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    Home » DESSERTS & BAKING

    Vegan Grapefruit Cupcakes

    Published: January 21, 2021 · Updated: March 25, 2022 by Ieva · This post may contain affiliate links · 7 Comments

    Jump to Recipe

    Cupcakes with a difference! Not only vegan, but these also have the most delicious bittersweet grapefruit flavour and are as moist and soft as you could ever imagine! Topped with grapefruit flavoured icing and little droplets of candied grapefruit peel, our Vegan Grapefruit Cupcakes may not be a hit with children, but will impress adults who love bitter citrus flavours!

    Grapefruit isn’t necessarily the first ingredients that come to mind when thinking about cake flavours. However, limes, lemons and oranges are all widely used in baking, so grapefruit makes perfect sense to me! I love the slightly bitter notes that grapefruit adds to the otherwise sweet bake. We used both the juice and zest in the sponge to create an extra moist cupcake. And then we topped it with dairy-free buttercream icing (and some grapefruit peel too!)

    There are many advantages to making buttercream icing with the dairy-free spread. First of all, most brands are so much easier to work with, given their soft texture. Secondly, it is lower in saturated fat, and therefore, in calories (not that you’re counting if you’re making these). Although real butter icing may hold the shape a bit better, there’s not that much flavour difference, especially if you’re flavouring your icing with something strong tasting.

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    Vegan Grapefruit Cupcakes

    To Make the Cupcakes:

    Preheat the oven to 170°C Fan. Place 8-9 cupcake liners in a muffin tin or use the reusable silicone cupcake moulds. I love using silicone moulds, as the cupcakes slide out of them without leaving hardly any residue on them.

    In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk sugar, soya milk, vegetable oil, grapefruit juice and zest. You can use olive oil if you wish, it adds another layer of bitter flavour (especially if you use extra virgin). I tried it with both oils, and my vote goes to vegetable oil, though.

    Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and stir just enough to combine. Fill the cupcake moulds/ liners about ¾ full. Then bake in the centre of the oven for 20-25 minutes. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before icing them.

    Make the Frosting:

    In a large bowl, mix icing sugar, grapefruit juice and dairy-free spread. You can use a drop of food colouring too (I used a drop of red). Keep on mixing until almost all the icing sugar is incorporated and you have a thick paste. At first, you may think there’s not enough spread or too much icing sugar, but persevere and keep pressing the mixture with the back of the spoon against the walls of the bowl. It will eventually become a paste. And if it’s too thick, you can always add a drop of soya milk, but you cannot take it back. If you loosen your icing too much too early, it will not hold its shape when piped.

    Place the icing in the fridge to firm up whilst the cupcakes are cooling.

    Fill a piping bag with the frosting and pipe spirals on the cooled Vegan Grapefruit Cupcakes. Decorate with some candied grapefruit peel, if using. I use this recipe here.

    vegan grapefruit cupcake

    Store in the fridge until you are ready to serve!

    NOTE ON SUBSTITUTIONS: Don’t be tempted to substitute grapefruit juice for lime or lemon juice. Grapefruit has a lot less citric acid and more sugar! So if you substitute for the same amount of lemon or lime juice, you may need to adjust the sugar and raising agents to get enough rise.


    For other Vegan dessert and baking ideas, have a look at our other recipes, including:

    • Vegan Rye Chocolate Chip Cookies
    • Passionfruit Canna Cotta (Vegan)
    Vegan Grapefruit Cupcakes

    Vegan Grapefruit Cupcakes

    Cupcakes with a difference! Not only vegan, but these also have the most delicious bittersweet grapefruit flavour and are as moist and soft as you could ever imagine! Topped with grapefruit flavoured icing and little droplets of candied grapefruit peel, our Vegan Grapefruit Cupcakes may not be a hit with children, but will impress adults who love bitter citrus flavours!
    5 from 4 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 10 minutes mins
    Cook Time 20 minutes mins
    Total Time 30 minutes mins
    Course Baking, Dessert
    Cuisine American, British, Vegan
    Servings 9 small cupcakes
    Calories 339 kcal

    Equipment

    • Piping Bag with a Nozzle

    Ingredients
     
     

    For the Cupcakes:

