These deliciously light vegan gingerbread cupcakes with a generous swirl of cinnamon buttercream are a real taste of Christmas.
Look at the faces of those little gingerbread men.... they are drowning in cinnamon buttercream and loving it! What a way to go.
I seem to end up making lots of cupcakes around Christmas time - usually for cake sales and school bazaars, when everyone has already had one too many mince pies and we haven't yet cracked open the Christmas Cake.
If you are baking for a cake sale, you might also like to have a look at my Jammy Christmas Star biscuits which have had some lovely reviews recently, or how about my Vegan Chocolate Yule Log with chestnut buttercream filling? Totally delicious.
What you need to make your Vegan Christmas Cupcakes
Ingredients
Dairy-free butter or margarine I like to use block margarine for baking, my favourite is the newly released Flora Plant Butter or the delicious Naturli block 'butter' if you can find it.
Dairy-free yoghurt and milk Soya yoghurt and milk work best in baking as they have the highest protein content so are the best replacement for eggs. But, if you are soya intolerant then coconut or oat yoghurt and any type of plant milk will also work well.
Spices I've used ginger, cinnamon and mixed spice for a really Christmassy flavour, but have been fairly conservative with the quantities as they were for kids. When you've tried these yourself you may decide to play around with the spice ratios for a bolder flavour.
For the buttercream:
Dairy-free butter or margarine Whatever type of 'butter' you choose, it needs to be really soft (but not melted) to get a really good buttercream.
Sugars I've added a little soft brown (muscavado) sugar to give a lovely butterscotch flavour to complement the cinnamon. It also makes the buttercream a beautiful pale brown colour which I think looks even more appetising!
Mini Gingerbread Men I used Organix mini gingerbread men (which I found in the baby food aisle in the supermarket!) as my kids love them. But there are many to choose from in most supermarkets, or you could make your own if you're really keen!
You can read at the bottom of this post about the inspiration for these vegan Christmas cupcakes - a post by lovely blogging friend Isabella who was taken far too soon after a short illness at the age of 29.
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Vegan Christmas Cupcakes with cinnamon buttercream
Ingredients
For the gingerbread cupcakes:
- 150 g dairy-free margarine
- 225 g caster sugar
- 150 g dairy-free yoghurt
- 150 ml dairy-free milk
- 300 g self-raising flour
- 1.5 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp mixed spice
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- pinch salt
For the cinnamon buttercream:
- 200 g dairy-free margarine
- 200 g icing sugar
- 50 g soft light brown sugar
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- 12 mini gingerbread men to decorate
Instructions
- Line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases and preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F / Gas 4.
- Beat together the margarine and sugar until pale and fluffy. Beat in the yoghurt and milk, (don't panic - it will look 'curdled' at this stage but it really doesn't matter!).
- Sieve the flour, bicarbonate of soda, spices and salt into the bowl and fold in gently to avoid knocking out any of the air.
- Divide the cake mixture between the 12 cake cases and bake for 18-20 minutes until an inserted skewer or knife comes out clean. Leave to cool.
- To make the buttercream, beat the margarine until fully softened. Sieve in the sugars and cinnamon, (especially important to sieve the light brown sugar which may otherwise be lumpy). Beat until pale and fluffy.
- When the cupcakes are completely cool, (ideally store them overnight in a sealed tin or tupperware and decorate the following day). pipe on the buttercream, and stand a mini gingerbread man up on top of each cake. Finish by sprinkling a tiny pinch more cinnamon over each cupcake.
Nutrition
It was with shock and great sadness that we learned last month that one of the UK food blogger gang, the lovely Isabella King of food blog Coriander Queen had lost her battle with cancer at the age of 29.
As a tribute to Izzie, members of the group have all recreated one of her recipes to post today. I chose to make these lovely Gingerbread Cupcakes.
