Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes with Strawberry Coconut Cream

I’m not vegan and I know for some other non-vegans the thought of a cupcake without dairy or eggs is a bit unappealing.  Guess what?! It’s not true, guys! Seriously, vegans and non-vegans alike will absolutely love these Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes with Whipped Strawberry Coconut Cream.  The recipe is crazy easy, small batch, and pretty darn amazing!

 

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This recipe was originally published on January 3, 2019.  It was republished on January 13, 2022 with updates.

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Update Deets

 

I first made these cupcakes three years ago and kinda had no clue what I was doing. This is the first vegan baked good that I ever made and it came out great! In fact, since I made these vegan chocolate cupcakes, it’s become my go-to recipe for quick and easy chocolate cupcakes.

 

 

Taking on the Vegan Challenge

 

Okay, so I’m pretty sure there is no “Vegan Challenge”, but if you’re not a vegan it can be intimidating to create your own vegan recipe.  A while ago, an old friend of mine asked if I could post a vegan recipe on Bakes & Blunders. Heck yes! I love when someone asks me to make something or create a recipe. (So if you have a suggestion, comment or message me!)

But y’all, I’m not vegan.  Have I mentioned that? So, I don’t have vegan alternatives on hand, though you can easily find them in any grocery store these days.  But, I didn’t really want to go out and buy all these alternative products that I may not use again. Plus, I wanted this recipe to appeal to my non-vegan readers as well.

 

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Chocolate Crazy Cake

 

Several years ago, I made a Chocolate Crazy Cake.  Have you heard of this? It’s a recipe for cake from the Depression Era. Since butter, milk, and eggs were hard to come by, people got crafty and ended up creating a vegan cake.  You can’t get a baker down!

This crazy cake, or wacky cake, was going to be my cupcake.  But, I can’t leave well enough alone, so I did tweak it by using hot coffee instead of water and I changed up the method a bit.  The original recipe can be made all in one bowl or even in the cake pan itself, though I don’t suggest it. Definitely go check it out. This was the perfect choice for making vegan chocolate cupcakes.

 

 

What If I Don’t Like Coffee?

 

Look , I get it. Not everyone likes coffee and some people can’t handle a single drop of the stuff. In this case though, you won’t taste it at all. The heat and the coffee will both deepen the chocolate flavor to make a delicious cupcake.

I can’t drink coffee without getting ill, but I can totes handle the amount of coffee that goes into this recipe. If you absolutely cannot or will not use coffee, don’t sweat it! Just use hot water instead. This is what I do when I’m making these vegan chocolate cupcakes for kids.

 

Related Reading: 12 Tips for Better Cakes & Cupcakes

 

Vegan Whipped Strawberry Coconut Cream

 

Sticking with my vegan, no alternatives route, I decided to create my own vegan frosting.  Awhiles ago, I tried making whipped coconut cream, though I don’t remember why. It did not work even a bit.  Huge blunder.  I couldn’t find coconut cream and used full fat coconut milk instead. It was difficult to separate and refused to whip up.  Oh well, live and learn. 

This time around, I did purchase coconut cream and it makes a big difference.  From what I read online, success varies a lot based on the brand you purchase. I used Thai Kitchen.  If you use a different brand, let me know what your results are.

 

 

Flavor & Texture

 

I knew the whipped coconut cream would be soft and I also wanted to flavor it.  Instead of adding tons of powdered sugar to stiffen and sweeten, I pulverized a bag of freeze dried strawberries in my mini food processor and sifted out the chunks.  But don’t throw out the large strawberry pieces!

Whipped coconut cream is amazing. It’s soft, creamy, and has a delicious balance of flavors. One thing you should know though, it will likely be slightly lumpy. Not so lumpy that it’s ugly, but not as smooth as traditional whipped cream.

 

 

Top Tips for Cupcakes

 

• Scrape down your bowl often to make sure it all gets combined.
• Do NOT over mix.  Once you add the wet and dry ingredients, only mix to combine.  
• Place some dried rice (½ – 1 teaspoon) in the bottom of each cupcake cavity before adding your paper cases.
• Use a large cookie scoop to perfectly portion your cupcake batter.

  

Watch Me Bake

 

I love this recipe because it is delicious, easy, and only makes 12 cupcakes.  Whenever I have some leftover frosting, I can whip these up so nothing goes to waste.  This whipped strawberry coconut cream only makes enough to lightly frost about 10- 11 cupcakes.

I used a 1M piping tip to get that pretty rosette on my cupcakes. Use those large bits of freeze dried strawberry to jazz up your frosted vegan chocolate cupcakes! They look beautiful and add even more flavor to your bake. That’s a win- win in my book.

 

Related Reading: Vegan & Gluten Free Chocolate Cupcakes

 

More Vegan Baking

 

Over the years, I’ve added more vegan bakes to my repertoire.  Some of my favorites include vegan macarons and these vegan vanilla and strawberry cupcakes.  If you’re looking for a more traditional style vegan frosting, check out these bad boys:

• Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting
• Vegan Black Cocoa Frosting (recipe in the description box below the video)
• Vegan Strawberry Frosting
• Vegan Vanilla Frosting

 

Enjoy!

 

I hope you get a chance to whip up your own batch of vegan chocolate cupcakes! They are so soft, moist, and full of flavor that I guarantee no one will know that they are vegan. Plus that whipped coconut cream is insane and has way less sugar than traditional frosting!

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