Enjoy these festive Patriotic Cupcakes for your summertime gatherings! You’ll love the surprise inside, a dollop of jam, to add flavor and color to these red white and blue cupcakes!
Fourth of July is a time near and dear to the heart of my childhood. It was the one time of year where I was permitted to play with fire. Our family didn’t have the money for return trips to the fireworks stands and I was the youngest of four which meant only a few firecrackers for me.
So sometimes after our fireworks were spent, I was content just to walk around with the punk, the soft sticks they give out for free at firework stands. “Punk” was also a term of endearment bestowed upon me by my older siblings. Me and my punk – two of a kind bringing a slow-burning light to the world.
That’s how we celebrated Fourth of July in a small town of less than a thousand people in a somewhat rural area of Missouri. I don’t live in that same small town and I no longer hang around with punks.
Now, I find new ways to celebrate the origins of our country and it doesn’t usually begin with a trip to a firework tent. Instead I head up to the grocery store; followed by a few repeat trips when I realize more ingredients are needed.
The thrill I seek today is a burst of flavor; delighting the senses in a more savory (or sweet) manner.
We continue to gather with family each year to celebrate this time-honored tradition but my goal for the day is usually to fix the best bowl of vegan potato salad that I can or to create some new, spectacular dessert to dazzle my little vegan family – my hubby and my daughter.
This year I decided to make Fourth of July Cupcakes. What could be better than bite-size red, white, and blue deliciousness! In the process, I created one of my favorite vegan vanilla cake recipes to date.
It’s something I’ve been working on for some time — creating a vanilla vegan cake that didn’t fall in the middle. Eggs are not easy ingredients to replace, especially in cakes. But I think the challenge is well worth the effort because I feel the end result is a more peaceful and healthier cake.
I found the explosion of flavor I was looking for by adding a teaspoonful of raspberry jam to the cupcakes before baking adding a nice, colorful touch to the cupcakes. I also flavored the Cream Frosting by using a dairy- free hazelnut creamer. What a nice touch!
I hope you’ll agree when you try these patriotic cupcakes with just the right balance of crispiness on the outside, tender cake in the middle and raspberry goodness throughout.
I hope you love this recipe as we do! Have you tried it? Be sure and leave a comment and a rating of this recipe below and then take a quick photo and share it with me using #namelymarly on Instagram. I love seeing your creations!
Easy Vegan Vanilla Cake
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup almond flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- ½ cup vegan butter softened to room temp
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 cups cold water
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1/2 cup raspberry jam
Hazelnut Cream Frosting
- 1/2 cup vegan butter softened
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- ⅛ tablespoons salt
- 2 tablespoons hazelnut flavored non-dairy creamer
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F and place cupcake liners in muffin pans. For this recipe I made 18 regular cupcakes.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, almond flour, baking soda, baking powder, cornstarch and salt.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the vegan butter, oil and sugar and mix on medium speed until smooth and creamy, up to 2 minutes.
- Combine water, vinegar, and vanilla in a bowl.
- Beginning with flour mixture, alternate between that and the water mixture while continuing to mix on low speed. Turn the mixer off and use a spatula to push down any ingredients from the side of the dish. Mix again until combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cupcake liners. Drop a dollop of jam onto the top of each cupcake before baking.
- Bake for 20 – 25 minutes until a tester inserted into the middle of a cupcake comes out clean (no batter on it). When they’re done, remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
- To make the frosting, beat butter at medium speed until smooth. Add the powdered sugar and salt and beat on low until well combined. Scrape anything from the side of the bowl and then beat on medium speed. Add the hazelnut vegan creamer and continue mixing until the frosting is light and fluffy. This might take several minutes.
- Once cupcakes are cooled, top each with frosting. Transfer frosting to a pastry bag with a Wilton 1M frosting tip to add a decorative flute to the top of each cupcake. Optional: Top with fresh fruit, like raspberries and/or blueberries.
Enjoy!
Yum, yum and yummy! Plan on doing a lot of cooking when you get here! (as if you already don’t:-)) LOL Funny story!
perfect Marly – love the color on this, the addition of the raspberry jam and using the coconut milk – yum!!
WOW! Your cupcakes look spectacular, Marly! I love the idea of using So Delicious Hazelnut Coconut Milk Creamer for the frosting, and I can’t wait to make these! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe!
Wish I was enjoying 4th of July at your place Marly – these look absolutely amazing!!!! Isn’t it a wonderful feeling when you’ve been working on something and then it all comes together and tastes out of this world.
The cupcakes look absolutely amazing, I love the way you present them. The berries on top really do look great. Fantastic recipe!!
This is by far the best vegan vanilla cake we’ve tried. It’s got the perfect density to moisture level which is not always easy to do with vegan cakes. Hope you give it a try!
Hmmm this recipe looks so delicious and nice and i think that fits perfect with my taste and in my opinion is a very easy recipe, so i think i will try it. Thanks for sharing.
These look great. I’ve featured this recipe on my blog, hoping that you don’t mind, but if you do, please contact me and I’ll remove it. All the best.