Easy Vegan Strawberry Cupcakes

Celebrate the holiday of love with these Easy Vegan Strawberry Cupcakes. They are a decadent treat on Valentine's Day. Or any other day! 😊 The tiny, light vanilla cakes are filled with fresh strawberries and then topped with delicate buttercream. They are easy to make, and you'll only need one bowl. While there is one added step when preparing the frosting, I promise you don't want to skip it. This recipe uses Ermine Frosting or Flour Buttercream. And this is what makes all the difference! I find traditional buttercream overly sweet. So if you are also trying to cut back on your sugar intake but still enjoy a beautifully frosted cupcake, then why not try this recipe? 🧁

How are you doing, friend? We are nearly halfway through February now. It seems to me that time is flying by. Even when the days seem grey and monotonous. I hope these Easy Vegan Strawberry Cupcakes will sweeten your day as they did mine when I baked them. Happy Month of Love ❤️🧁🌹

PREP TIME: 20min

TOTAL TIME: 1h 20min (incl. cooling)

SERVINGS: 12 cupcakes
 

INGREDIENTS

Cupcakes:

- 210g plain flour

- 100g sugar

- ½ tsp baking powder

- 100ml vegetable oil

- 150ml oat milk

- 1 flax egg (1 tbsp ground flaxseeds + 3 tbsp water)

- 2 tbsp unsweetened apple sauce

- seeds from 1/2 vanilla pod

- 100g fresh strawberries (chopped)

Buttercream:

- 150ml plant-based milk

- 60g caster sugar

- 20g flour

- 150g vegan butter (room temperature)

- a few drops of red food colouring

- 1 tsp strawberry essence
 

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/ 180°C fan/ gas mark 6.

2. Prepare the flax egg by mixing the ground flax meal with the 3 tbsp water in a small bowl and set it aside for a few minutes.

3. Add the dry ingredients to a medium bowl, mix, and then add the flax egg and apple sauce. Gradually stir in the vegetable oil and oat milk, but make sure not to overmix it. Finally, gently stir in the chopped strawberries.

4. Scoop the batter into a muffin tray lined with muffin cases, dividing it into 12 even portions. Bake in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes or until it looks set, and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. After a few minutes, transfer the cupcakes onto a cooling rack and let them cool completely.

5. To make the buttercream, start by making a flour and plant-based milk paste. Add the milk, sugar, flour, food colouring and strawberry essence to a saucepan. Bring the paste to a boil, stirring continuously. Cook until it has a thick, custard-like consistency.

6. Remove from the heat and let it cool completely. Give it an occasional stir to prevent the top to form a skin. You can also cover the paste with a piece of cling film, pressing the cling film into the paste. This will slow the cooling process, but you won’t need to stir it.

7. Add the vegan butter to a bowl or a standing mixer and mix for about 5 min on high speed, until white and fluffy. Add one spoon of the paste at a time to the butter and continue mixing until you incorporated all the paste into the butter and your buttercream is ready.

8. Transfer the buttercream to a piping bag with a star-shaped nozzle and decorate your cupcakes. Sprinkle with pink and white hundreds and thousands of heart-shaped sprinkles as we did. You can also decorate with fresh strawberries.

This buttercream is softer, smoother and less sweet than the usual buttercream. You can add any flavouring and tailor it to other cake recipes.

These cupcakes are light, fluffy, and yummy. Perfect for Valentine's Day ❤️

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