I made this recipe first as a birthday cake for Matt last summer. I used two 6-inch cake pans and made a small double-layer cake with vanilla bean frosting on top and in between the layers. This time, I wanted to make these strawberry cupcakes for Valentine’s Day so I adapted the recipe to make vegan vanilla bean cupcakes.
It’s not hard to adapt a cake recipe to a cupcake recipe, all you really need to do is adjust the bake time. The cake version of this baked at 350F for 30-35 minutes but the cupcake version only bakes for 18-20 minutes.
These cupcakes contain no eggs, no dairy, and the batter comes together in minutes. They are so quick and easy to make. Add some delicious vegan strawberry buttercream frosting on top, and you’re golden.
Start by preheating your oven and then mixing non-dairy milk with apple cider vinegar to sit and curdle for 5 minutes – this makes an awesome ‘buttermilk’ which helps keep the cupcakes light and fluffy.
In a bowl, sift together your dry ingredients and in a separate bowl, mix together the wet ingredients. Then mix the wet ingredients, including the non-dairy milk and ACV mixture, into the dry ingredients. Split a vanilla bean down the center and scrape out the seeds, add to your bowl and mix all the ingredients together.
Your mixture will be liquidy and light in color. Evenly pour the batter into the baking cups about halfway to 3/4 of the way. Be sure not to pour too much because the cupcakes will rise too high. You can get 12-14 cupcakes with this batter amount so I would recommend testing 1-2 cupcakes before baking the whole batch, that’s what I do sometimes when I want them to look extra perfect and make sure I have my baking time right.
Check your cupcakes for doneness around 15 minutes with a toothpick or by lightly touching one to see if it bounces back. Mine took 20 minutes to bake.
Allow to cool before frosting and you’re done! I recently topped these with Vegan Strawberry Buttercream Frosting and they were money! Now you’ve got delicious, moist yet fluffy and light dairy-free, egg-free vanilla cupcakes! Enjoy!

EASY - Fluffy, Light and Moist Vegan Vanilla Bean Cupcakes
- 1 cup non-dairy milk
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1/3 cup safflower oil or other vegetable oil
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cup flour
- 2 tablespoon cornstarch
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 vanilla bean seeds scraped
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Preheat your oven to 350°F/175°C and line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
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Mix apple cider vinegar with non-dairy milk and stir to combine. Let sit for 5 minutes, while you prepare the other ingredients.
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In a large bowl, sift flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and sugar.
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Cut vanilla bean down the center and scrape seeds into bowl.
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In a separate bowl, mix vegetable oil, vanilla extract, and the apple cider vinegar and non-dairy milk mixture.
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Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Mix.
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Evenly distribute batter into 12 cupcake liners, filling about 1/2 - 3/4 of the way up. Bake at 350°F/175°C for 18-20 minutes.
- The cupcakes should have a slight bounce to them when lightly touched. This is how you know they are done.
- Always cool completely before icing.
Jeanne
These look wonderful! I have a couple people I bake for that need vegan AND gluten free… I know tough combo. Do you think I could use the King Arthur gluten free flour blend in this recipe instead of all purpose flour?
Thanks,
Jeanne
pasta-based
King Arthur has a Gluten Free All-Purpose Baking Mix that would work well and provide better results than the regular KA gluten free flour.
Jeanne
Thanks! Can’t wait to try these.
Anne
I made these for my daughter’s 7th Birthday party and they turned out amazing. Moist but fluffy! Great recipe ?
pasta-based
Thank you Anne!
Melanie
Tried this recipe but they weren’t fluffy and at all. Instead, they tasted unsweetened and like an uncooked flat American pancake. Do you know why it may have turned out this way? What am I doing wrong?
Rachel
THANKYOU!!! These were the best vegan cupcakes I’ve ever had!! I have been struggling to find a good recipe for years and finally you’ve made one that is waaaaaay better than the $6 store brought vegan cupcakes. Honestly could not have been happier with this recipe! Makes me excited to start baking again!
FINALLY a good vegan recipe!
pasta-based
That is so amazing to hear!! We started this blog so everyone could enjoy the foods they always loved, but vegan style. So happy you enjoyed it and I hope you do continue to bake more! Thanks again Rachel
Brooklyn
Hello, may I use cake flour ? ^-^