The first recipe of the year and lockdown no.3 undoubtedly called for something including coffee. These caramel filled vegan mocha cupcakes are exactly what you need to power through a lockdown January. They’re also suitable for anyone taking part in veganuary this year, as they’re completely dairy and egg free!
I’m going through a bit of a cupcake baking craze at the moment, which you may have noticed if you follow me on Instagram. They’re something that I just love to bake, decorate and also shoot! Any food bloggers out there will be able to relate to this. We all have our favourite dishes to shoot and then those, that quite frankly, leave you wanting to rip your hair out!
My favourite part of this recipe and something that I just couldn’t stop eating straight from the spoon, is this coffee buttercream frosting. this is seriously the most creamy, whipped, coffee hinted swirl of deliciousness that you’ve ever tried! Honestly, you’re going to want to spread this over everything! AND it’s of course also vegan!
What will I need to make caramel filled vegan mocha cupcakes?
- Vegan butter: I would specifically recommend using this vegan butter alternative opposed to regular non-dairy spreads or margarines. It’s been specifically made to mimic the texture and flavours of butter, so works perfectly in baked goods. It also makes the best buttercream frosting.
- Oat flour: my gluten free flour of choice is always oat flour because it’s really affordable and easy to make for yourself at home. I actually almost never buy GF flours now and instead, simply whizz up some oats in my blender.
- Cacao powder: you’re going to need 2/3 cup cacao powder or really god quality cocoa. This is important for getting that super rich, chocolatey flavour.
- Coffee: you may have already guessed this one! I’ve actually used decaf for this recipe, so my boyfriend could enjoy them at any time of day. But, by all means, use regular coffee if you’d prefer. You’ll want to use a barista style, finely ground instant coffee.
- Almond butter: this is key for making that gloriously gooey caramel centre. I like to use a smooth almond butter for this, but you could also swap this for peanut or cashew butter.
Why you need to make this recipe…
- They’re vegan
- They’re gluten free
- Easy to make
- Delicious treat to spice up your work from home snack selection
- Contain coffee- always a bonus in my book!
Caramel Filled Vegan Mocha Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 cup caster sugar or coconut palm sugar
- 1/2 cup vegan butter
- 2 cups oat flour
- 1 cup non-dairy milk
- tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2/3 cup cacao powder
- tsp baking powder
- 1/3 tsp bicarb
- pinch salt
- tsp instant finely ground coffee
Caramel
- 2 tbsp smooth almond butter
- 2 tbsp honey
- tbsp coconut oil
- pinch salt
Buttercream
- 3 tbsp vegan butter
- 1 1/2 cup icing sugar
- 1 tsp Instant finely ground coffee mixed with a splash of hot water
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180 and line a muffin tray with cupcake cases. Mix together the cider vinegar and non-dairy milk and set this aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together the vegan butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.
- Add in all of your dry ingredients and fold the mixture together, along with the milk and vinger mix to create a smooth batter.
- Spoon your cupcake batter into the paper cases, being craeful not to overfill. Pop these into the oven for around 20 minutes, until cooked through. Then transfer to a wire wrack and allow to cool completely.
- Meanwhile, for the caramel, gently melt the nut butter and coconut oil together and stir in the maple syrup and salt.
- For the butter cream, beat the butter until pale and creamy, then gradually add in your sugar whilst mixing until you're left with a thick and creamy frosting. Stir through your coffee mixture and adjust to taste.
- Once your cupcakes have cooled, cut a small section from the middle and fill with some of the caramel mixture. Decorate with a generous swirl of buttercream frosting and serve.