Here's a list of recipes from Coriander Queen posted on friends' blogs today in tribute to Isabella:
Easy 5 ingredient pesto tomato tart on Amuse Your Bouche (vegetarian)
Globe artichoke with balsamic dip on Natural Kitchen Adventures (vegan)
Cider, apple and sausage casserole on Farmersgirl Kitchen
Chocolate orange oat bars on Veggie Desserts (vegan)
Peanut butter chocolate chip cookies on Tin and Thyme (vegetarian)
Arancini (risotto balls) on Coffee & Vanilla (vegetarian)
Rich coffee cupcakes on BakingQueen74 (vegetarian)
Gingerbread cupcakes with orange buttercream on The Veg Space (vegan)
Marmalade and ginger loaf cake on The Crafty Larder (vegetarian)
Ginger and oat cookies on Kavey Eats (vegetarian)
Amatriciana pasta on Kitchen Sanctuary
Treacle tart on Patisserie Makes Perfect (vegetarian)
Crispy fried halloumi on Supper In The Suburbs (vegetarian)
Chocolate fridge cake on Jo's Kitchen (vegetarian)
Chocolate almond butter cookies on Rough Measures (vegetarian)
Eggless chocolate chip cookies on Simply Sensational Food (vegetarian)
Boozy decadent hot chocolate on Fab Food 4 All (vegetarian)
Easy no bake blackberry cheesecakes on Casa Costello (vegetarian)
Best coriander / cilantro recipes on Fuss Free Flavours (some vegetarian)
Easy gingerbread popcorn snack on Celery & Cupcakes (vegetarian)
Elderflower and vodka cocktail slush on The Hedgecombers (vegetarian)
Fruit flapjacks on The Petite Cook (vegan)
Tomato, garlic and prawn spaghetti on Hungry Healthy Happy (pesceterian)
Lemon drizzle loaf cake on Penne For Your Thoughts (vegetarian)
Chicken ramen on It's Not Easy Being Greedy
Stuffed Nutella cookies on Munchies And Munchkins (vegetarian)
Easy Berry Compote on Eats Amazing (vegetarian)
Caipirinha on Lovely Appetite (vegetarian)
Garlic and Lime Coriander Prawns on Travels for Tatse (pesceterian)
I agree with you, gingerbread men are absolutely acceptable all year... What a lovely tribute to Isabella!
How very cute are these , they look so cute. A beautiful tribute to Isabella.
These are adorable, surely Isabella would love them. Great variation on her recipe, and beautiful post. It's been emotional taking part in this but uplifiting to celebrate her too.
I enjoy the blog and the recipes. But please out of respect and love for your friend Isabella, stop using this offending and tired phrase "she lost her battle to cancer". Dying does not make a looser, the overuse of this phrase suppose that had she fought a little harder she would still be with you. That's just cruel and insulting.
Love these cute gingerbread cupcakes, a wonderful tribute to the queen of cupcakes as I like to think of Izzie:-)
I agree gingerbread should be eaten all year round. One of my favourite flavours is ginger. A lovely way to remember Izzie, with these cupcakes 🙂
I think this is the recipe I most associate with Izzie, and you have made them just as beautifully as she did. Beautiful cupcakes and a touching tribute.
I remember seeing these cupcakes when Izzie first made them. They're so pretty and sound so tasty and I'd be very happy to eat either version. A very fitting recipe.
My two children Rony an Mathew are fans of yours. After seeing this Gingerbread Cupcakes, they just need that cupcakes with bunny.
How adorable are these cupcakes definitly something I need to add to my Christmas baking and those little gingerbread minis are so cute too.
Aren't they just?! X
Wow! All of my favorite flavors in a delicious, easy, sweet treat. Love this recipe...thanks for the tips and tricks for perfect cupcakes 🙂
These sound like the perfect festive cupcakes! What a lovely way to pay tribute.
Thanks Bintu x
These cupcakes look amazing!!! I am all about the gingerbread flavours around the holiday season, so I am definitely giving this a go! Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Thanks Cathleen! Xx
These are so cute and perfectly spiced! Now I have to find those little gingerbread man to garnish the cupcakes with
Thanks Haley - I found most supermarkets stock something fairly similar, and usually vegan! Hope you can find some.
Made these yesterday and delivered them to friends and relatives today. There are so light and delicious. I’ve decided that this will be my go to muffin recipe from now on. Thank you 😊
That's great to hear, thanks Katherine x