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I’m not vegan, but it does help to slowly incorporate some healthy vegan items into your diet – even if it does happen to be cupcakes!
My love for red velvet cake cupcakes runs deep, but with red food coloring as a main ingredient, my favorite cupcake doesn’t score high on the “healthy” meter. That is why I tried this healthier version of a velvet cupcake. Now, I know your really curious to find out what makes these cupcakes “blue” velvet.
These cupcakes are adapted from Hannah Kaminsky’s Black Velvet Cupcakes. Hannah uses blackberries in her cupcakes, but I felt the cupcakes would contain seeds from the blackberries. I could be wrong, but I went ahead and used blueberries (hence the name “blue” velvet). I’m glad that I did, because the result was spectacular. Fresh blueberries are pureed into a juice. This juice provides a deep rich color, no need to use chemical induced food coloring. These moist and chocolaty cupcakes are rich in flavor. From now on, I’m choosing vegan cupcakes.
Blue Velvet Cupcakes [Vegan]
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 12 1x
- Category: Dessert
Description
Adapted from Vegan Desserts, by Hannah Kaminsky
Ingredients
- For the cupcakes:
- 12 ounces blueberries, fresh or frozen
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3-cup canola oil
- 1-cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons Dutch process cocoa powder
- 1-teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1-teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- For the frosting:
- 1 8-ounce package Vegan “cream cheese”
- ¼ cup non-dairy margarine
- 1-cup powder sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Line muffin tin with 12 cupcake papers.
- Rinse and dry the blueberries. Toss them all into a food processor and let the machine run until the berries are completely pureed. Using a spatula, press the pulp through a fine-meshed strainer to remove all of the seeds, extract as much of the liquid as you can. You should end up with approximately 1 cup of blueberries juice. If your measurement is a bit scant, add water until you reach 1 cup.
- In a mixer or large bowl, combine the blueberry puree, sugar, and oil. Stir vigorously to emulsify and set aside. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and soda, and salt. Slowly pour the dry ingredients into the wet, mixing until combined. Add the vanilla and then the vinegar last, mixing briefly and then quickly spooning out the batter into the prepared cups.
- Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Once the cupcakes have completely cooled, you can make the frosting by simply beating together the cream cheese and margarine until smooth. Add the sugar and vanilla then whip on high speed for a minute or two, until light and creamy. Apply frosting to cupcakes as desired and top each with a raspberry.
Notes
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Chelsea @ A Duck's Oven says
I love the idea of using a natural coloring for these! I love red velvet cupcakes, too, but they do require A LOT of food coloring. Thanks for the great recipe!