Vegan Caramel Cupcakes

Hello amigos! Do you love cupcakes? What about caramel? If you answered yes, then that means you are at the right place at the right time, because these Vegan Caramel Cupcakes are comin’ in hot!

Howdy beauties! I thought these cupcakes looked super cute, if I do say so myself.

These Vegan Caramel Cupcakes are filled with caramel sauce, topped with caramel buttercream. All vegan! And the cupcakes can easily be made gluten-free also by using gluten-free flour. Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour works wonders.

So without further ado, here’s what the cupcakes look like on the inside.

And I took this picture as I had just sliced this cupcake straight from the fridge. My recommendation is that you let the cupcakes sit at room temperature for 10 minutes or so before enjoying, so the caramel softens up slightly. It’s going to be some yummy gooey goodness!

So, in this page you can find a video for the Vegan Caramel Buttercream, which also contains a video on how to make the Vegan Caramel Sauce. And you will notice how EASY it is to make both!

The Vegan Caramel sauce literally takes 3 ingredients, and about 10 minutes to make (not including cooling down time).

The chocolate cupcakes in this recipe are also incredibly easy to make, and you can use just one bowl, and you don’t even need a mixer.

Simply place all dry ingredients in a bowl, then add wet ingredients to it and whisk them together.

Then, scoop, bake, and voila!

Look at that dome! The most beautiful cupcakes!

Once the cupcakes have cooled down, and your Vegan Caramel Sauce is ready, and at room temperature, you can fill the cupcakes.

Make sure the caramel is at room temperature when you do this. Don’t use warm or hot caramel, and also don’t use caramel cold from the fridge.

And then, all there’s left to do is to frost the cupcakes with the Vegan Caramel Buttercream.

You will be surprised at how easy these cupcakes are to make! And how quickly they will disappear! Nobody will even be able to tell they are vegan!

Even though we use coconut oil and coconut cream to make the caramel sauce, I promise you it doesn’t taste like coconut AT ALL.

I used a Wilton decorating tip 1M to frost the cupcakes.

If you like Vegan Cupcakes, you may also like the following recipes:

• Vegan Green Smoothie Cupcakes
• Vegan S’mores Cupcakes
• Chocolate Mousse Vegan Cupcakes
• Vegan Hazelnut Cupcakes
• Chocolate Chip Cookie Vegan Cupcakes

And for more Vegan Desserts, click here.

Thank you so much for stopping by and checking out my recipe! I appreciate all the love and support!

Vegan Caramel Cupcakes

Camila Hurst

These Vegan Caramel Cupcakes are filled with caramel sauce, topped with caramel buttercream. They are simply amazing!

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 1 hour hr

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American, vegan

Servings 12 cupcakes

Calories 390 kcal

Ingredients

  

Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes

• 1 1/4  cups  all-purpose flour or gluten-free flour
• 1/4  cup  cocoa powder
• 3/4  cup  sugar use coconut organic brown, or organic granulated
• 1/2  teaspoon  espresso powder  optional
• 3/4  teaspoon  baking soda
• 1/2  teaspoons  baking powder
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 3/4  cup  hot brewed coffee  or hot water
• 1/2  tablespoon  apple cider vinegar
• 1/3  cup  avocado oil or another neutral vegetable oil of your preference
• 1  teaspoon  vanilla extract

Vegan Caramel Sauce

• 1  cup  sugar
• 3  tablespoons  coconut oil*
• 1/3  cup  coconut cream

Vegan Caramel Buttercream

• 1/2 cup vegan butter or shortening, or a combo of both
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup vegan caramel sauce recipe above*
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1-3 teaspoons non-dairy milk if needed

Instructions

 

Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes

• Pre-heat oven to 350F. Line a cupcake pan with paper liners, or grease it well.
• Mix flour, cocoa powder, sugar, espresso powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Sift mixture and set aside.
• Mix hot coffee (or water), apple cider vinegar, avocado oil, and vanilla in a measuring cup.
• Pour over dry ingredients. Mix with a whisk to incorporate.
• Distribute batter evenly between the 12 cupcake tins.
• Bake for 12-16 minutes, rotating the pan in between.

Vegan Caramel Sauce

• Place sugar in a sauce pan over medium heat.
• Stir sugar constantly until it melts.
• Make sure to stir non-stop, so the sugar has a chance to melt evenly.
• When you see the very last beat of sugar melting, quickly remove pan from the heat and immediately pour coconut oil and coconut cream in the pan.
• Be very careful doing this step, because the mixture will splatter all over the place, and it will be HOT!
• Stay safe and try to use a larger pan, and a long spoon to stir, so you don’t get burned.
• Some of the sugar will crystalize once you add the coconut oil and coconut cream in.
• Return mixture to the heat, keep stirring and cooking mixture for 1-2 minutes.
• Never stop stirring. Stir and cook over medium-low heat until all the sugar has re-melted and mixture is thick and smooth.
• If you would like to make salted caramel, add 1/2 teaspoon, or more to taste, at this point.
• Remove to a heat-proof bowl.
• Let it cool completely before using.

Caramel Storage

• Caramel will store in the fridge for 15-20 days.
• Simply re-heat it gently before using.
• Some of the caramel will be used to fill the cupcakes and 1/4 cup of it will be used in the buttercream frosting.

Vegan Caramel Buttercream

• Place vegan butter in the bowl of an electric mixer.
• Cream butter at medium-high speed for 1 minute.
• Add sifted powdered sugar. Cream to combine for another minute.
• Add cooled down, room temperature caramel sauce. Again, cream at medium speed to combine. The caramel sauce needs to be at exactly room temperature for this.
• If mixture seems too stiff, add a bit of non-dairy milk or water. And by a bit I mean 1 teaspoon at a time, always mixing in between before adding any more.
• Add vanilla.
• If buttercream seems too runny, add more sifted powdered sugar.
• If it seems too stiff, add more milk or water to make it smooth, one teaspoon at a time.

To assemble

• After cupcakes have cooled down, remove the center of each cupcake with a spoon.
• Spoon some caramel sauce in the middle of each cupcake. Top with the piece of cupcake you removed. Make sure the caramel is at room temperature when you fill your cupcakes. It can’t be warm, and if it’s cold you won’t be able to fill the cupcakes.
• Place the caramel buttercream in a piping bag fitted with the tip of your choice. Pipe it over the cupcakes.

Notes

*The Caramel sauce needs to be at room temperature to be added to the buttercream frosting. If the caramel is even slightly warm, it will melt the butter. And if the caramel is cold, you won’t be able to incorporate it to the butter, and your buttercream will be lumpy and messy. The caramel needs to be exactly at room temperature.

**This Caramel Sauce won’t taste like coconut, I promise you, especially if you use refined coconut oil.

Keyword caramel, cupcakes