Making these candy cane cupcakes made me feel like such a kid. In a good way.
It's such a simple recipe and the decorating was so festive and fun!
The recipe is for vegan chocolate cupcakes (I made one batch gluten-free and one batch ordinary - both turned out wonderfully) with vegan vanilla buttercream frosting (you would never guess it's vegan) and some crushed candy canes sprinkled on top. Delicious!!
📖 Recipe
Chocolate Candy Cane Cupcakes (Vegan with Gluten-free Option)
Yield:
10
Prep Time:
15 minutes
Cook Time:
20 minutes
Total Time:
35 minutes
An easy, allergen-free, kid-friendly and inexpensive festive treat!
Ingredients
Chocolate cupcakes
- 180 g / 1 ½ cups self-raising flour, I also made a batch using equal amounts of gluten-free flour, I used Doves Farm Self Raising, which turned out wonderfully
- 230 g / 1 cup caster sugar
- 30 g / ¼ cup cocoa powder
- A pinch of salt
- 80 ml / ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- 240 ml / 1 cup almond milk or dairy-free milk of your choice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp cider vinegar
Buttercream frosting
- 140 g / ⅔ cup good-tasting vegan butter, I used 'Pure' soy
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 280 g / 2 ¼ cups confectionery icing sugar
- Candy canes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 170c (350f) and line a muffin / large cupcake tin with 10 paper liners.
- In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder and salt.
- In a separate smaller bowl, whisk the oil, milk, vanilla and vinegar together. Combine with the dry ingredients and mix until smooth.
- Pour the batter into the cupcake cases, distributing evenly. Bake for 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cupcakes comes out clean.
- Leave to in the tin for 5 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack, leaving the cupcakes to cool down completely before icing.
- To prepare the buttercream icing, cream the butter and vanilla together in a stand mixer. Gradually add the icing sugar, 1 tbsp at a time, until a smooth, fluffy buttercream frosting is made.
- Crush the candy canes either by bashing them with a rolling pin inside a ziplock bag or using a food processor.
- Once the cupcakes are fully cooled, pipe buttercream on top and sprinkle on some crushed candy cane.
- These can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Enjoy!
