The Best Dairy Free Chocolate Cupcakes
Deliciously rich chocolate cupcakes with ganache frosting that happen to be completely dairy free! Whether you have dairy allergies or not, these cupcakes will hit the spot. This is actually a recipe I developed back in 2011 when I sold cupcakes at farmers markets. I didn’t advertise them as dairy free (because I put heaps of buttercream on top), but I love this cupcake base and continually come back to it.
I tried this dairy free cupcake recipe with two different frosting recipes. The first time with a vanilla buttercream frosting using vegan butter, powdered sugar and almond milk. While they looked beautiful, I find that vegan butter it super oily and the buttercream won’t hold its shape long at room temperature. Ultimately I decided to go with a dairy free chocolate ganache. It’s coconut cream based instead of heavy cream, but it doesn’t have a coconut taste. It’s rich and chocolatey and will hold its shape for a few days.
Ingredient Notes
Below are some notes on key ingredients for this dairy free cupcake recipe. For a full list of ingredients, see the recipe card below.
- Cocoa powder – If there’s one ingredient I usually go for a higher quality on its cocoa. My favorite is Guittard Cocoa Rouge. Another good one, slightly cheaper is Ghirardelli Unsweetened cocoa.
- Oil – I almost always go for oil over butter in chocolate cakes to make it super moist. You can use vegetable or canola oil.
- Chocolate – Make sure you are using dairy free chocolate for the ganache. I used these Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips. You will need 8oz, slightly less than a bag. Hu baking chocolate is also a great option. Both are available at most Whole Foods.
- Coconut cream – You want to use coconut cream, not coconut milk, so that the ganache will firm up enough for the frosting. You’ll use the solid part at the top of the can. If you don’t have quite enough for 1 cup, add some of the coconut water from the bottom of the can.
Dairy Free Chocolate Cake
To make the cupcakes line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners and preheat your oven to 350.
In a small saucepan bring the water to a boil. Remove from heat and whisk in the cocoa powder. Set aside to cool.
In a large mixing bowl or using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat together the oil and sugars. Add the egg, egg yolk and vanilla extract. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients in three parts alternating with the cocoa mixture. Mix on low just until incorporated.
Fill the cupcake liners 3/4 of the way full and tap the pan on the counter to bring any air bubble to the top. Bake 16-18 minutes and then cool completely on a cooling rack before frosting.
Dairy Free Ganache Frosting
To make the ganache bring the coconut cream to a simmer, either in the microwave or on the stovetop. Pour over the chocolate chips. Let sit for a minute to start melting and then whisk until smooth.
Cover and refrigerate until firm enough to pipe. It takes around 2 hours to reach a consistency similar to peanut butter. Chill in a shallow container to speed up the process. While this ganache is a very easy recipe, you will need to plan ahead as the ganache takes a long time to set. You can also make it the day before you plan to make these dairy free cupcakes. If you make the ganache in advance and it’s too firm, microwave at 5 second intervals until soft enough to spread or pipe.
To frost the cooled cupcakes I am using a disposable piping bag and an Ateco 867 tip. You can also use a table knife or offset spatula to spread the ganache on the cupcakes. If you plan on piping a decent amount of frosting you will want to double the ganache recipe. If you make these delicious dairy-free cupcakes leave a review below!
Adaptations
This dairy free chocolate cupcake recipe is a great base to use for some of my other recipes if you want to adapt them to be dairy free. You can add peanut butter to the ganache and make a dairy-free version of my Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes.
You can also use this frosting on my gluten-free cupcakes for a completely dairy free and gluten free treat.
Looking for more dairy-free recipes? Check out my Cookie Dough Ice Cream Cake.
Dairy Free Chocolate Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- ½ cup oil
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cup + 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 ⅓ cup dairy free chocolate chips, see Notes below
- 1 cup canned coconut cream, see Notes below
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350. Line a cupcake tin with cupcake liners and set aside. This recipe makes 14-16 cupcakes.
- In a small saucepan, bring water to a boil. Remove from heat and whisk in the cocoa powder. Set aside to cool.
- In a large mixing bowl beat the oil and sugars together. Add egg, egg yolk and vanilla and beat to combine.
- In a medium bowl whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. add to the sugar mixture in three parts alternating with the cocoa mixture. Mix on low speed until incorporated.
- Fill the cupcake liners ¾ of the way full. Tap the pan on the counter to bring any air bubbles to the surface and then bake 16-18 minutes. Cool completely before frosting.
- Add your chocolate chips to a medium bowl and set aside. Heat the coconut cream in the microwave for about 1 minute, or until heated through. You can also bring to a simmer on the stove top.
- Pour the hot coconut cream over the chocolate chips. Let sit for a minute to melt and then whisk until smooth.
- Cover and chill for about 2 hours or until it reaches a spreadable consistency, similar to that of peanut butter. If you make the ganache in advance and it's too firm, microwave at 5 second intervals until soft enough to pipe or spread.
- To frost the cupcakes I am using a piping bag with the Ateca 867 tip. You can also use a table knife or offset spatula to spread the ganache on the cupcakes.
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