    • 100 g flour
    • ¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
    • ¼ teaspoon baking powder
    • ⅛ teaspoon salt
    • 70 g caster sugar
    • 115 ml unsweetened soya milk
    • 35 ml fresh grapefruit juice
    • 80 ml vegetable oil
    • 1 tablespoon grapefruit zest from about ¼ of a grapefruit

    For the Frosting:

    • 75 g dairy-free spread
    • 300 g icing sugar
    • 1 tablespoon grapefruit juice
    • candied grapefruit peel (optional, but recommended), see link on how to make your own in the text above

    Instructions
     

    To Make the Cupcakes:

    • Preheat the oven to 170°C Fan. Place 8-9 cupcake liners in a muffin tin or simply use silicone cupcake moulds.
    • In a mixing bowl, sift the flour, bicarb of soda, baking powder and salt.
    • In a separate bowl, whisk sugar, soya milk, oil, grapefruit juice and zest.
    • Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and stir just enough to combine.
    • Fill the cupcake moulds/ liners about ¾ full. Then bake in the centre of the oven for 20 minutes. Alow the cupcakes to cool completely before icing them.

    Make the Frosting:

    • In a large bowl, mix icing sugar, grapefruit juice and dairy-free spread. You can use a drop of food colouring too (I used a drop of red). Keep on mixing until almost all the icing sugar is incorporated and you have a thick paste (it may take a while, but keep pressing the mixture against the walls of the bowl with the back of the spoon). If you need to loosen your icing, add teaspoon of soya milk.
    • Place the icing in the fridge to firm up whilst the cupcakes are cooling.
    • Fill a piping bag with the frosting and pipe spirals on the cooled cupcakes. Decorate with some candied grapefruit peel, if using.
    • Store in the fridge up until serving.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 339kcalCarbohydrates: 52gProtein: 2gFat: 15gSaturated Fat: 9gSodium: 137mgPotassium: 36mgFiber: 1gSugar: 43gVitamin A: 368IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 26mgIron: 1mg
    Keyword Dairy Free Cupcake Recipe, Dairy Free Grapefruit Cupcakes, Dairy-Free Baking, Eggless Baking, Eggless Cupcake Recipe, Eggless Grapefruit Recipe, Grapefruit Cupcake Recipe, Grapefruit Cupcakes, Plant Based Baking, Plant-BAsed Cupcakes, Vegan Baking, Vegan Cupcake Recipe, Vegan Cupcakes, vegan desserts, Vegan Grapefruit Cupcake, Vegan Grapefruit Cupcake Recipe, Vegan Recipes
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
    Vegan Grapefruit Cupcakes

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Dana

      February 07, 2022 at 6:27 pm

      5 stars
      Oh my god I am OBSESSED. Never did I think “grapefruit” when it came to cupcakes and this is just next-level. So good, so unique, and so wonderfully surprising. Can’t wait to make these again!

      Reply
      • Ieva

        February 07, 2022 at 8:18 pm

        Thanks, Dana! So glad you enjoyed them! 🙂

        Reply
    2. kushigalu

      May 17, 2022 at 6:27 pm

      Never thought of adding grapefruit in cupcakes. So delicious Thanks for sharing.

      Reply
    3. Vicky

      August 03, 2022 at 6:20 pm

      5 stars
      These look delicious. I have a friend who is vegan and I am always looking for something to make that she will enjoy as well as the non-vegans in attendance.

      Reply
      • Ieva

        August 04, 2022 at 7:01 am

        I really hope she likes them! 🙂

        Reply
    4. Mirlene

      September 22, 2022 at 5:52 pm

      5 stars
      I wouldve never thought of making cupcakes with grapefruit! It wasnt tart at all. The frosting was as delicious as the cupcake too!

      Reply
      • Ieva

        September 22, 2022 at 9:20 pm

        Thanks so much, Mirlene! Grapefruit is highly underrated when it comes to baking, in my opinion 😀

        Reply

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    Hi, I am Ieva – the face behind this blog. I live in North Wales with my husband Seb and our golden retriever Sawyer. It’s safe to say that I live and breathe food: from researching and reading about food to creating new recipes and growing vegetables to use in my cooking.  The great thing is, Seb appreciates all the good meals that are also essential at his worst ‘hangry’ moments! Somebody HAS to feed Seb…

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