Vegan Easter Cupcakes With Lemon Buttercream Frosting

What could be more joyful than these lovely lemon vegan Easter cupcakes with Chick Peeps-inspired lemon buttercream frosting? Look at their cute, chubby faces! If you ever need a reason to smile on a not-quite-sunny spring day, you’ve only got to make a batch of these little beauties.

How do they get their sweet, bright color? No need to worry. You don’t need any artificial dyes or strange and scary ingredients. It’s turmeric! This anti-inflammatory spice from the ginger family creates the most magical color while also adding to your day’s dose of antioxidants.

Cupcake-lovers, don’t miss out on these creamy vegan chocolate cupcake, festive funfetti cupcake, and velvety vanilla cupcake recipes!

Why You’ll Love These Vegan Easter Dessert Idea

These vegan spring cupcakes are cute, fluffy, and bursting with bright lemon flavor in every bite. They’re fun to decorate, easy to make, and guaranteed to make your Easter dessert table extra happy.

• They Are Almost Too Cute to Eat. Shaping them like little chick peeps makes them so fun and festive. They instantly steal the show on any Easter table.
• The Lemon Buttercream Is Bright and Fresh. That lemon flavor is sweet, tangy, and super refreshing. It keeps the cupcakes from tasting too heavy.
• Perfect for Easter Parties. Kids love them. Adults love them. They make a fun baking project and an even better dessert to share.
• Easier Than They Look. The peep shape looks fancy, but it’s just simple piping. Once you try one, you’ll feel like a cupcake pro.
• Great for Making Sweet Memories. These cupcakes are the kind you make year after year. They’re fun to decorate, fun to eat, and full of happy spring vibes.

Key Ingredients and Substitutions

If you love to bake, chances are high that you already have everything you need! These classic lemon cupcakes are so simple, yet incredibly cute and delicious—using pantry staples to make them look adorable!

How to Make These Vegan Lemon Cupcakes

Ready to bake something cute and delicious? Here’s how to make these vegan Easter cupcakes step-by-step so they turn out soft, fluffy, and topped with that bright lemon buttercream in no time.

For The Vegan Lemon Cupcakes:

Step 1: Preheat Oven – Turn the oven setting to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a cupcake tin with 12 cupcake liners.

Step 2: Mix Wet Ingredients – In a small bowl, combine the soy milk, lemon zest, and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Mix well and let it rest for 5 minutes to create a vegan buttermilk alternative.

Step 3: Cream Butter & Sugar – In a large bowl, mix the melted vegan butter and sugar until smooth. Then, add the soy milk mixture and stir to combine.

Then, Step 4: Mix Dry Ingredients with Wet Mixture – In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and gently stir until combined.

Step 5: Add Batter & Bake – Spoon the batter evenly into the 12 cupcake liners. Bake for approximately 25 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.

Step 6: Cool Cupcakes– Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before frosting.

For The Vegan Lemon Turmeric Frosting:

Step 7: Cream Butter – In a large bowl, beat the vegan butter with a hand mixer until soft.

Step 8: Mix in Sugar – Gradually add the powdered sugar to the butter, blending it with the hand mixer to prevent spilling.

Finally, Step 9: Include Frosting Color and Flavor – Add the vanilla extract, lemon juice, and turmeric. Continue to whip until the frosting is fluffy. If the frosting is too thick, add plant-based milk, one teaspoon at a time. If it’s too thin, add more powdered sugar, ¼ cup at a time.

How to Frost Your Cupcakes

This is all you have to do to make your vegan lemon cupcakes with Chick Peeps frosting dazzle and delight!

• You Don’t Need Fancy Tools – Whether you’re a piping pro or brand new to this, you’ve got this. No piping bag? No problem. Just snip the corner off a clean gallon Ziploc bag and make your own quick piping pouch.
• Start with a Simple Circle – Grab your widest tip and hold the bag straight up and down over the cupcake. Start at the outer edge and pipe a thick circle around the rim. Keep moving in a circle, then gently fill in the center.
• Create the “Peep” Head – Now pipe one more layer, but start in the middle this time. Use small circular motions and build a little mound. Finish with a tiny peak on top for that cute peep head look.
• Helpful Piping Tutorials – Whether you’re an old pro at piping or a complete and utter newbie, this video is really helpful as a refresher. Even if you don’t have a piping bag or any accessories, you can easily make your own. Check out this video on how to make a piping pouch using a gallon Ziploc bag.

How to Serve Up Your Sweet Chick Cupcakes

Because our lemon cupcakes with vegan Chick Peeps frosting are so adorable on their own, it’s hard to imagine that you would want to add anything else. But if you love to be creative, you can come up with endless variations of this lovely dessert.

• Change the Color – Changing the color of the frosting can turn the Chick Peeps into any character you wish. Use red for Elmo or blue for Cookie Monster. Use green for goblins (adding matcha to the buttercream works great for this) or orange for pumpkins. If you’re looking to be silly, you can even use brown for…well, you know! Anything is possible! Check out our guide to vegan food dyes for all the possibilities!
• Reform the Flavor – Use a flavor you do like. You can make vanilla, chocolate cupcakes, or even mint cupcakes (or frosting). If you’re eliminating the lemon juice in either recipe, make sure to replace it with either water or a plant-based milk for the same amount, as well as adding a little bit of extract in your favorite flavor.
• Alter the Accessories – It doesn’t need to be Easter to savor these sweet little cupcakes. You can add other delightful decorations and transform the Chick Peeps into any symbol of celebration. If you place super thin pretzel sticks into the sides of white frosting, you can make snowmen or, with the same color, use dairy-free chocolate chips to make scary eyes for ghosts. Infinite possibilities await!
• Double Decker – Have you ever tried adding frosting to the middle instead of to the top of your cupcake? When completely cool, cut the top off of the cupcake and fill with frosting. Add the top and press down gently.
• Serve Them With Deviled Potatoes – If you want to go all-out on vegan Easter foods for the perfect Easter brunch, whip up a batch of these vegan deviled eggs made from potatoes! They’re delicious, fun, and easy to make.

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