Moist and fluffy vegan lemon cupcakes with a tart and creamy raspberry frosting! 100% gluten-free and vegan.
Everybody needs a good cupcake recipe in their lives from time to time and these vegan lemon cupcakes are definitely one of my favorites!
The cupcake itself is moist and fluffy with a zing of lemon flavor from the fresh lemon zest. The frosting is made with a raspberry puree and is the perfect combination of sweet and tart.
The raspberry and lemon flavors make for a deliciously sweet pink lemonade dessert!
How to tell when cupcakes are done baking
Baking cupcakes is a delicate art form. If you under-bake your cupcakes they will be doughy and sticky, if you over-bake them they can be dry and dense.
But don’t worry, I’ve got you covered with a few tips that will help you get the perfect cupcakes every time!
- Check Early: Most cupcakes recipes will give you a range of baking time like 20-25 minutes. Always check your cupcakes at the beginning of the time frame.
- Check Visually: Opening the oven to check your cupcakes can let heat out and increase baking time. Instead, turn the oven light on and check visually. Luckily, white cupcakes like these vegan lemon cupcakes are easy to visually check – just look for a light golden brown coloring on top.
- Toothpick Trick: The toothpick trick is a classic. Just stick a toothpick through the middle of your cupcake and when you pull it out check to see if it’s clean. If it comes out clean they are done!
- Touch Test: Cupcakes should be soft and spongy. Lightly press down on the middle of a cupcake and if it bounces back then it’s done. If it sinks down but doesn’t bounce back then they still need some time.
How To Make
Vegan Lemon Cupcakes
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Zest a large lemon until you have about 1 tbsp of lemon zest. In a small bowl, combine lemon zest and all dry ingredients: gluten-free flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix until well combined.
In a large bowl mix together all wet ingredients: almond milk, lemon juice, agave nectar, melted coconut oil, and vanilla extract.
Once combined, add in the dry ingredients from step 1.
Whisk the batter together until it is well combined and no longer grainy or lumpy.
Fresh Tip: Cupcake batter should be a creamy consistency, but be careful not to over-mix it or the cupcakes will come out dense instead of fluffy.
Line a 12 serving cupcake/muffin pan with cupcake liners. Spray the inside of the paper liners (where you put the batter) with a non-stick spray.
Fill the cupcake liners about 3/4 of the way full and tap the pan so the tops are smooth and even.
Fresh Tip: Be sure to spray the cupcake liners with a non-stick spray on the sides and bottom. Gluten-free baking can get sticky and you definitely don’t want the paper sticking to the cupcakes!
Once the oven has preheated, bake the cupcakes on the middle rack at 350F for 20-25 minutes, or until lightly golden on the outsides and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
While the cupcakes bake, add the fresh raspberries to a blender or food processor and puree.
Strain the raspberry puree through a sieve. You should get about 1/2 cup of puree after straining.
Using an electric whisk/hand mixer, whisk together the powdered sugar and vegan butter. Once combined, add in the raspberry puree and continue to mix.
Gradually increase the mixing speed until the frosting is smooth and whipped.
Fresh Tip: I also included a recipe for a healthier frosting at the bottom of the post! The healthier frosting doesn’t hold itself up as well for towering frosting spirals (making it less ideal for photos or impressing guests) but it is just as delicious!
Once cupcakes are finished baking, set them aside and let cool for 5-10 minutes. Once cooled, top the cupcakes with frosting and enjoy! To store, keep in a covered container at room temperature.
What's The Best vegan frosting for lemon cupcakes?
The beauty of lemon cupcakes is that they pair well with so many different frostings. Everything from plain vanilla frosting to just about every fruit flavor you can imagine!
I chose raspberry frosting for a delicious pink lemonade flavor combo, but I’ve seen blueberry, strawberry, and even mango as well!
If you want to try a different fruit frosting, just puree it the same way as in this recipe!
You’ll want to get about a 1/2 cup of strained puree so depending on the fruit that you use you may need to change the starting amount. For raspberries, a 6-oz package will yield 1/2 cup of strained puree.
I’ve also included two different frosting recipes at the bottom of the post, a buttercream frosting (what I used for the pictures) and a healthier version (maybe even more delicious). Here’s the differences:
Raspberry Buttercream Frosting (as pictured)
This frosting is a traditional buttercream frosting made from vegan butter and powdered sugar.
