vegenaise. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk to combine. Divide the batter between the prepared muffin cups (it will be fairly liquid). Bake for 15 – 20 minutes or until firm to the touch, browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes.
• ▢
  Cut a cone the diameter of a dime out of the top of each cupcake and save the cut out parts. Spoon the soaking liquid into the center of each cupcake. Replace the cone back into the cupcakes when the soaking liquid has absorbed. Remove cupcakes from pan and let cool completely on a wire rack, about 30 minutes.
• ▢
  Prepare the frosting while the cupcakes cool. In a mixing bowl, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, mix the Earth Balance, powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon of vanilla bean paste and salt. Mix, starting on low speed, to combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and then turn the mixer to medium and beat for about 60 seconds. Add the water, 1 tablespoon at a time until it reaches the desired consistency – it should be thick, smooth and spreadable.
• ▢
  Frost the cooled cupcakes with the frosting and decorate as desired.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Gluten Free Very Vanilla Vegan Cupcakes Recipe

Amount Per Serving

Calories 286 Calories from Fat 126

% Daily Value*

Fat 14g22%

Saturated Fat 2g10%

Sodium 301mg13%

Carbohydrates 80g27%

Fiber 2g8%

Sugar 24g27%

Protein 2g4%

Calcium 13mg1%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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