Can There Be a Delicious Dairy-Free Cupcake Recipe?
Absolutely! Do you love vanilla cupcakes but can’t have dairy? Or perhaps you want a cupcake but don’t have any butter or milk in the fridge. Then this vanilla cupcake recipe without butter or dairy will be just up your alley! By using oil instead of butter and shortening or dairy-free margarine for the frosting, you can have a cupcake entirely free of dairy products. Not only is it possible, but it is wonderful, tender and moist. This is an oil-based cupcake and it will last for weeks as opposed to days for dairy based cakes.
If you enjoyed this cupcake recipe without butter and now want to make a chocolate cake without dairy or eggs, try out this recipe. And stick around as we frequently make recipes without dairy on this site since we personally cannot eat most dairy products. Not only are many of our recipes dairy free, but they are downright tasty!
The vanilla cake will not only be dairy free, but it will be tender and moist with a strong vanilla flavor. You can use any type of cooking oil you like. Coconut oil will give a nice tropical feel, olive oil will give some fruity undertones with just a bitty of tang to it. Canola or vegetable oil will allow the vanilla to shine through. Be sure to use a good quality vanilla as this is the star in this recipe!
By using shortening or non-dairy margarine for the frosting, you will have to add more sugar than normal to help balance out the flavor. Vegetable shortening doesn’t have much of a flavor at all and is rather flavorless. So again, the vanilla will shine through. Margarine on the other hand can be very flavorful depending on the brand, but the texture needs more sugar to keep it stable. We will recommend starting with the amounts given below and adjusting the sugar as needed. You may find this to be the perfect ratio. We sure do! But you are in charge of your baked goods. Let’s get to baking!
Step-By-Step Instructions
This vanilla cupcake recipe without butter is easier to make than cupcakes with butter. In fact, they are so easy to make, you may never want to make a butter cake again and will start looking for other cake recipes without dairy.
Step 1: Mix the Dry Ingredients
In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
Step 2: Mix the Wet Ingredients
In a large bowl, add your eggs. You want the eggs to be at room temperature or just below for best results.
Then add the sugar, oil and vanilla.
Whisk together until well combined.
Then add your flour mixture from earlier and whisk until there are no lumps. It will be a thin batter.
Step 3: Bake and Cool the Cupcakes
Line the tin with cupcake liners. Or use baking spray or grease and flour each tin with oil. We recommend liners. Divide the batter equally among each tin.
Bake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean and if you press on the top, it bounces back. Cool in the pan for several minutes.
Remove to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Step 4: Prepare the Frosting
You’ll need shortening or margarine without dairy. We recommend using name brand or a generic you’ve used before. Some generic shortenings can be greasier than expected.
Beat the shortening until smooth.
Next, add in the vanilla.
Then, gradually add the powdered sugar. Add a bit of water if you need to thin out the consistency.
Beat until smooth, about 1 – 2 minutes after you add all the powdered sugar.
Now you can decorate your cupcakes. A 1M will make a pretty swirl on top. Or just spread the frosting on with a butterknife. It will taste just as nice.
Substitutions
Here are some common substitutions for this recipe.
- Soy, oat or almond milk can be used as a substitution for the water in the frosting for additional flavor.
- If you do not have shortening, use vegan butter. It will be dairy free. You may need to add more powdered sugar to get the right consistency for frosting. Add an additional tablespoon (8g) at a time.
- If you do not have vanilla, you can use another extract in equal amounts or substitute for imitation.
- Try adding the zest of a lemon to the batter for a bright and cheerful flavored cupcake.
Storage
For best results, these vanilla cupcakes will taste best within the first 3 days of baking. Store covered at moderate temperatures. If the temperature is too warm, the frosting will begin to melt quickly.
The cupcakes can be stored in an air tight container up to 5 days on the counter in cooler temperatures. They can also be frozen up to three months if stored properly. For best results, freeze the cupcakes unfrosted. Thaw in the container to avoid condensation. Frost the cupcakes once they have come back to room temperature. The buttercream can be frozen up to 4 months in an airtight container. Thaw overnight in the fridge for best results. Bring to room temperature and rewhip buttercream before frosting the cupcakes.
Vanilla Cupcake Recipe without Butter or Dairy
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 1 cup (150g) flour
- 3 large (150g) eggs
- ¾ cup (180mL) oil
- ¾ cup (150g) sugar
- 1 tsp (4g) baking powder
- 1 tsp (5mL) vanilla extract
- ½ tsp (2.5g) salt
Frosting
- 2 cups (250g) powdered sugar
- ½ cup (96g) vegetable shortening
- 1-2 tbs (15-30mL) water
- 1 tsp (5mL) vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F (160C.)
- Line a muffin tin with paper liners or grease and flour each tin.
- Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Add flour mixture and mix until you no longer see lumps, about 1 minute. Divide evenly into muffin tin.
- Bake 17 – 22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Center should read between 200F (93C) and 210F (99C.)
- Cool in pan for 5 minutes; remove to wire rack to finish cooling.
Frosting
- On low speed, beat shortening until smooth. Mix in vanilla. Gradually beat in powdered sugar a spoonful at a time to prevent a grainy texture. Add water if needed 1 tsp at a time until desired consistency is achieved. Spread or pipe frosting on cooled cupcakes.
Sept 17th sunday. I by total mist putting the butter in the mix because it was a mistake I didn’t replace the butter with oil. I am delighted by my new accidentally found recipes for butter free cup cakes I bet if I didn’t tell my grandchildren they would never know the difference 🫣😊
Haha, too funny Richard! I have found many people prefer butter-free cakes when testing recipes but they often say they like butter cakes more.
Can I replace the oil for the cake with margarine?
You can, but you’d want to add 1/2 cup plus 3 tbs (155g) of margarine instead of 3/4 cup. You would then melt the margarine and add it as you would the oil. However, if you use margarine and want them to be dairy-free, please read the ingredients list carefully. Some margarine have milk or other dairy products included.
I’d like to make this, but need to know the type of flour as I’m in the UK, and what type of sugar, as there are too many varieties of sugar too in the UK, is it caster sugar, or golden granulated? Or something else
Hello Fateha, I created this recipe using granulated white sugar and all-purpose flour. I have used a variety of sugar over the years to change the flavor profile so you can mix and match as you see fit. But if you wanted to stay true to the recipe, you’d want to use plain flour and caster sugar. You want a flour that doesn’t have any rising agents and has less than 12% protein for best results. Caster sugar is more fine than our granulated sugar, so you will want to weigh out the flour in grams and not use the US cups measurement as it would be too cloy.
I tried this recipe for my 2 granddaughters graduations.
I received rave reviews from all. My daughter has gone non-dairy and told me NEVER to lose this recipe EVER. 😊
Thank you so much for sharing your yummy, moist recipe. Definitely a keeper!!
Hi Terry! Congratulations on your granddaughters’ graduations! I’m glad that my recipe made their day just a little sweeter! 🙂