These Dairy Free Chocolate Cupcakes come together FAST in just one bowl. And they are soft, moist and super chocolatey!
I can't believe I don't have a regular chocolate cake recipe on my website! I do have a GF Chocolate cake that is really delicious. But if you don't need to eat gluten-free (or someone who you are baking for) there is no need to buy more expensive ingredients that are harder to work with. So, as soon as I realized I lacked a more simple and basic chocolate cake recipe, I got to work. And after a few failed tests, I got these decadent, chocolatey Dairy Free Chocolate Cupcakes.
Ingredients for Making Dairy Free Chocolate Cupcakes
Flour: Regular old all purpose flour is all you need for this recipe.
Leavener: A combination of baking powder and baking soda help keep this cake nice and light.
Salt: For balance.
Cocoa Powder: They wont be dairy free chocolate cupcakes without cocoa powder. My favorite brands are Droste and 365 by Whole Foods!
Sugar: Sugar balances out the bitterness of the cocoa and keeps these Dairy Free Chocolate Cupcakes moist.
Canola Oil: Or any light lasting oil. This keeps the cake soft and moist.
Plain Plant Milk: Any plant milk will do here. I typically use So Delicious Plain Unsweetened Coconut Milk, but oat, soy or almond are all great.
Vanilla and Instant Espresso: These both round out and punch up the chocolate flavor. The flavor of cocoa powder can sometimes be flat. Instant coffee will work here, too!
White Vinegar: This helps activate the baking soda, but you wont taste it in the final product, I promise!
Recipe Tips
While this Dairy Free Chocolate Cupcakes recipe is really easy, there are, as always, at couple things to watch out for. Use granulated sugar here. But, if all you have is organic sugar (which tends to be a little coarser) then combine the sugar with the plant milk first and whisk really well before adding other ingredients. This helps the sugar dissolve. I made a batch of these cupcakes with organic sugar and did not do this step and the cupcakes came out a bit gritty.
The other one is once the flour is added do not over mix. Whisk only until the flour is incorporated and the mixture is homogenous. Thats why I add the coco powder in first and by itself. Cocoa takes more whisking to incorporate. So before the flour is added whisk to your hearts content. But after the flour is added, do as little as possible.
This Dairy Free Chocolate Cupcakes recipe is a simple basic chocolate cake. It is moist, delicate and chocolatey. It pairs well with Vanilla Buttercream, Chocolate Buttercream or Salted Maple Peanut Buttercream. Or a combination of the three as I have done with this batch.
Looking for More Chocolate Recipes?
📖 Recipe
Dairy Free Chocolate Cupcakes
Equipment
- Mixing Bowl
- Whisk
- Measuring Cups and Spoons
- Cupcake Pan
- Cupcake Liners
Ingredients
- 1 ½ Cups All Purpose Flour
- 6 tablespoon Cocoa Powder
- 2 tsp Baking Powder
- ¼ tsp Baking Soda
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 Cup Granulated Sugar
- ⅓ Cup Canola Oil
- 1 Cup Unsweetened Plant Milk of Choice I used So Delicious Coconut Milk
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
- 1 teaspoon Lemon Juice or Vinegar
- 2 teaspoon Instant Espresso Powder (or Instant Coffee)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375* F. Line a muffin tin with liners or just grease the tin- which ever you prefer.
- In a large bowl, combine sugar, plant milk, canola oil, vanilla, lemon juice and espresso powder. Whisk well to combine.
- Place a sifter on top of the liquids bowl, being sure to not dip the sifter into the liquid, and sift in the cocoa powder. Whisk well to combine.
- Now add flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda into the sifter and sift into the bowl. Whisk to combine.
- Portion batter into the lined or greased cupcake tin. Fill each liner about ⅔ of the way full.
- Bake in a 375* oven for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the middle cupcakes comes out clean. Mine were perfect in 20 minutes.
- Let cool completely before decorating!
Let me know how you like this recipe!
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