Vegan Shamrock Cupcakes
Come for the pretty picture, stay for the vegan buttercream icing recipe. It's seriously delicious and it'll hold all day long.

I'm going to be honest, I didn't even know what shamrock icing was supposed to taste like. I just thought it sounded good so I researched what it was. Turns out vanilla + subtle mint flavour is actually a match made in heaven. Load it up on a vanilla cupcake base and you've got yourself a treat.

Ingredients
1 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
1 cup nut milk (soy, almond, cashew, whatever)
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 1/2 cup Cake Flour *all purpose is ok
1/4 cup Flax meal
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp Hot Water
1 cup Granulated Sugar
4 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Salt
3/4 cup Vegan Butter (I use Melt Organics, but Earth Balance works great too)
For Icing
1 cup room temperature vegan butter
3-4 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp nut milk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
3-4 small drops peppermint extract
Pinch of spirulina, chlorella, or natural green food colouring. (Nature's Fare has natural food colouring!)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350F.
Combine the flax meal with the hot water and let stand to thicken for at least 10 minutes.
Add the apple cider vinegar to the nut milk to curdle then add the vanilla extract.
Sift the flour with the baking powder and salt.
Cream the vegan butter with the sugar until light and fluffy and this may take about 2-3 minutes on medium to high speed.
Add the flax paste to the creaming mixture while mixing on medium speed, scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to incorporate evenly, whip on high for 30 seconds.
Add about 1/2 of the flour to the creamed mixture while mixing on low speed just until combined, then add half of the remaining nut milk.
Add the other 1/2 of the flour and then the remaining curdled nut milk (aka. vegan buttermilk).
Portion the batter between your greased and parchment lined muffin tins and bake immediately approximately 19-25 minutes or until they are springy to the touch when you gently press the centers.
Meanwhile prepare the buttercream recipe by combining everything together with a hand mixer. Pipe icing onto cupcakes and enjoy!

This recipe is so forgiving! You make that icing into whatever flavour you want, just omit the peppermint flavour and colouring and carry-on. I've made buttercream icing with Melt Organics as well as Earth Balance and they have both turned out amazing. Please tag me or send me pictures of your creations! Stay tuned for more St. Patrick's Day recipes on Instagram (@KaitlynDickie).
Kaits xox
All pictures (except the shitty crust picture) are taken by @basicswithbails (follow her on instagram for more pretty food pics)
Comments