Vegan cupcakes can be just as delicious as traditional butter- and milk-based versions, as vegan chef Chloe Coscarelli proved when her vegan cupcakes took top honors in the Food Network's "Cupcake Wars." The key is choosing dairy-free ingredients that taste as rich and creamy as milk and butter do. Experiment with baking times when you're making vegan cupcakes, since they can cook at a different rate from traditional ones.
Coconut Milk Cupcakes
To get rich, creamy texture for her prize-winning cupcakes, Coscarelli used coconut milk combined with canola oil and a couple of tablespoons of apple cider vinegar instead of the usual milk and eggs. You can do the same by substituting two parts coconut oil and one part canola oil for the liquid and eggs in your favorite cupcake recipe and adding a little apple cider vinegar with the liquids. For instance, if your recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups of liquid, use 1 cup of coconut oil and 1/2 cup of canola oil and add about 2 tablespoons of vinegar. If you like, you can borrow another tip from Coscarelli and make a small hole in the center of each baked cupcake to fill with soaking liquid to create tiramisu-like richness. Coscarelli uses a combination of espresso powder and amaretto, but you can use any combination of liquids and flavorings you like.
Soy Milk Cupcakes
"New York Times" food columnist Pete Wells recommends using soy milk or rice milk to make vegan cupcakes. Wells combines 1 cup soy or rice milk with 1/3 cup vegetable oil and 1 tablespoon of plain white vinegar for his cupcakes, and recommends combining wet and dry ingredients separately before mixing them together. Substitute this mixture for the wet ingredients in your favorite cupcake recipe, adding cocoa powder if you want your cupcakes to have a rich, chocolate flavor.
Tofu Cupcakes
Food editor Caroline Wright says on her blog "The Wright Recipes" that she uses a combination of extra-firm tofu and soy milk to make vegan cupcakes. The trick is to run the tofu in a blender until it achieves a creamy consistency, and then mix it with soy milk and vegetable oil to make up the cupcake's liquid content. Wright uses 1/2 cup soy milk for every 1/3 cup vegetable oil. The blended tofu gives this mixture extra richness, making it a good substitute for the liquid ingredients in your favorite vanilla cupcakes.
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