If there’s a flavor that truly screams Christmas, it’s gingerbread. These vegan gingerbread cupcakes are so moist, so delicious, and full of warm spices. They’re literally gingerbread cookies in cupcake form, and I believe that they’re so much better this way. Sweet spiced cupcakes sweetened with brown sugar, molasses and a touch of vanilla. These gingerbread cupcakes are the perfect treat for the Holidays!
Seriously, the holidays always put me into that baking mood. Even though all my recipes are mostly baked goods. The Holidays just give me this burst of baking energy, and I get so inspired to make a ton of recipes. It’s to the point where I get overwhelmed with so many ideas! These vegan gingerbread cupcakes were one of those ideas. I really wanted to make these traditional gingerbread cookies into something untraditional. I was so happy with the way that these turned out and I couldn’t wait to share this recipe with you!
During my research, I’ve seen a lot of vegan gingerbread cupcake recipes that have used cream cheese frosting. Personally, I wanted to keep this a simple recipe, and something super reminiscent of the gingerbread cookie. So, instead I used a simple vanilla buttercream! It doesn’t overpower the gingerbread flavor, which is the main star. Like I said, it’s a gingerbread with royal icing in cupcake form! I wanted to keep it that way! If you want to try it with cream cheese frosting, by all means, go for it! I won’t be mad haha.
Tips to make the perfect gingerbread cupcakes:
- Carefully measure your ingredients - This is my #1 rule. If you’ve been following me for awhile, I always add gram measurements to my recipes. Why? Because weighing my ingredients with a food scale is my preferred method. It’s way more accurate than using measuring cups, and I always get consistent results. If you don’t own a food scale, here is a video from King Arthur that shows the proper way to measure ingredients. Click here to watch that video.
- Mix wet and dry ingredients separately. There’s a risk of overmixing the batter, and this could cause tougher baked goods instead of light and tender ones. Additionally, mixing them separately allows the ingredients to be evenly dispersed before combining everything together.
- Do not overfill - This batter gives you exactly 12 cupcakes. Make sure you only fill the cupcakes ¾ full.
- Allow the cupcakes to fully cool before adding frosting - If you frost the cupcakes while they are still warm, the frosting will melt right off. So have patience!
- Use cute gingerbread cookies - Top these beauties off with a cookie, luck for you I have a gingerbread cookie recipe! Click here to see that recipe.
If you’d tried this recipe out let me know in the comments! Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram @flouredframe and don’t forget to tag me when you create my recipes! Happy Holidays!
If you enjoyed this Holiday recipe, check these out:
📖 Recipe
Vegan Gingerbread Cupcakes
Equipment
- Cupcake pan
- Cupcake liners
- Measuring spoons
- Mixing bowls
- Whisk
- Spatula
- Wire cooling rack
- Stand mixer or electric hand mixer
- Large piping tip
- Piping bag
Ingredients
Cupcakes:
- 240 grams non-dairy milk, 90° F or lukewarm (I used soy)
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 60 grams vegetable oil
- 80 grams molasses
- 150 grams brown sugar, lightly packed
- 256 grams all-purpose flour, leveled and sifted
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground clove
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
Vanilla Frosting
- 226 grams vegan butter (oftened at room temp)
- 420 grams 420g powdered sugar, sifte
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2-3 tablespoons non-dairy milk (use only if needed)
Instructions
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit and prep a cupcake pan with liners. In a medium bowl, combine non-dairy milk, and white vinegar. Mix and set aside for 5 minutes, this will be your buttermilk, it will curdle and thicken.
- Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients together. All-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, nutmeg, ground cloves, and ground allspice.
- When your buttermilk mixture is ready, add the vegetable oil, molasses, and brown sugar to the same bowl. Whisk until well combined.
- Pour the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and with a rubber spatula, fold all the ingredients together until there is no dry flour left.
- Fill your cupcake liners ¾ of the way full. Tap the tin to release some air bubbles, and quickly place them into the oven.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes. To check if they are done, use a toothpick to the center of the cupcake. It should come out clean with a couple of crumbs. If there is still wet batter, bake it for 2 minute increments until it is ready.
- Remove cupcakes from the oven, and let it cool in the tin for 10 minutes. After, remove from the tin and let them fully cool on a cooling rack. Do not frost at this stage, it will melt right off.
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting:
- Place the softened butter in a large bowl. Using a stand mixer or an electric hand mixer, whip butter on medium speed for 2-3 minutes until creamy and smooth.
- On low, beat in the powdered sugar in batches until fully incorporated. Until creamy and smooth. You might need to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl occasionally. Next, add in the vanilla extract and continue to whip the frosting until well incorporated. Continue to beat on high until you get a nice smooth and fluffy consistency and everything is well incorporated. About 3 minutes.
- If the buttercream frosting seems super stiff and unpipeable, add in a tablespoon of milk and mix. The frosting should be stiff enough to hold its shape but soft enough to use as decorative piping.
Assembly:
- When your cupcakes are fully cool, fill a piping bag with the frosting. Use your favorite large piping tip to pipe the top of the cupcakes. To top it all off, add a small gingerbread cookie into the frosting. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Measure your flour correctly. I test my recipes, 100% in grams. A common reason baked goods fail is incorrectly measured flour. I always recommend using a scale for accuracy when baking. This greatly improves your chance for success and lessens room for error.
- If you measure by cups, avoid scooping the measuring cup directly into the flour. This tends to pack the flour into the cup, resulting in too much flour and a very dense or gummy finished product. Instead, aerate your flour (fluff it with a fork or spoon) and then spoon it into your measuring cups, leveling it with your finger or the back of a butter knife. Keep in mind though, that this method is not guaranteed to be accurate.
- Do not overfill the cupcake liners. This recipe makes exactly 12, fill only ¾ full.
- Make sure to measure the ingredients properly, they could cause the cupcakes to be dry. Click here to watch a video on how to measure ingredients properly.
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