This strawberry cupcake recipe is from The Joy of Vegan Baking. This was the first recipe I ever tried from this book and my first experience with vinegar too. I was surprised that it didn't taste anything like vinegar.
It was very sweet for me, so I would reduce the sugar quantity of sugar when I bake it the next time. Earlier I had this doubt if reducing or increasing the quantity of sugar in a recipe would affect the end product, but recently I got it clarified.
Day before yesterday I baked some blueberry muffins (using vinegar) from the same book and the sugar mentioned in the recipe was ¾ to 1 cup and I chose to add ¾ cup because of the experience with the strawberry cupcakes. The muffins came out very good and we were okay with sweetness.
For some, it may be very less but we were fine with it. I wanted to bake these muffins once again (I'll mention the reason when I post that recipe) and added some more sugar, little more than ¾ cup but less than 1 cup.
Again the muffins turned out good. So I'm sure you can play with the sugar measurement in this strawberry cupcake recipe too because it's pretty similar to the blueberry muffins recipe.
Recipe
Vegan Strawberry Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 and ¾ cups Unbleached All Purpose Flour (I used Bleached)
- ¾ to 1 cup Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 8 oz Strawberries (I used 14 fresh) OR Frozen/Fresh Pureed OR Crushed
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- ½ cup Canola Oil
- 1 tablespoon White Distilled Vinegar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F/180C for 15 minutes. Grease/line a muffin tin or grease a 9 inch loaf pan.
- In a large bowl combine together the flour, baking soda and sugar.
- In another bowl, mix the oil, vinegar and vanilla. I pureed the strawberries in a blender, because I was not sure if my son would like to bite of chunks of strawberry in the muffin. Add the pureed strawberry also to the oil mixture and stir to combine.
- Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the wet ingredients. Stir together but do not over stir.
- Pour the batter into the prepared muffin tins. I got exactly 12 muffins.
- Bake for about 22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. If baking a loaf bake it for 40-45 minutes and check for the doneness.
- Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. When cool, frost the cupcakes and top each with a whole strawberry.
My Notes
- The original recipe had 1 cup of sugar, but I felt that it was very sweet for us. So I have made it as ¾ to 1 cup.
- Also the time mentioned in the recipe for muffins was 30 minutes, but mine was done around 22 minutes itself. The time mentioned for the loaf was 1 hour, but I have reduced it to 40-45 minutes. I have tried a couple of recipes from this book, they all turn out good, but there is some difference in the time it bakes. Mine always bakes at least 8-10 minutes earlier than the time mentioned in the recipe. Maybe it's my oven! Anyway just watch out.
- The top of the cupcake was slightly crispy than soft. I think that's because of the sugar. Since we are not creaming the sugar in this recipe, I think the sugar tends to be in a semi-crystal state, forming a crust like a thing. But in the blueberry muffin recipe also I did not cream the sugar, but it did not have the crusty top. It was so good and light. I can't wait to post that recipe here.
- I used a food processor to puree the strawberries. It was a wide base 1 cup mini bowl. I didn't have to add water at all. If you use a blender I think adding little water would be necessary and I'm sure that it would not affect the result in any way.
Swetha says
Great recipe. The cupcakes came out really fluffy and airy. I had a left over strawberry puree and frosting - this recipe worked perfect for it. I added some almond milk to make the cake batter a little runny since I had very less puree. But the overall outcome was great!
Madhuram says
Thank you very much, Swetha.
Chitra says
Hi, wonderful recipe, just what I was looking for. Thanks. Can I substitute canola oil with sunflower oil ?
Madhuram says
Yes, Chitra, you can.
Chitra says
Thanks for the fast reply, appreciate it 🙂
Madhuram says
You're welcome, Chitra.
Juliette M. says
This is fantastic! I added 1/2 of a small avocado for extra good fat and a creamier texture.
Madhuram says
Wow! That's an awesome idea.
mrs. Tita says
This recipe is very similar to a chocolate cake no eggs that I found in Amelia Bedelia's book. Includes the same ingredients, plus cocoa, water and salt...
Madhuram says
That's great to know Tita.
Kerry-Ann Harriott says
Can i use apple cider vinegar instead of white? I'm thinking of adding some applesauce to it and maybe take out some strawberries
Madhuram says
Yes you can use apple cider vinegar. These days I'm using only that while baking. Yes applesauce should be ok.
Sharon says
This recipe is not doable. There is not enough liquid at all.
Madhuram says
It did work for me Sharon. If you felt the batter was too thick you could have added some water/milk to get the right consistency and then bake.
Nayana says
Oh ok .Thanks a lot .Will definitely try.
Nayana says
Hi madhuram,
Can we reduce the oil to 1/3 rd cup and then add some milk to compensate the moisture?
Madhuram says
You can try that or unsweetened applesauce too.
Diane says
Hi there,
Can you pls give me the recipe of plain eggless vanilla cake ?
Thank u.
Madhuram says
http://www.egglesscooking.com/eggless-vanilla-cake-recipe/
Carol B says
This recipe looks great! Mine is in the oven now. I used Namaste flour (gluten free) and unfiltered apple cider vinegar. The batter was pretty dense, I hope it turns out well. I put the strawberries in the 1 cup processor and since I mixed the oil, vanilla and vinegar in a measuring cup, I just poured that into the processor to mix, so that might have something to do with it.
Madhuram says
Hmm...not all recipes can be adapted with gluten-free flour without affecting the taste or texture. Mostly cookies turn out well without much changes. Cakes, cupcakes, muffins mostly need xanathan gum.
rashmi says
Can baking soda replace with apple cider vinegar
Madhuram says
No Rashmi. You have to use both baking soda and vinegar.
Lisa says
i can't believe how amazing these are. i always wanted to learn more about vegan baking and after graduating culinary school, i want to build my following with rich foods that tsate amazing sans dairy. i wanted a lower glycemic result so i used 3/4 cup agave nectar instead of sugar. i may try it again with splenda instead. i used fresh strawberries and did a cup of puree of that. i may try it with chunkier strawberries. i made them in cupcake form but they were so fluffy and light i call them the moistest muffins ever. can't wait to try more of your recipes and glad i discovered your website. thanks again. btw i thought about using apple cider vinegar but since i had both, i stuck with white vinegar per recipe. overall, one of the best, most accurate recipes i've found in years. seriously. bravo!
Madhuram says
Wow Lisa! Thank you so much for the feedback. You made my day. 🙂
Alecia says
It was very yummy and easy to bake. I baked it 3 or 4 times already.
Thank you
Madhuram says
You're welcome Alecia.
Alecia says
My cake was perfect... My first perfect cake. I used 1 cup white flour and 1/4 cup whole wheat flour & baked for appx 45 minutes. The taste was on point. However, next time I may use less than 3/4 cup of sugar due to sweetness
Madhuram says
That's great Alecia. Happy baking!
Alecia says
Mine is in the oven now.. I will let you know how it turned out
Please note.. I usually fail to bake cakes properly but this was pretty easy and seems to be going fine so far
Thanks