I welcomed Spring Equinox with my first vegan cupcake experiment. Now, I’m not suggesting cupcakes are the next superfood but, for special occasions, this recipe is on the healthier side. Firstly, I replaced white flour with whole wheat flour. This increases fiber content which helps manage blood sugar spikes. Secondly, these are dairy-free which is beneficial for PCOS-fighters. Lastly, instead of using artificial food coloring, I added beet juice! I can proudly say the taste was unaffected and I avoided the toxic chemicals in food dye. Please leave a comment if you have a tip for coloring desserts naturally!
Cupcake Ingredients (makes 12):
- 1/2 cup Earth Balance dairy-free butter
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup soy yogurt
- 1/2 cup almond milk
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup whole wheat flour (or gluten-free alternative)
- 2 tsp baking powder
Frosting Ingredients:
- 1 can coconut milk
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 tbsp almond milk
- 1 cup Earth Balance dairy-free butter
- 2-3 cups of powdered sugar
- 3 tsp beet juice, from canned beets
Cupcake How To:
- Preheat oven to 350 deg F.
- Place 12 liners in a cupcake pan.
- Cream the butter and sugars until smooth.
- Mix in yogurt, milk, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla extract until combined.
- Sift in flour and baking powder whisking until just combined.
- Scoop batter into cupcake liners filling up just past half full.
- Bake for about 18 minutes (check that a toothpick comes out clean).
- Cool cupcakes on a wire rack.
Frosting How To:
- Refrigerate can of coconut milk overnight. In the morning a hardened top layer should have formed which you can scoop out (apparently the occasional can won’t do this).
- Mix the hardened coconut milk, vanilla, and almond milk in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Beat butter in a large bowl until smooth.
- Add 2 cups of powdered sugar to the butter in 1/2 cup batches.
- Once combined, add the coconut milk mixture.
- Whip on high for 3 minutes or until the mixture gets glossy.
- Add beet juice in teaspoons at a time until you reach the vibrancy you want.
- Add more sugar if the frosting is still runny or refrigerate frosting until it is firm enough to stay put.
- Pipe icing on cooled cupcakes. Note: The amount of frosting I used as pictured was very sweet so I will use less next time.
- Keep cupcakes in fridge until ready to serve to ensure frosting holds its shape.
Notes: Lemonade cupcake adapted from Cheers to Vegan Sweets and frosting adapted from Delia Creates.
Looking real good! Love the info provided! Date: Thu, 24 Mar 2016 15:00:45 +0000 To: roger.cutler@hotmail.com
Yum! I love anything lemon/lemonade! Great to find a vegan version of the recipe!
These definitely count as healthier cupcakes 😉 I haven’t played around to much with natural food dyes, but I used vegetable to dye our Easter eggs this year and that was pretty neat. Red cabbage turned the eggs a beautiful grey blue
That is so funny you say that because my family just finished dying eggs with red cabbage, turmeric and beets! Its pretty satisfying to create color without chemicals.
I love that you are using natural food colouring for these cupcakes. Also looks like a healthier version for cupcakes.
Thank you! It was a mission to figure out how to create pink without completely changing the flavor, but in the end it was so simple.. beet juice! My next mission is green… spinach? matcha?
They are adorable!
Who knew, healthy could look so good…these cupcakes look and sound scrumptious..
Thank you for saying so! They really were sweet and moist.
I love love love these cupcakes. And the fact that they are healthier. I really should think about making the stuff I bake healthier too eh? Maybe. Someday when I got the whole baking thing down pat. You inspire me!
You are so kind! I am delighted to hear I inspire you! Your cupcake recipes are truly gorgeous 🙂
I love healthier baking, too! I use a lot of the same substitutes to make recipes healthier, more filling and more nutritious. These sounds divine and are perfect for spring! Great work.
I love Earth Balance! And the fact that you used beet juice is fabulous. Nice one 🙂
This was the first time I used Earth Balance and it did work very nicely. And thanks! I am still proud of my beet juice dye trick 😉
They look so cute and I love the sound of lemonade cake. I think this would suit all the eaters in my life, no matter what dietary needs they have.
Thank you! I am frequently thinking about other’s dietary needs when creating recipes so I am glad you are here to find more! Have a great Saturday 🙂
This are so lovely! And the flavour combination is a favourite in my house!! I love citrus so I can’t wait to give em a try!
Excellent! Glad they will be a crowd-pleaser. Thanks for popping by. 🙂
those wrappers are So adorable! can’t believe this is vegan!
I know right?! Most satisfying comment for a vegan blogger hahaha
These are so cute! I love that you didn’t use artificial colouring. The beet juice made such a pretty shade of pink.
Thanks so much! The awesome thing about using beets is you can range from very light pink to deep red 🙂
So pretty and perfect for Spring…a season that I hope will arrive early this year! Thanks for sharing at the Healthy Living Link Party.
Blessings, Leigh
You are welcome. Yes, With the first day of spring being tomorrow, I will be sharing these everywhere hoping that the weather catches on. 😉
These look so tasty! Love the cupcake wrapper you used too and the slice of lemon and the raspberry make it look like the ideal Spring cupcakeè
wow these look SO good! I love that they are vegan too!
I don’t know why but I just love making cupcakes! More than any other kind of baking. These are so fun and fresh and springy!
Oh these look delicious! I really want to make these soon!
Oh my word…these look HEAVENLY. 🙂
I’m a huge sucker for anything lemonade flavored, and of course you can NEVER go wrong when a cupcake is involved. Will have to make these soon! I love that this recipe is healthier than so many others!
Nice job!
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These are ADORABLE!!!! I can just imagine how tasty they are too! Everything about these cupcakes has me excited for spring, can’t wait to give em a try!
Oh my, these cupcakes are almost to pretty to eat! They look delicious too, so I may have to make some for an Easter dessert treat. Thanks for sharing!
Yum! These look and sound amazing! I will need to try soon!
Those sound sooooo good!
Oooo these are perfect for Spring and I love the idea of coloring them with beet juice. They’re lovely! I’m sharing them on Pinterest. ?
OMG this looks so good! I bet it is the perfect kind of sweet.
Love,
Ivelisse | CarnationDreams.com