Are Cupcakes Vegan?

Answer: as vegan as you make them …

Cupcakes are traditionally NOT vegan. Most are made with eggs, milk and butter, and frequently the frosting is buttercream… Yeah, not vegan. But with the rising popularity of cupcakes, there has also been a parallel rise in vegan cupcakes. That’s right, like all other baked goods, cupcakes can be made vegan. Milk can be replaced by most fatty milk alternatives (soy, coconut, …). Butter can be replaced with margarine. And eggs can be replaced with a plethora of alternatives — it all depends on the flavor of the cupcake. You can even go raw …

My favorite recipe book for Vegan Cupcakes would of course be Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. This is the book that got the ball rolling and contains TONS of great recipes. Check it.

As for going out, plenty of specialty cupcake shops now carry vegan options. Call in advance, or you’ll end up at Sweet in Harvard Sq on a quiet evening only to find they only have vegan cupcakes on Mondays … Sigh. Here are some of my favorite spots.

Babycakes – NYC
The Bean Counter – Worcester, Mass
Blossom Bakery – NYC
Cupcakory – Boston Area, Truck
Kickass Cupcakes – Boston, Mass
Sugarush Truck – Providence Area, Truck

Where do you go for your vegan cupcake fix?