Ingredients

Cupcakes

3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 cup coconut sugar (or raw cane sugar)

1 large egg

2 Tbsp plant-based milk

2 Tbsp oil (I used olive oil)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 heaping cup mashed banana (1-2 very ripe bananas)

Frosting

1/4 cup plant-based butter (see note)

2 Tbsp vegetable shortening (or more butter)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup Dutch process cocoa (Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa is a great option)

2 cups powdered sugar

3-4 Tbsp plant-based milk

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350°F and prepare a mini muffin pan with mini liners (or spray with non-stick spray).

In a large bowl, sift the flour. Then whisk in the baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon; set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, egg, milk, oil, vanilla, and mashed banana until well combined. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry and gently mix just until there are no more streaks of flour.

Scoop batter into the prepared mini muffin pan, filling each well nearly to the top - you should get 20-22 muffins. Bake at 350°F for 10-12 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out with a few crumbs.

Allow muffins to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Once the muffins are totally cool, you can make the frosting. In a large bowl, beat together the plant-based butter and shortening. Beat in the vanilla extract. Sift in the cocoa powder and beat until combined. Sift in the powdered sugar and add 2 Tbsp of plant-based milk. Beat, adding more milk until your frosting reaches a consistency that is stiff but easy to spread. It should hold it's shape, but you want it to be smooth enough to pipe.

Add the frosting to a piping bag fitted with the tip of your choice (I used a Wilton 32 tip). Pipe frosting onto cupcakes, 3 at a time, and top with sprinkles - don't wait until you've frosted all the cupcakes to add the sprinkles or the sprinkles won't stick!

Store leftover cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature.

Notes

If you're using a stick "butter", make sure to let it soften at room temperature. If you're using plant-based butter from a tub, then you can use it straight from the refrigerator
If you plan to replace the shortening with more butter, you may not need to use as much milk in your frosting as the shortening is a little more stable than the plant-based butter
To get a dark chocolate frosting, the Dutch process cocoa powder is necessary. Without it, you won't have that lovely dark chocolate taste. I like to use the Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa - it's affordable and more easily available
The frosting recipe makes just enough to pipe the frosting on as I did in the photos

I’m back at it again with the chocolate and orange, because it’s one of my favorite combos and I just can’t get enough. These cupcakes are moist and fluffy and topped with an amazing chocolate orange buttercream frosting made with vegan butter! Swap the eggs out for flax eggs in the cupcakes, and you’ll have delicious, can’t-tell-they’re-vegan vegan cupcakes!

The cupcakes are made with oil instead of butter, and you’ll hand mix the batter. No stand mixer or beaters required for the batter. And no alternating ingredients. Just simple mixing. The buttercream comes together easily (with a hand mixer!) and is one of my favorite non-dairy treats – that’s because it tastes just like regular, indulgent, and totally delicious buttercream!

Some of the ingredients I like for these cupcakes, along with possible substitutes:

Coconut sugar is a low GI, unrefined sugar. It tastes nothing like coconut, and it’s better for us than regular cane sugar – it’s my favorite, go-to sweetener for baked goods! If you don’t have this on hand, feel free to replace it with any kind of cane sugar (raw, white, or brown).

Raw cane sugar is just an unrefined version of the white sugar we all know and love. It’s less processed and usually organic. Again, this can be replaced with more coconut sugar or another kind of cane sugar.

Coconut oil adds much needed moisture to these cupcakes. You can replace it with your favorite oil – I recommend avocado or olive oil.

Eggs can be replaced with flax eggs. For three flax eggs, mix 3 Tbsp flaxseed meal with 9 Tbsp of warm water; allow to thicken for 5 minutes.

Oat milk has become my absolute favorite plant-based milk. It’s creamy and sweet, and I’ve been loving it in everything. Of course, you can use whatever plant milk you’d like.

Orange zest, extract, and juice all add to the wonderful orange flavor we love in these chocolate cupcakes. Don’t skimp!

Dutch process cocoa powder is richer in flavor and darker in color than regular (natural) cocoa. I like it for the frosting here because it helps balance the sweetness of all that powdered sugar and creates a beautiful color. Feel free to use natural cocoa powder in its place OR, for a richer frosting, replace some of the powdered sugar with more cocoa powder.

Vegetable shortening helps thicken the vegan buttercream, stiffening it a bit to allow for melt-free piping. You can use more vegan butter in its place, but your frosting may be a little melty after piping.

Yield: 18 Cupcakes

Chocolate Orange Cupcakes

Super moist, naturally flavored chocolate orange cupcakes topped with a decadent, can't-tell-it's-vegan chocolate orange buttercream!

Prep Time 1 hour

Cook Time 15 minutes

Additional Time 1 hour

Total Time 2 hours 15 minutes

Ingredients