Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes with Matcha Buttercream
Easy and no fuss cupcakes, that you can have ready in almost 30 minutes! Vanilla and matcha make a heavenly combination and the cupcakes are moist and soft and just so delicious.
I feel like cupcakes are such a great thing when you need something that looks great but you don’t have much time or don’t want to put that much effort in it. Don’t get me wrong, I still think if you are making anything homemade, you put a lot of effort into it and I think it should be appreciated no matter what. But cupcakes are basically muffins with some buttercream that can be used as a birthday cake. Isn’t that great?
These vanilla cupcakes are amazing - they are fluffy, sweet just enough and those two main flavours - matcha and vanilla do come through and taste great together. I decided to use vanilla pod in these and it’s great. I love how when you make them, you can see those little vanilla seeds in the batter. Of course you can replace vanilla pod with vanilla extract - it is still delicious.
What ingredients do you need to make the best vegan cupcakes?
NON DAIRY MILK - you can use any kind of non dairy milk (I used soy). I prefer a store-bought ones for baking, because homemade ones don’t curdle with vinegar (to create “buttermilk”).
VINEGAR - use either apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar. As said above, combined with plant milk, vinegar creates vegan “buttermilk”.
VEGETABLE OIL - I usually use rapeseed oil but you can also use sunflower oil. In this case I wouldn’t use olive oil, its flavour usually comes through too much.
VANILLA - I would recommend to actually use vanilla pod. It does make difference, it tastes incredibly good. But I know that vanilla pods are expensive so you can use vanilla extract instead - it is still delicious.
VEGAN BUTTER - if you can, use vegan butter block - I usually use either Naturli or Flora - it makes a difference, those behave like actual butter.
MATCHA POWDER - what is the best matcha powder? Well, that depends - I don’t drink matcha at home, I only use it for desserts so I use culinary matcha. I buy this one and it is good (I even made matcha latte with it one and it was very nice).
How to make these Delicious cupcakes?
Add non dairy milk, vegetable oil, vinegar and sugar into a large bowl. Split the vanilla pod in half lengthways and scrape out the seeds with a tip of knife. Add half the seeds to the mixture and leave the rest aside for the buttercream.
Mix everything well.
Sift in all dry ingredients - flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
Mix properly but don’t overmix it.
This is how your batter should look like.
Fill paper cases (if you’re using) up to 3/4.
tips and tricks on baking cupcakes
Sift everything - I mean everything, not just flour. I alway sift baking powder and baking soda as well - they often become lumpy over time and if they are lumpy they won’t spread evenly in the batter. Don’t forget to also sift icing sugar and matcha powder into the buttercream.
Do not overmix the batter - what happens if you mix the batter for too long, gluten gets overworked and develops too much - meaning that the cupcakes will be dense and chewy. Mix it until there are no big lumps of flour.
Don’t overfill the paper cases - otherwise the cupcakes will come out too high. But don’t worry, if they do, you can cut the top off and then put buttercream on it and eat muffin tops on their own - they are the best anyway, haha.
How to make the best buttercream - be sure to use room temperature butter, sift icing sugar and matcha too. If you like a lot of buttercream on your cupcakes, make it from 1 and 1/2 amount of ingredients. I prefer slightly less because buttercream is often really sweet - which is nice but it can be too much. You can also add more matcha, if you want the flavour to come through a bit more - just add more and try.
How to put buttercream on cupcakes? I love trying out new piping methods - it is easy and you can always scrap it and start again. If you are completely new to icing, try to pipe buttercream out on a plate/silicone mat and you’ll see what you like. Just be sure to apply similar pressure while you are piping and you’re golden. If you don’t feel like piping buttercream, just spoon it on and create some swirls, it looks great just like that.
How to store cupcakes? You can either store just cupcakes without buttercream in room temperature and pipe buttercream on them when you want to eat them or serve them. Or you can store them with buttercream in an airtight container in the fridge for 2 days - after that they will get a bit hard.
Why not to try other vegan muffins and cupcakes?
Vegan Blueberry Muffins with Crumb Topping
Vegan Chocolate Muffins with Sweet Potato Frosting
If you make these cupcakes with matcha buttercream, and take photos of them, tag me on instagram - @bigbakesmanifesto and use hashtag #bigbakesmanifesto too! I love to see people making my recipes. Or follow me on Pinterest, where you can comment and rate my recipes.
Makes 9 cupcakes
Ingredients
Vanilla Cupcakes
200 ml non dairy milk (I used soy)
1 tsp apple cider vinegar (or white wine)
75 ml vegetable oil
160 g golden caster sugar
1 vanilla pod or 2tsp vanilla extract
225 g all purpose flour
2 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
Matcha Buttercream
120 g vegan butter (room temperature)
1 tbsp matcha
150 g icing sugar
1-2 tsp non dairy milk
Method
Vanilla Cupcakes
Preheat the oven to 180C/160C (fan) and line your muffin tray with paper cases (if using).
In a small bowl mix non dairy milk and vinegar and let it sit for few minutes.
In a medium bowl mix together vegetable oil, caster sugar and non dairy milk with vinegar.
Split the vanilla pod in half lengthways and scrape out the seeds with a tip of knife. Add half the seeds to the mixture and leave the rest aside for the buttercream.
Sift flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda and salt and mix together until just combined and then spoon evenly in the paper cases - only up to 3/4 of the cases.
Bake 20-25 mins until golden brown (until inserted skewer comes out clean). Leave to cool completely on a wire rack.
Matcha Buttercream
In a stand mixer (or with a hand mixer) whisk butter until it looks paler. Add the vanilla seeds, matcha powder and then gradually start adding the icing sugar. Whisk until smooth and then add 1 to 2 tsp of non dairy milk to loosen it up.
Spoon into a piping bag and then pipe onto cupcakes or just spoon on cupcakes with a spoon.