Red Velvet Cupcakes
These are our tasty, indulgent, Red Velvet Cupcakes. Perfect for taking to your local bake sale to raise money for a good cause, this vegan dessert is a lot of fun to make, and tastes absolutely divine. We made these in support of Comic Relief 2023, and you can get involved with the Red Nose Day campaign by donating to Comic Relief or getting yourself some wonderful Mr. Men or Little Miss aprons from TKMaxx. Your donations will go to helping children in the UK and around the world facing tough times, so it’s a really great thing to be a part of.
Serves
Ingredients
For the cake
<item-todo-done>225ml oat milk<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>1 tbsp apple cider vinegar<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>75g plant-based butter - plus extra for greasing<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>1 tbsp cacao powder<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>200g golden caster sugar<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>250g white self-raising flour<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>1 tsp baking powder<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>½ tsp salt<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>1 tsp plant-based red food colouring<item-todo-done>
For the cream cheese frosting
<item-todo-done>100g plant-based butter - at room temperature<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>500g icing sugar<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>125g plant-based cream cheese<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>1 tsp vanilla essence<item-todo-done>
For the top
<item-todo-done>10g freeze-dried raspberries - or a handful of fresh strawberries<item-todo-done>
Before you start
Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan setting) | One cupcake tray with liners | Leave the vegan butter out at room temperature in order to soften | Powerful food processor | Small and large mixing bowls | Spatula
Prepare the ingredients
- In a small bowl, mix together the apple cider vinegar and oat milk, leave to one side until needed
- Place the plant-based butter into a small pan over a medium heat and melt
- Once completely melted, leave to cool to room temperature before making the cake
Make the cake
- Spoon the sugar, flour, baking powder, cacao powder and salt into a large bowl and mix well until there are no lumps
- Pour the cool plant-based butter and oat milk into the batter and mix well until a thick, smooth batter forms
Colour the cake
- Add ½ teaspoon of red food colouring and mix through the batter - if the colour is not a really bright and vivid red, add another ½ teaspoon and mix through
Bake the cake
- Divide the batter evenly between the cupcake liners and pop them into the tray
- Bake for 20 minutes, or until the cakes are cooked through (a knife inserted in the middle should come out clean)
- If not, place back in the oven for another 5-10 minutes
- Once the cupcakes are cooked, remove from the oven and leave to sit in the tray for a few minutes
- Once cooled a little, pop them onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely
Make the frosting and decorate the cupcakes
- Place the plant-based butter, icing sugar, vegan cream cheese and vanilla essence into a food processor and blend until smooth
- Use a spatula or the back of a spoon to spread the frosting over the cupcakes
- If using freeze-dried raspberries, crush and sprinkle over the top of the cupcakes
- If using fresh strawberries - cut the strawberries in half and place the halves on top and serve