Simple Vanilla & Raspberry Cupcakes | Vegan

This is a paid collaboration with Radnor Infusions.

It's not often that I bake things like cupcakes, in fact, it's taken me quite a while to come up with the perfect consistency for a vegan cupcake as I have found that they can usually be dry, so now that I believe I've mastered the perfect cupcake, I just had to share this recipe with you!

This is a simple soft vanilla sponge cupcake with delicious raspberry buttercream icing (using fresh raspberries!) and topped with a cherry. This flavour combination is inspired by the delicious raspberry & black cherry flavoured sparkling water by Radnor Infusions. This is the perfect drink to keep you feeling refreshed and I can't wait to be sipping on these all the time during the summer. They also have another flavour of sparkling water which is lemon and mint and it's just as yummy, however, the raspberry and black cherry flavour is my favourite! 

So if you're feeling the spring vibes already and want all the berry flavoured treats, then why not have a can of raspberry and black cherry sparkling water whilst also devouring one of these tasty cupcakes? you won't regret it ;)

- Raspberry & Vanilla Cupcakes -

Makes: 9 cupcakes  Prep Time: 20 mins  Cook Time: 30 mins

You will need:

- 2 cups self-raising flour

- 1 cup caster sugar

- 1 tsp baking powder

- 3 tbsp vegan butter 

- 1 cup + 2 tbsp oat milk (or other dairy-free milk)

- 1 tsp vanilla extract

For the raspberry buttercream:

- 1 punnet fresh raspberries (150g)

- 1/2 cup vegan butter

- 3 cups icing sugar

Method - 

1. Preheat the oven to 180C and line a muffin tin with 9 large cupcake cases.

2. In a large bowl/stand mixer, combine the self-raising flour, caster sugar and baking powder. 

3. Add the softened vegan butter, plant-based milk and vanilla extract. Mix everything together until completely smooth.

4. Scoop out the mixture into the cupcake cases, making sure they're all even (they should be around 3/4 filled).

5. Place the cupcakes in the oven for 30 minutes until golden and a toothpick/knife poked through the middle comes out clean. Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool completely before icing them.

6. To make the icing, throw the raspberries into a blender and blend them until completely smooth and runny. Pour the raspberry mixture over a sieve into a saucepan, using the sieve to catch all of the raspberry seeds. The paste should be relatively smooth (it doesn't matter if there are a few seeds, but the smoother the better). 

7. Once the raspberry mixture is in the saucepan, place it on low-medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring the soup-like texture continuously so that it begins to thicken and turn into a more jam-like consistency. This will take a little while, but don't try rushing it by turning the heat up as it will only burn. 

8. Once the thicker raspberry paste has formed, pour it out into a small container or a bowl and place it in the freezer for 10 minutes. This will allow the paste to cool completely before adding it to the buttercream otherwise it will cause the buttercream to separate if it's still warm.

9. In a large bowl, cream the vegan butter until fluffy. Slowly add the icing sugar, whisking as you go, until it creates a smooth, fluffy buttercream mixture. Remove the raspberry paste from the freezer and add it to the bowl with the buttercream. Whisk everything together until the raspberry paste is completely incorporated.

10. Add the buttercream to a piping bag (or you could use a palette knife to smooth it onto the cupcakes if you don't have a piping bag). If you're using a piping bag, ice from the outside inwards and then finally top each cupcake with a cherry. I used fresh cherries, however, glacé cherries would be delicious too!

You can find out more about Radnor Infusions sparkling water here.

What's your favourite cupcake flavour?

Love always,

Shannon x