Vegan Coffee Cupcakes (2024)

These vegan coffee cupcakes are fluffy, moist, coffee flavored and totally divine. Topped with a vegan coffee buttercream frosting.

Oh wow, these vegan coffee cupcakes with coffee buttercream turned out better than I ever expected!

And the color was a surprise! I was expecting the cupcakes themselves to have more of a light color, more like the color of the frosting. But no, this is a deep dark rich brown.

I did use quite a lot of coffee in these though. Well, I don’t know if you’d agree that it was a lot. I used three tablespoons of a nice strong blend of instant coffee so I imagine each cupcake is around equal to a cup of instant coffee.

And then I used another tablespoon of instant coffee in the frosting.

So the coffee flavor is strong with these guys! But not too strong. I think it’s a perfect flavor blend. They’re unmistakably coffee flavored without being overpowering.

And then I couldn’t tell you why, but the addition of coffee to the frosting seemed to make it super creamy! Like more creamy than frosting has ever been before.

And it just worked so well as a topping for these cupcakes. Like coffee and cream!

How To Make Vegan Coffee Cupcakes

You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.

• Sift all purpose flour into a mixing bowl and add light brown sugar, baking soda, salt and cinnamon and mix together.
• Then mix some instant coffee with hot water into a paste and whisk that into soy milk.
• Make a flax egg by mixing one tablespoon of ground flaxseed with 3 tablespoons of hot water and allowing it to sit for a minute to become gloopy.
• Add the coffee and soy milk mix, flax egg, oil, vinegar and vanilla extract to the mixing bowl and mix into a batter.
• Divide the batter evenly between 12 cupcake liners.

• Bake at 350°F for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cupcakes comes out clean.

• Let the cool for a few minutes and then transfer them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.

The Frosting

The frosting is a rich coffee flavored buttercream that pipes beautifully over these cupcakes.

There is a little cinnamon in the recipe and cinnamon goes well with coffee so I sprinkled a little on top of the cupcakes too.

Baker’s Tips

1. Measure the flour correctly. Weigh the flour for accuracy or make sure to use the correct method for measuring flour which is the spoon and level method. Spoon the flour into your measuring cup and then level off the top with a knife.
2. Flax egg. An alternative to the flax egg is to use 3 Tablespoons of applesauce.
3. Gluten free. If you want to make these gluten-free then I would recommend using a gluten-free all purpose flour blend to replace the regular flour in this recipe.

Storing and Freezing

Keep them covered at room temperature where they will last for a few days or covered in the fridge where they will stay fresh for up to a week.

They are also freezer friendly for up to 3 months, frosted or unfrosted.

More Vegan Cupcakes

1. Vegan Lemon Cupcakes
2. Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes
3. Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes
4. Vegan Red Velvet Cupcakes
5. Vegan Pumpkin Cupcakes
6. Vegan Strawberry Cupcakes

Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!