Vegan cupcakes are made without animal products, and traditional recipes can be converted by substituting non-vegan ingredients. Eggs and butter can be replaced with bananas, flaxseed, or vegan egg substitutes, while vegetable shortening or fruit purees can replace butter. Frosting can be made with vegetable shortenings or plant-based milks, or store-bought glazes can be used.
Vegan cupcakes are individual cakes made without animal products, such as dairy or eggs. In general, a traditional cupcake recipe can be converted into a vegan recipe by using substitutions for non-vegan ingredients. These substitutions, however, generally need to be planned carefully, as incorrect substitutions can cause the cupcakes to not rise or turn out otherwise as intended. As veganism grows in popularity, commercially available vegan cupcake ingredients and glazes are becoming more and more available.
A vegan diet excludes all meat, poultry, fish and animal by-products, including milk, eggs and honey. People sometimes follow this type of diet in an effort to avoid perceived cruelty to animals and harm to the environment and/or for health reasons. Vegan diets often contain less saturated fat and cholesterol, as most of both come from animal products.
To convert traditional recipes to vegan recipes, substitutions often need to be made to eliminate animal products. In the case of making vegan cupcakes, this is usually as simple as replacing the eggs and butter with non-animal products. Most bakers agree that it’s important to first understand what these ingredients do for a recipe to ensure proper substitutions are made. For most cupcake recipes, eggs and butter both help act as leavening agents to keep the cake fluffy. The eggs also act as a binder to hold the ingredients together, and the butter also provides flavor.
Due to the fact that eggs provide the leavening in cupcakes, they can’t simply be left out, as they are in some other vegan baked goods like cookies. To help keep the cake fluffy, one egg can be substituted for a mixture of bananas and yeast or ground flaxseed, water, and yeast. In both of these substitutions, the yeast acts as a baking powder and the other ingredients act as a binder. Another option is to replace the egg with a commercially available vegan egg substitute, often available where natural foods are sold.
A vegetable shortening in the form of oil, vegetable shortening, or margarine is often used for vegan cupcakes in place of butter. Bananas or applesauce can also be used as a lower-fat substitute, but they generally create a less fluffy texture. A combination of fruit purees and plant-based fats can help maintain the appropriate texture while reducing the fat content.
When it comes to frosting vegan cupcakes, multiple substitutions need to be made. Many traditional homemade frosting recipes call for butter and cow’s milk, but they can often be made into a vegan frosting by using vegetable shortenings or margarine and soy, almond, or rice milk instead. Another option is to use a store-bought glaze that uses mostly water, shortening, sugar, and flavoring. These products may not always be labeled as appropriate for a vegan diet, but a quick read of the ingredient label can often help identify them.
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