Vegan Strawberry Cupcakes (GF-Option)

Light and fluffy bright pink strawberry flavoured cupcakes with a gooey strawberry jam filling topped with fresh strawberry buttercream. These cupcakes are packed with fresh strawberries and are easy to make, plus they are naturally vegan and easily gluten-free.

When spring and summertime come around, all I can think about are the fresh bakes to make and all the juicy strawberries. There is nothing better than a juicy, vibrant pink-red strawberry and I wanted to show them off in all their glory in these Vegan Strawberry Cupcakes. This recipe calls for a lot of strawberries, as we blitz them to a smooth puree for the batter and then again for the fresh pink buttercream. Fill the centre with strawberry jam and top with extra fresh strawberries and you’re good to go. These cupcakes are:

• Light and fluffy
• Packed with strawberry flavours
• Oozing with strawberry jam
• Topped with the fluffiest berry-licious buttercream
• Naturally vegan
• Easily gluten-free
• Quick and easy to make
• Great for summertime gatherings

Biting into these Vegan Strawberry Cupcakes is a pure delight and after a whole weekend dedicated to perfecting this recipe and filming it step by step for you, they are finally here. I am so happy with these little bakes; they really bring a smile to my face – plus they got great feedback from friends/family/neighbours.

There are only a few steps to making these cupcakes as they are a really easy bake. I recently was gifted a Kenwood standing mixer which was really fun to use to make the batter and the buttercream, but you can mix this all by hand or with an electric handheld mixer, too. 

What do we need to make these Vegan Strawberry Cupcakes so delicious?

• Fresh strawberries: and lots of them! We need about a punnet in total and most of them are blended until really smooth and pureed. This is what keeps the cupcakes so light and fluffy – plus it adds to the gorgeous pink colour.
• Vegan butter: or you could use vegan margarine spread as these will both keep the cupcakes moist and melt-in-your-mouth.
• Caster/coconut sugar: for the colour, I used a white caster sugar as the coconut sugar is slightly richer in colour and will mean the cupcakes will turn less pink, but you can use either sugar.
• Plant-based milk: any milk will do like oat, coconut, soya or almond.
• Lemon juice: when combined with the milk, this forms a buttermilk to help bind the batter.
• Vanilla: for a sweet flavour.
• Plain or GF plain flour: if using a GF flour, use a 1:1 baking blend that you trust to bake with (and that has xantham gum). Using a plain white flour keeps these Vegan Strawberry Cupcakes really fluffy. I have not yet tested them with GF flour but from previous bakes and experience, I can imagine they are great!
• Baking powder: this may seem like a lot but for 14-16 muffins it’s the perfect amount to ensure an even rise that won’t deflate when to take them out the oven.
• Beetroot powder: this is optional, but it adds to the pink colour. Don’t worry, you can’t taste it! You could alternatively add a few drops of vegan pink food gel/colouring.

Beat or mix all the ingredients together and all the magic happens in one bowl. Divide between your cupcake cases and bake until nicely risen and starting to darken at the edges. They do turn less pink as they bake as a heads up. Next you have to let them cool down fully – never try to ice or fill a warm cupcake as they will ruin.

Once cool, the buttercream is the dream! As it relies on more fresh strawberries, it is slightly looser than other buttercream mixes, but it is just so delicious – I ate so much of it while testing these Vegan Strawberry Cupcakes. It is best stored in the fridge until ready to use and then pipe or spread onto the cupcakes.

Before piping though, remember to fill the cupcakes with some strawberry jam so you have that oozy gooey centre. Remove a small hole from the middle of each cupcake, fill with jam, top with a small piece of cake and then pipe on the frosting. It is such a lovely surprise to bite into!

For the decoration, I kept it quite simple after piping on the fresh strawberry buttercream. I added on some extra strawberries and crushed pistachios and then delivered them to eager family and neighbours.

I hope you will love these gorgeously pink and pretty Vegan Strawberry Cupcakes as they are so easy to make and such a delicious bake with afternoon tea. They are great for tea parties, garden get-togethers and for any other excuse you can think of. Make the most of fresh strawberries and bake them into these tasty cupcakes.

If you are looking for more easy cupcakes, muffins and bakes, how about my:

• Mango Coconut and Brazil Nut Muffins
• Nutty Blueberry Muffins
• Almond Butter and Raspberry Crumble Bars
• Vegan Lemon and Blueberry Loaf
• Vegan Buttercream Lamingtons

Vegan Strawberry Cupcakes (GF-Option)

• Servings: 14-16
• Time: 30 minutes plus cooling
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

Light and fluffy bring pink strawberry flavoured cupcakes with a gooey strawberry jam filling topped with fresh strawberry buttercream. These cupcakes are packed with fresh strawberries and are easy to make.

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:
• 360g fresh strawberries, (weighed with stems already removed)
• 40g vegan butter
• 100g caster/coconut sugar
• 60ml plant-based milk
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 300g plain or GF plain flour
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 3 tbsp beetroot powder, optional for colour
• Pinch of salt
For the Frosting:
• 100g vegan cream cheese
• 100g vegan butter
• 500-600g icing sugar
• 40g strawberries
• 1 tsp beetroot powder, optional for colour
To decorate:
• 7-8 fresh strawberries, halved
• 4 tbsp crushed pistachios
• 60-80g strawberry jam

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 160 Fan/180*C and line 2 muffin/cupcake tins with 14-16 cases.
2. Blitz the 360g strawberries to a smooth puree.
3. Add the vegan butter and sugar to the mixer and beat until light and fluffy. Now add in the plant-based milk, lemon juice, vanilla essence and all the strawberry puree. Beat briefly until combined (the mix may split slightly, and this is OK).
4. Now sift in the flour, baking powder and beetroot powder, if using, and add the salt. Beat again to make a smooth batter.
5. Use an ice cream scoop or spoon to divide the batter between the cases, filling about ¾ full. Bake for 13-15 minutes until firm and springy to touch and an inserted skewer comes out clean. Remove from the tins and allow to cool fully on a wire rack.
6. For the frosting, blitz the 40g strawberries to a puree and measure out 2 tablespoons. Make the fresh strawberry buttercream by beating together the butter and cream cheese until light and gradually beat in the icing sugar, strawberry puree and beetroot powder, if using. Keep mixing for a few minutes until really fluffy and light.
7. Remove a small piece from the centre of each cupcake and fill with the jam. Now pipe on the frosting, decorate with fresh strawberries and crushed pistachios. Store in an airtight container in the fridge until needed and keep for 3 days. Un-frosted cupcakes will keep in the freezer for 1 month.

I look forward to hearing what you think of these deliciously pink Vegan Strawberry Cupcakes so please let me know in the comments below. If you do make these, please tag me in your bakes, I love seeing them! I’m xxx

With pink strawberry love x