Chocolate vegan cupcakes are perfect for birthdays, weddings, holidays, and any other special occasion you can think of. Believe it or not, they can even be made completely sugar-free if you choose!
1.Preheat the oven to 350°F and make some date paste (if using).
2. Date paste is simply 1 cup pitted dates and 3/4 cup water blended well in a blender or food processor. For more instructions, please see notes in the article above. Once the date paste is ready, set it to the side to be added to the wet ingredients shortly.
3. Place all of the dry ingredients–flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cocoa powder–in a large mixing bowl and whisk together well. If you're using sugar instead of date paste, add the dry sugar in this step.
4. In a medium-sized bowl, combine all of the wet ingredients–applesauce, plant milk, vanilla, vinegar, date paste (if using)–and whisk together thoroughly.
5. Next, pour the wet ingredients into the large bowl with the dry ingredients and whisk together well.
6. Pour the cake batter into silicone baking muffin cups (or line regular muffin cups with paper muffin cups to prevent sticking) and bake at 350°F for 25 minutes.
7. Oven temperatures vary, so around the 20-minute mark, remove the cake from the oven and test for doneness. To do this, insert a toothpick into the highest center point. If the toothpick comes out clean, the cake is done, otherwise place back into the oven and test again in 5-10 minutes.
8. Once the cake or cupcakes are done, remove from oven and allow to cool before frosting.
Frosting
1. I like the take the easy way out and cook my sweet potato quickly by poking a few holes in it with a knife, wrapping it in a wet paper towel, and placing it in the microwave for about 5-6 minutes depending on the size of the potato.
2. Once it’s done, I simply remove the peelings and use the potato flesh in this frosting recipe.
3. Simply place all the frosting ingredients–including the cooked sweet potato– in a blender or food processor and mix until smooth. More frosting tips can be found in the article above.
4. When the cake and/or cupcakes have cooled, frost and serve!
Video
Notes
Detailed instructions, in-process photos, and my personal helpful tips can be found in the article above.Tips for making vegan cupcakes
This recipe is very versatile and can be made into a cake or cupcakes.
Cooking times will vary with the size of the pan used. Cupcakes should take about 25 minutes and 8″-9″ pans will cook the cake in about 30-35 minutes. Oven temperatures vary.
When making this into cupcakes, an ice cream scoop with a trigger is perfect for scooping into muffin cups without having to scrape a spoon or fingers.
To check for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the cake or cupcake and remove it. When it comes out clean, the cake is ready.
This cupcake recipe is not gluten-free, but Minimalist Baker has a great GF Baking Guide that can help convert these cupcakes.
The frosting is already gluten-free.
For those not doing sugar-free, unrefined sugar can be substituted. Measurements are included in the recipe card below.