Vegan Chocolate Orange Cupcakes!
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Fudgey and delicious vegan chocolate orange cupcakes with a chocolate orange sponge, frosting and more!
Vegan chocolate orange cupcakes!
So.. I decided it was time to pull out the big guns when it came to my vegan baking. I wanted to do the bake, that you ALL will want, whether you are vegan or not. I wanted to do the flavour of my dreams, in vegan form… chocolate orange.
I will say from the beginning that these do literally taste like a fudgey delicious vegan version of my normal chocolate orange sort of bakes, but yeah they are also vegan. They are naturally different where you can’t use Terry’s chocolate orange, but that’s obvious.
Vegan chocolate
However, one amazing new invention is the Galaxy vegan vars, AND THEY DO A CHOCOLATE ORANGE ONE. It is INCREDIBLE. And it literally tastes like Terry’s chocolate orange! I genuinely think these Galaxy vegan bars are the best vegan chocolate I have ever tasted!
I decided to base this recipe on my vegan chocolate cake because I adore the recipe so much. It does form up well with my vegan vanilla cupcakes as well though for help on proportions – but otherwise its chocolate themed through and through.
Vegan baking experimenting
Now, I am no expert on vegan baking by any means as I am not vegan myself – however… I understand the science behind it. As you are (obviously) leaving out the butter and eggs that you would normally use in a cake sponge, you have to be careful with what you replace it with.
One of the reasons it took me so long to get into vegan baking was experimenting and finding recipes that I actually liked – as many I have tried in the past have tasted of nothing, or have been rubbery balls of gross. Experimentation was key, and I got there!
Stick the the recipe!
I find that one of the keys of baking vegan is to stick to the recommendations – and DO NOT OVER MIX. Something like this really does not need much mixing. You don’t need an electric mixer for the sponge, and you just need to stir it together and you are done.
The mix is naturally a lot more liquid than a normal cake mix, so it can be a little messy when you are portioning it – but otherwise, it’s easy – split between the 12 cases, and bake! Decorate and enjoy.
Vegan replacements
I use almond milk as it’s one of my favourite non-dairy milks – but you can use pretty much any – I however haven’t tested those myself. I use stork block for the buttercream icing as it’s naturally vegan and it’s my favourite non-dairy butter – and I use Tate & lyle Icing sugar which is also vegan friendly.
Cocoa powder wise, you have to be careful – but dairy free ones do exist. At the time of writing, I use one that I buy from Makro – but all you need to do is check on the ingredients. Cocoa powder, or cacao powder work – I just prefer using Cocoa powder. Some are a ‘may contain milk’ so it’s really down to you to check, especially if you have allergies.
Orange
I make these with a mix of fresh orange sometimes, or orange extract – but you do what you fancy. The best orange extract I can recommend is the Nielsen Massey orange extract! You can obviously use this recipe for a delicious vegan chocolate cupcake, sans orange, but I am chocolate orange obsessed and all so… leave it out if you wish!
I hope you love these bad boys – I’m sure you will! If you have any recipe related questions, then leave them below in the comments. Otherwise, HAPPY VEGAN CHOCOLATE ORANGE CUPCAKE BAKING! x
Vegan Chocolate Orange Cupcakes!
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 175 g self raising flour
- 50 g cocoa powder
- 200 g light brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 250 ml almond/soya/dairy free milk
- 1-2 tsp orange extract (Or zest of 1 orange)
- 75 ml vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
Buttercream
- 150 g vegan butter (I use stork block)
- 300 g icing sugar
- 50 g cocoa powder
- 1 tsp orange extract
Decoration
- Orange zest
- Galaxy chocolate orange (or other)
- Sprinkles
- Chocolate drizzle
Instructions
Cupcakes
- Preheat your oven to 180C/160C Fan, and get 12 cupcake cases ready!
- In a large bowl, whisk together your flour, cocoa powder, bicarbonate, baking powder and sugar.
- Pour in your milk, orange extract, oil and vinegar, and mix until smooth.
- Try not to over mix, but make sure the lumps are gone.
- Split between the 12 cases (it will be quite runny), but stick with the 12 cases!
- Bake in the oven for about 20-22 minutes, or until baked through.
- Leave to cool fully!
Buttercream
- Beat your dairy free butter until smooth (it won't take long at all due to it being dairy free)
- Add in your icing sugar, cocoa powder and orange extract and beat again until fluffy and buttercream like!
Decoration
- Pipe onto your cupcakes how you please, I used a 2D closed star piping tip!
- Drizzle on some melted chocolate, some orange zest, some sprinkles and some chocolate orange segments and enjoy!
Notes
- You can substitute the oil for extra virgin olive oil - I just prefer vegetable oil for baking!
- The buttercream will still be quite slack due to it being dairy free, so it doesn't hold perfectly - don't add any extra liquid!
- These will last 2-3 days once made, at room temperature.
- I don't use the Galaxy chocolate orange in the frosting as it reacts different compared to normal chocolate and solidifies very quickly. I recommend just the drizzle if you fancy it, and the pieces on top!
- Remember to double check all ingredients you use are vegan friendly.
- I use stork block for the butter, and Tate and lyle icing sugar. I also use this cocoa powder!
ENJOY!
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J x
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Brilliant recipe, would never know they were vegan. I made them plain and just left out the orange extract.
I actually used this recipe so that I could make your bonfire cakes for my family this week, needing the cakes to be vegan. They were absolutely delicious, the perfect chocolate orange flavour. I left the cocoa powder out of the frosting so that I could create the bonfire colours, and the whole family loved them. Thank yooouuu!! x
Hi Jane,
Can I use this vegan sponge recipe without making it orange flavoured?
Thank you!
Hi Jane, these look amazing. I want to make a cake version (for my vegan friend’s birthday). Can this be done? Also my second question, is there a way of doing vegan drips (as I’d like it to be a drip cake)? Thank you!
Thank you Jane for another great recipe. Made these a couple of days ago. The taste was fantastic and they smelt amazing, would never have known they were vegan. Took some to a friend who immediately asked me to make a batch of them for an afternoon tea she’s holding.
Just made this cake as a trial run for a birthday cake into two less thick 6 inch cakes – the cake practically fell apart 😭 It looks really tasty but a nightmare to move, did I do something wrong? Also how is best to soften the buttercream if it is too stiff?
can i use olive oil instead of vegetable oil?
Olive oil can leave a taste so we suggest a flavourless oil such as vegetable or sunflower x
Hi just wondering how to change also to gluten free would it just be gluten free flour and gluten free baking powder? Thank you
Can you make this into a loaf cake using the same recipe?
Can I substitute the white wine vinegar for apple cider vinegar? I need these to be halal so I can’t use white wine vinegar
Hiya! Yes, this should be fine, enjoy! x