Easy Vegan Dot Cake Cupcakes – A light and fluffy vegan funfetti vanilla cupcake topped with a whipped vanilla buttercream, with rainbow sprinkles. Vegan, No-Egg, No-Dairy and easy to make.
Vegan Dot Cake Cupcakes
If you’re on social media, you’ll have seen dot cakes going absolutely viral! The dot cake idea came from a bakery in New York and since, has taken over the internet! It’s basically a classic fluffy vanilla sponge in a jar or ramekin, topped with a thick layer of buttercream / frosting, then dipped in rainbow sprinkles (specifically ‘Hundreds and Thousands’), or for my US readers, Jimmies. I wanted to turn the classic idea into a fun cupcake, so i bring you… the dot cake cupcake! One bowl, light and fluffy vegan vanilla cupcakes are topped with a simple whipped vanilla buttercream and dipped in vegan friendly sprinkles. They’re fun, easy to make and best of all, taste amazing!
Looking for more cupcake recipes? Check out my: Vegan Lemon Poppyseed Cupcakes, Viral Vegan Tiramisu Cupcakes and Vegan Banoffee Cupcakes.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- 100% vegan – no dairy, eggs, or animal any products!
- Soft, fluffy, and perfectly moist texture!
- Fulled with vegan friendly sprinkles.
- Super nostalgic.
- A light and creamy vanilla buttercream on top compliments the vanilla sponge.
- Delicious flavour that everyone can enjoy, vegan or not!
- Bright and colourful dot sprinkle decoration for a fun, eye-catching look!
- Perfect for baby showers, special occasions, birthdays, parties etc.
- A sweet treat that looks as good as it tastes!
- Great for kids to get involved in making!
Baking tips and tricks
Here are some helpful baking tips and tricks to ensure your vegan tiramisu cupcakes turn out perfectly every time:
- Don’t over mix your batter: Use a spatula to fold the cake batter together, gently folding it until there is no dry ingredients remaining. Over-mixing can result in a dense sponge!
- Don’t over-mix sprinkles: Gently fold the sprinkles into the batter. Over-mixing will cause the colour from the sprinkles ot bleed into the batter resulting in. muddy colour. Keep everything vibrant by very gently folding.
- Use kitchen scales: Use a set of kitchen scales for measuring out your ingredients. It’s the most precise way of measuring out your ingredients. I highly recommend!
- Assemble when the cakes are cold: Warm cupcakes will melt your buttercream, make sure they’re fully cooled (or even chilled) before decorating. I like to make the cupcakes a day before assembling.
- Simple syrup: To keep your cupcakes super moist, you can brush them with a simple syrup (30ml of water, 30g of sugar, in a saucepan, simmer, allow to cool then brush over the top of the cupcakes with a food grade brush).
- Vegan sprinkles: Most sprinkles contains beeswax or Red40 / E129 (made from crushed beetles). Use vegan friendly sprinkles. Ive linked the ones I use here.
If you make, and love this recipe, please leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating below. Thank you & happy baking! Make sure to tag me in your photos on Instagram and Facebook! And if you want to pin this recipe for later, you can use the button on the recipe card, above or below this post, or on any of the photos. Happy baking all!
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Vegan Dot Cake Cupcakes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 8–10 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
How to make the VIRAL Dot Cake, in cupcake form! Easy, vegan and loaded with fun sprinkles!
Ingredients
Ingredients for the cupcakes
- 210ml of dairy-free milk (soya works best)
- 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract (or 1 teaspoon of vanilla bean paste)
- 240g of self raising flour
- 50g of caster sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
- 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
- 60ml of sunflower oil
- 50g of vegan rainbow sprinkles
Ingredients for the buttercream
- 250g of dairy-free butter (block style, room temperature – not spreadable)
- 300g of powdered/ icing sugar
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract / vanilla bean paste
- Splash of dairy-free milk (if needed)
- Vegan rainbow sprinkles (hundreds and thousands)
Instructions
Method (cupcakes)
- Preheat your oven to 180ºC fan and line a cupcake tin with cupcake cases (this recipe makes approximately 8-10 small / medium cupcakes).
- In a small bowl, combine the dairy-free milk with the apple cider vinegar and whisk until fully combined. This creates a vegan buttermilk. Add in the vanilla and mix.
- In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour, sugar, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. Mix well to combine.
- Add the oil to the ‘buttermilk’ and whisk to combine.
- Add the wet ingredients into the dry and fold together until a smooth batter.
- Fold in the sprinkles. Don’t over-mix, or you’ll risk the colours bleeding into the batter. Only fold through a few times.
- Fill the cases 3/4 full with the batter. Make sure to tap the tins on the worktop to remove any air bubbles. Refer to video for example.
- Pop the cakes into the centre of the preheated oven and bake for 18-20 minutes. You will know they are done when you put a knife or skewer down the centre of the cakes and it comes out clean and they are springy to the touch.
- Place the cupcakes on a cooling rack and allow to cool fully before filling and decorating. Store in an air-tight /sealed container overnight and decorate next day for best, fluffy cupcakes!
Method (buttercream)
- In a large bowl or bowl of a stand mixer fitted with balloon whisk attachment, beat the dairy-free butter on medium speed for 2–3 minutes until light, pale and fluffy.
- Mix in the vanilla, and add icing sugar gradually. Add the sifted icing sugar in batches, beating on low speed at first, then increasing to medium until smooth and fluffy. Adjust sweetness and thickness to taste. If the buttercream is too thick, add a splash of dairy-free milk and whip until its a smooth and creamy consistency. If it feels too soft, add in more icing sugar.
- Transfer the buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a large round tip nozzle.
- Pipe a tall swirl of the buttercream on top of each cupcake.
- Line a board or tray with grease proof paper, and place the cupcakes upside down on the lined tray, so that the buttercream is at the bottom. Doing this will help get a flat top ready for the sprinkles. Place into the freezer until you can lift the cupcake off the lined tray, the buttercream should simple peel off neatly (refer to video for example).
- Fill a bowl with sprinkles, turn the cupcake upside down and dip the top and sides of the buttercream in the sprinkles.
- Serve and enjoy.
Notes
To store: Store these cupcakes in a sealed container in the fridge. Best enjoyed 3 days of making. Leave at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving.
Make sure the cupcakes are cooled completely before frosting and decorating, or the frosting will melt.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 18-20 minutes
- Category: cupcakes
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