By whipping the butter and sugar together you get that classic fluffy texture that makes beautiful frosting spirals.
Healthier Raspberry Frosting (No Refined Sugar)
The healthier frosting uses the cream from a can of coconut milk instead of butter. It also has no refined sugar and is instead sweetened completely naturally with just a little bit of agave nectar!
This frosting has a lighter and creamier texture which doesn’t hold itself up in frosting spirals.
If you want frosting spirals for photos or to impress guests than you’ll want to go with the buttercream frosting. Otherwise, I highly recommend trying the healthier version!
Craving a sweet treat but want something a little healthier? Check out these gooey vegan caramel slices or these filling cacao bliss balls!
Did you try this recipe? Let me know what you think in the comments below and be sure to leave a rating!
Vegan Lemon Cupcakes
- Author: Kailey
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Total Time: 45 mins
- Yield: 12 Cupcakes 1x
Description
Moist lemon cupcakes topped with a decadent raspberry butter cream frosting. Completely vegan and gluten-free!
Ingredients
Vegan Lemon Cupcakes (dry ingredients)
- 1 1/2 cups Gluten-Free Baking Flour
- 1 tbsp Lemon Zest
- 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
- 1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/4 tsp Salt
Vegan Lemon Cupcakes (wet ingredients)
- 1 cup Almond Milk
- 1/3 cup Lemon Juice
- 1/2 cup Agave Nectar (or Maple Syrup)
- 1/4 cup Coconut Oil, melted
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
Raspberry Frosting (as pictured)
- 3 cups Powdered Sugar
- 1 cup Vegan Butter
- 6 oz Fresh Raspberries, pureed and strained (makes about 1/2 cup of raspberry puree)
- 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
Raspberry Frosting (healthier version)
- 14 oz can Coconut Milk, drained
- 6 oz Fresh Raspberries, pureed and strained (makes about 1/2 cup of raspberry puree)
- 1 tbsp Coconut Oil, melted
- 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 tbsp Agave Nectar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Zest a large lemon until you get about 1 tbsp of lemon zest.
- Combine lemon zest and all dry ingredients in a bowl and mix until well combined.
- In a large bowl, add all wet ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and whisk until well combined and the batter is no longer lumpy.
- Add cupcake liners to a cupcake pan and spray the insides of the cupcake liners with a non-stick spray. Pour the batter into the cupcake liners and fill about 3/4 of the way to the top.
- Once oven is preheated, bake the cupcakes on the middle rack for 20-25 minutes, or until lightly golden on the outsides and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
- While cupcakes bake, add the fresh raspberries to a blender or food processor and puree. Strain the puree through a sieve. You should get about 1/2 cup of puree after straining.
- Using an electric whisk/hand mixer, whip together all of the frosting ingredients until the frosting is light and fluffy.
- Once cupcakes are done baking, set aside to cool for 5-10 minutes. Once cooled, top cupcakes with frosting.
- Enjoy! To store, keep the cupcakes in a covered container at room temperature.
Notes
- Be sure to spray the insides of the paper cupcake liners with a non-stick spray. Gluten-free baking gets sticky and you don’t want the paper to stick to the cupcakes!
- I’ve included 2 different frosting recipes. One is a more traditional buttercream frosting (as pictured), the other is a healthier (and better tasting in my opinion) frosting. The healthier frosting doesn’t get that fluffy whipped texture like the buttercream frosting, which makes it less ideal for pictures or impressing guests. But if you don’t care as much about the looks of the cupcakes, then I highly recommend trying out the healthier frosting!
- If you make the pictured buttercream frosting and really want to tower the frosting on the cupcakes, you may need to double the frosting recipe!
- Category: dessert
Keywords: vegan lemon cupcakes
Gianna
I want to make this recipe!
Can I replace the flour? Any suggestions?
Thanks….
Kailey
Hey Gianna,
Is there a specific reason you want to avoid using flour? If you are gluten-free, I used a gluten-free baking flour for this recipe. I think the gluten-free flour mix is a combination of rice flours and potato/tapioca starch. If you aren’t gluten-free you can substitute normal flour for the GF flour in a 1:1 ratio. Hope that answered your question!
Gianna
I didn’t find that kind of flour!
Thanks!!
Jade
These are the best vegan cupcakes I’ve ever had the frosting is sooo good
★★★★★