Vegan Chocolate Cherry Cupcakes
Photography by Simeon Crofts
DIETARY – Vegan, Vegetarian, Nut-free, Dairy-free
I don’t know about you, but I love the combination of chocolate and fruit, particularly a sweet, tangy fruit like cherry, raspberry, strawberry or blackberry – all of which would work beautifully in this recipe.
A friend of mine has a birthday coming up, and it’s her first one as a vegan, so she’s started to think about a cake to mark the occasion. She has a real sweet tooth and has struggled to find any vegan cakes in the supermarket. My friend also happens to have an almond intolerance, which pretty much features in every vegan bake out there!
By now, you’ll know I love a challenge, and so I wanted to get prepared and start trialling recipes for a scrumptious vegan chocolate cake to help her mark another year around the sun. After a few variations I settled on this vegan chocolate cherry cupcake recipe that made perfectly risen, deliciously moist chocolate cakes every time.
The ingredients
There are a few things I know from baking many, many chocolate cakes over the years. Firstly, a mixture of caster and brown sugar makes for a rich, moist chocolate cake, while the addition of coffee creates a flavoursome complementary combo that really brings the chocolate flavour to life; meanwhile, buttermilk adds soft texture and incredible moistness. So, I wanted to incorporate each of these elements into my recipe, with a vegan alternative for the buttermilk.
Though it might look like a lot of ingredients, this recipe is super easy to make and the result, well, let me tell you I actually preferred this chocolate cake to any other chocolate cupcake I’ve made, including those with dairy! The cupcakes were light, moist, rich, ultra-chocolatey, and when combined with a cherry filling, it was simply cake-heaven.
I often get asked about vegan egg replacements, and I have three main go-tos:
1. 3 tbsp applesauce (preferable unsweetened)
2. 1 tbsp ground flaxseed mixed with 3 tbsp water
3. 1 tsp vegetable oil + 2 tbsp water + 2 tsp baking powder
There are many more alternatives out there, but I find these three the most reliable and those quantities I’ve given are to replace one egg. However, by far, applesauce is my most preferred egg substitute. The reason for this is because I find ground flaxseed, while a fantastic egg replacement when mixed with water and left to go gelatinous, adds a grainy texture to whatever you’re making. It holds cakes and brownies together incredibly well, but unless you’re adding nuts or another crunchy texture to your bake, I don’t particularly like the grainy aftertaste it leaves. Applesauce, on the other hand, has a great consistency, is naturally sweet, and it really does help to hold a mix together without leaving any strange aftertastes or grainy textures. I find the oil option is good for cookies and biscuits, as it’s not competing with the higher pure oil content you might add to a cake, so you won’t be left with an overly greasy bake.
Now let’s get to the soy milk. I choose to use soy milk in almost all of my vegan baking as it is stable at a high temperature and has a high protein content. It also thickens really nicely when curdled with a dash of vinegar, which makes it a good buttermilk substitute. Almond milk also works well for desserts and baking, however, it can impart a nutty flavour in your bake, which doesn’t work for everyone, and especially not in my case as I created this recipe for those with nut allergies and intolerance in mind.
Vegan butter is used in this recipe to create vegan buttercream icing, which I think is the perfect icing for this cupcake. Vegan butter is a type of margarine, and you ideally need to choose a firm one for this icing to work well. If you go with one that’s a soft spread, your icing will melt off your cakes pretty quickly. I’ve been using Flora Plant Dairy-free Butter here in Australia, but there are a lot of options out there, usually found in the same refrigerator aisle as regular butter. I opt for Flora as their vegan butter is also gluten-free, nut-free and is made with vegetable oil rather than palm oil (which you’ll find is in many vegan butter alternatives).
Another question I hear a lot is around baking equipment. This cupcake recipe can be made with a simple balloon whisk, an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer. You’ll need to work a little harder with a balloon whisk to get the air in and achieve a nice smooth batter, but it is totally possible. You do not need fancy, expensive equipment to bake! If you don’t have a piping bag, no problem, you can use a sandwich bag and cut one corner off to pipe from. Or use a knife and smear the icing on, it will look a bit rustic, but you won’t care once you taste it!
For the jam filling, you can use any fruit jam you like. I used Bonne Maman Cherry Conserve, but you can use a jam, compote or conserve, and almost any fruit, as long as you like the taste with chocolate. Nearly all jams are vegan but check the ingredients on the back of the label to be certain. You can also make your own fruit jam for this recipe.
However you choose to make these cakes, I hope you enjoy creating and eating them as much as I did. As always, I would love to see your pictures, reviews and feedback, so please share with me in the comment box below or via Instagram, Facebook or Pinterest. Happy baking!
Vegan Chocolate Cherry Cupcakes
Ingredients:
- ½ cup soy milk
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup hot water
- ½ tsp coffee dissolved in the water
- 130g plain flour, sifted
- 45g cocoa powder, sifted
- ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 100g caster sugar
- 100g brown sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 1/3 cup apple sauce
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 10 tsp cherry jam
- 450g icing sugar
- 150g firm vegan butter
- 2-3 tbsp soy milk
- 1 tsp vanilla
- Pink colouring, if desired
- 10 cherries
Method:
- Pre-heat your oven to 180°C (160°C Fan)/350°F/Gas Mark 4 and line a 12-hole muffin tin with cupcake cases.
- First, add the soy milk and apple cider vinegar to a small bowl or cup and allow to sit for a few minutes to curdle. This will be your buttermilk replacement.
- Then, measure out ½ cup of boiling water and stir in the coffee until dissolved.
- Add all your dry ingredients to a clean bowl and mix until combined.
- In a separate bowl, add all the wet ingredients, including the coffee and soy milk mixture, and whisk until smooth. You can use a balloon whisk or an electric hand or stand mixer.
- Fold in the dry ingredients until combined.
- Spoon your mix into each of the cupcake cases, around ¾ of the way up.
- Bake in the oven for 25 minutes. You can check they are cooked by inserting a knife or skewer into the middle of one of your cakes to see if it comes out clean.
- Leave the cupcakes to cool in the tin for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- While the cakes are cooling, you can make your icing. Add the icing sugar, vegan butter, 1 tbsp soy milk and vanilla extract to a bowl and mix until smooth. Gradually add more soy milk until you have your desired consistency. You want a nice thick buttercream if you intend to pipe it on to your cakes.
- When you have the right consistency, add a couple of drops of your chosen colouring, if using, and mix until you have the desired hue.
- If you want to pipe your icing, you can scoop the icing into a piping bag and then refrigerate until you’re ready to use. It is fine to leave it in the fridge overnight. Otherwise, just leave the icing in the bowl until ready to smear on.
- Once your cakes are completely cool, use a sharp knife to cut out small cones from the centre of each cake (keep these to one side). This should leave you with a teaspoon-shaped hole in each cake that you can now fill with your cherry jam. Once filled, simply place the cake discs back on top of each one, like a plug. Don’t worry if it looks a little messy, your icing will cover it up.
- Now you’re ready to pipe your icing on to each cake and top with a cherry.