For the topping, I use my vegan cream cheese frosting, a drizzle of homemade caramel, and miniature gingerbread cookies. The cupcakes can also be baked ahead, making them especially handy for Christmas parties and holiday gatherings.
For more gingerbread baking, try my vegan gingerbread loaf or gingerbread cheesecake, or browse all my vegan Christmas desserts.
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Why this recipe works
Soft and fluffy. Molasses, brown sugar, applesauce, and vegan buttermilk keep the cupcakes moist without making them heavy.
Proper gingerbread flavor. Ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and molasses give them the deep, warming flavor you expect from gingerbread.
Easy to serve for Christmas. Cupcakes are much easier for parties, potlucks, and buffets than slicing and plating a large cake.
Can be prepared ahead. Bake the cupcakes in advance, then frost and decorate them closer to serving.
key ingredients
Here's everything you need to make this recipe. Find the complete list of ingredients, quantities, and instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post.
Vegan butter: Use block-style vegan butter rather than spreadable margarine. The extra water in tub-style spreads can affect how the batter emulsifies and how the cupcakes rise.
Soy milk: This is my first choice for making vegan buttermilk because its higher protein content reacts particularly well with the vinegar. Oat or almond milk can work if needed.
Molasses: Use regular unsulphured cane molasses rather than blackstrap, which is much more bitter. Black treacle is the closest substitute.
Unsweetened applesauce: This helps bind the batter in place of eggs while adding moisture. Use plain apple puree without added sugar.
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How To Make them
Here's a visual overview of this recipe. Please refer to the detailed card at the end of this page for full written instructions.
The butter should be softened but not warm or greasy before you start. Beat it for a couple of minutes until lighter and airy, then add the brown sugar. This gives the batter a much better base than simply mixing everything together.
Once you add the molasses and applesauce, the mixture can look slightly less smooth - don't worry. Alternating the dry ingredients and vegan buttermilk in two additions helps bring the batter back into a stable emulsion.
Try not to keep mixing once the final streaks of flour disappear. Overworking the batter at this stage can make the cupcakes firmer rather than soft and fluffy.
I divide the batter evenly with an ice cream scoop so the cupcakes bake at the same rate. They're ready when the tops spring back lightly, and a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs but no wet batter.
Let them cool completely before adding the cream cheese frosting. Even slightly warm cupcakes will soften the frosting, particularly if you're piping it quite tall.
Christina's recipe tips
Use room-temperature ingredients. Especially the vegan butter, milk, applesauce, and frosting ingredients. They combine much more smoothly at a similar temperature.
Don't overfill the liners. Divide the batter evenly between 12 cavities, so you get consistent domes without overflowing.
Make the miniature gingerbread cookies ahead. The decorative cookies can be prepared days in advance, which makes finishing the cupcakes much quicker.
Add caramel shortly before serving. It keeps the frosting and decorations looking neater than if the cupcakes sit heavily drizzled for a long time.
Make Ahead & Storage
The unfrosted cupcakes can be baked 1-2 days ahead and stored in an airtight container at room temperature. The miniature gingerbread cookies can be made even further in advance.
For the freshest finish, add the cinnamon cream cheese frosting, caramel, and decorations closer to serving.
Store frosted cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or refrigerate for up to 5 days. Let chilled cupcakes sit at room temperature before serving so the sponge and cream cheese frosting can soften again.
The unfrosted cupcakes can also be frozen for up to 2 months. Defrost them at room temperature before frosting and decorating.
More Vegan Gingerbread & Christmas Recipes
📖 Recipe
Vegan Gingerbread Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 120 ml (½ cup) soy milk *see note 1
- 1 ½ teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 220 g (1 ¾ cups) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 100 g (3.53 oz) vegan butter (block-style) softened *see note 2
- 100 g (½ cup) dark brown sugar *see note 3
- 100 g (⅓ cup) molasses cane molasses, not blackstrap
- 45 g (3 tbsp) unsweetened applesauce apple puree
Toppings
- ¼ batch vegan gingerbread cookies baked into miniature cookies
- ¾ batch vegan cream cheese frosting *see note 4
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- ½ batch caramel sauce optional
Instructions
- Prepare: Preheat your oven to 160°C/320°F fan (180°C/356°F conventional). Line a 12-hole muffin pan with cupcake liners.
- Make vegan buttermilk: Mix together the soy milk and apple cider vinegar and allow to sit for 10 minutes.
- Combine dry ingredients: To a medium bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, and whisk to combine.
- Cream the butter and sugar: Add the softened butter to a separate large mixing bowl and use an electric whisk (or paddle attachment if using a mixer) to beat the butter for 2-3 minutes until light and airy.
- Add in dark brown sugar and continue to beat until incorporated. Stop mixing and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed
- Mix in the wet ingredients: To the creamed butter and sugar, whisk in the molasses, applesauce, and vanilla extract.
- Make the batter: To the creamed butter mixture, alternate between adding the vegan buttermilk and dry ingredients to the batter in 2 increments. Whisk to combine between each one.
- Bake: Divide the batter between the cupcake liners using an ice cream scoop or cookie scoop. Bake for 20-22 minutes. Check they are done by piercing them with a toothpick or a knife, it should come out clean. Allow the cupcakes to cool for about 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool further for 30 minutes to cool completely.
- Garnish: Meanwhile, prepare the cream cheese frosting and whisk in a tablespoon of ground cinnamon at the end.
- Transfer the buttercream to a piping bag fitted with an open star nozzle and pipe it on top of each cupcake. Top with an optional drizzle of caramel sauce, a gingerbread cookie, and some fresh mint leaves and red currants to decorate.
- Storage: Store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. If you're keeping them for more than a couple of days, refrigerate them for up to 5 days. Let them sit at room temperature for at least 2-3 hours before serving.
Notes
- Soy Milk: Swap with oat milk or almond milk if needed.
- Vegan Butter: Take this out of the fridge 1-2 hours ahead of time.
- Dark Brown Sugar: Sub with light brown sugar if needed, I use dark muscovado.
- Cream Cheese Frosting: Use half a batch for lightly frosted cupcakes.
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