If you love lemon, then you’ll love these Vegan Lemon Buttercream Cupcakes. The trifecta of lemon juice, lemon zest, and lemon extract adds a nice zing to these egg, dairy, nut, and wheat-free cupcakes.
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My two favorite flavors are banana and lemon. Especially when the flavors aren’t artificial. When I found the recipe for these vegan lemon buttercream cupcakes, I was instantly excited.
I’m still working on mastering this whole baking thing. And to be honest, these cupcakes didn’t turn out as I’d imagined. I tend to add my steps (and ingredients), which ultimately leads to unpleasant outcomes. I should totally stick to the recipe in front of me until I know what I’m doing.
That being said, I added too much fresh lemon juice to both the cupcake batter and lemon buttercream. My co-workers are my guinea pigs, and when I let them taste one, they were brutally honest with me. “These are awful,” they replied. “Too much lemon”!
The recipes below are the steps I should have followed instead of doing my own weird thing!
The cupcakes looked perfect when I took them out of the oven. Even my husband was surprised. “They rose,” he shouted as if the cupcakes were Jesus on the 7th day. I was totally confident that I had finally conquered the cupcake monster. Unfortunately, the heavy-handed measurement of fresh lemon juice overpowered my batter, leaving the cupcakes dense and bitter.
Additionally, make sure your lemon extract is fresh. My extract had easily been sitting in my cupboard for years, and to make matters worse, there was only 1 tsp left. The modifications listed below in the ingredients are very important. They will ensure that your cupcakes turn out soft, moist, and burst with lemon flavor.
Other Vegan Recipes:
Vegan Cherry Chocolate Muffins
Enjoy this recipe for my allergen-free Vegan Lemon Buttercream Cupcakes!!
Vegan Lemon Buttercream Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups oat milk or soy milk
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1/2 cup softened vegan butter
- 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons lemon extract
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 3/4 cups vegan gluten-free flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a standard muffin pan with paper liners. Spray the cups lightly with oil to help the cupcakes come out easily.
- In a measuring cup, combine the oat milk and apple cider vinegar. Let sit a few minutes until it curdles (this is your vegan buttermilk).
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened vegan butter and sugar with a standing mixer until light and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes. Add the lemon zest, lemon extract and vanilla and beat to combine.
- With the mixer on low speed, add in the oat milk/vinegar mixture and mix for 30 seconds.
- Now add the flour, then sprinkle the baking powder and salt on top of the flour. Mix on low speed until well combined, scraping the sides as needed with a spatula.
- Fill the liners 3/4 full and bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean and they are lightly golden on top. Let them cool completely before frosting.
Notes
- Though the recipe calls for oat milk, it may be substituted for soy, almond, coconut or hemp milk if desired. Some say that soy milk makes the best vegan buttermilk, but I don't care for soy products.
- For the cupcakes, coconut oil could be substituted for the vegan butter, but it won't work in the frosting. You really need vegan butter for the buttercream frosting.
- Do not add too much fresh lemon juice to the frosting. You will regret it.
- Lightly oil your foil baking cups.
Vegan Lemon Buttercream | TastyBits
Ingredients
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1/3 cup vegan butter or margarine
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract
Instructions
- Beat the vegan butter until light and fluffy, about 2
minutes. - Add in 2 cups of powdered sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla.
- Beat on low, then switch to medium speed and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Now add in the remaining 1 cup of powered sugar and mix.
- If the frosting seems too thick, add a tablespoon at a time of oat milk.
Notes
- If the frosting gets too thin, add a little more powdered sugar until a spreadable,
thick frosting consistency is reached. - Apple Cider Vinegar may be substituted for white vinegar.
- Pipe frosting onto cooled cupcakes or simply spread it on
with a butter knife.
