Enjoy these delicious vanilla bean cupcakes with blackberry buttercream and a surprise blackberry jam filling. These cupcakes are made with vegan butter and almond milk making this recipe completely dairy-free.
These vanilla bean cupcakes are so soft and moist I could eat them without any frosting. I am such a sucker for anything vanilla. Chocolate’s great and all, but I’m all about that vanilla flavor. It’s so light and delicate like a little bit of a breeze on a hot summer day. Chocolate is a rich flavor that’s got a punch to it. Don’t get me wrong, I still love chocolate, but vanilla will always be my number one. What about you? Team vanilla or team chocolate?
I wanted the vanilla bean to be the star of the show, and I think there’s no better compliment to vanilla than some fresh berries. I love adding berries to buttercream frosting. The tartness of the blackberries balances out the sugary sweetness in the frosting. I used vegan butter so that the cupcakes would be completely dairy-free. They needed a bit more blast of blackberry flavor, so I decided to add a small amount of blackberry jam as a filling.
Kitchen Tools Needed
To make these Vanilla Bean Cupcakes it only takes a few necessary kitchen items.
- Cupcake pan
- Cupcake liners
- Apple corer or cupcake corer (I do not recommend using a knife as a substitute)
- Piping bag & preferred piping tip (I used Ateco 852 and Ateco 846)
Ingredients For Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Blackberry Buttercream
These Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Blackberry Buttercream are dairy-free using ingredients you can find at your local grocery store. If you don’t want to use these dairy-free substitutes, that’s just fine too! These are the ingredients I used in this recipe:
Cupcakes
- Sugar
- Vegetable shortening
- Almond milk
- Salt
- Baking powder
- Flour
- Vanilla bean paste
- Egg whites
Frosting
- Vegan butter
- Sugar
- Water
- Egg whites
- Cream of tartar (optional)
- Blackberries
- Vanilla
Filling
- Blackberry jam
How To Make Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Blackberry Buttercream
Cupcakes
Cream the shortening and sugar together until light and fluffy. Next, add the milk and vanilla bean paste and mix. In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients. With the stand mixer on low speed slowly add the dry ingredients and mix until well combined. Add the egg whites and beat on high speed for 2-3 minutes. Fill the cupcake liners ⅔ the way full. Bake for 20-24 minutes at 350F. Let cool completely before filling and frosting.
Filling
Insert an apple corer or cupcake corer about ¼ to ⅓ the way into the cupcake. Twist gently and then remove the top. Fill with blackberry jam.
I don’t recommend using a knife because frankly, it takes forever, it’s hard to get a good circle and you spend a lot of time cussing at the cupcakes. At least that is my experience. If you can do it with a knife, more power to you, and please tell me your secret!
Frosting
Before doing anything, even baking the cupcakes, take out the vegan butter so it will soften in time to use it. Start by putting one cup of sugar and the water in a small saucepan on medium heat. While the syrup is cooking, add your egg whites and a pinch of cream of tartar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and beat on high speed. When the egg whites start foaming, slowly add the remaining sugar and continue mixing until stiff peaks form. If your syrup is not done yet, but the egg whites are stiff, lower the speed, but DO NOT stop that mixer.
The syrup is done when it reaches 235F. If you don’t have a candy thermometer to determine if it’s ready you can dip a spoon into the syrup and it should pour off the spoon in a steady, thin stream, as pictured below. With the mixer on high, slowly add the syrup to the egg whites. It should be a steady stream down the side of the bowl. Never pour the syrup directly into the whisk attachment.
Keep whisking until the bowl is no longer hot, but warm to the touch. We don’t want to melt the butter. When it’s ready, switch to the paddle attachment, and with the stand mixer on high speed add the butter one tablespoon at a time. Continue beating until frosting thickens.
Tip: If the frosting is not stiffening, stick the bowl in the fridge for 20 minutes and then
beat again on high speed.
Next, put the blackberries in a blender and blend until there are no more blackberry chunks. Pour the mixture into a mesh strainer that has a bowl underneath to remove the seeds. I used a spoon to mix around the blackberry mixture and push it against the strainer to get as much mixture in the bowl. You should get about ½ cup to use in the frosting. Add blackberry and vanilla to the frosting and mix until combined.
More Dairy-Free Recipes
Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Blackberry Buttercream
Ingredients
Vanilla Bean Cupcakes
- ¾ cup vegetable shortening
- 1½ cups sugar
- 1 cup almond milk
- 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste
- ½ tsp salt
- 3½ tsp baking powder
- 2¼ cups flour
- 5 egg whites
Blackberry Buttercream Frosting
- ⅔ cup water
- 1¾ cups sugar
- 4 egg whites
- cream of tartar (optional)
- 2 cups vegan butter
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 2 cups blackberries
Filling
- blackberry jam
Instructions
Vanilla Bean Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350F and line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the almond milk and vanilla bean paste and mix until just combined.
- In a small bowl, add the dry ingredients and mix with a whisk or fork.
- With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients. Increase speed to medium and beat until well mixed, about 2 minutes.
- Add the egg whites and beat on high speed for 2-3 minutes.
- With a large cookie scoop or spoon fill each cupcake liner ⅔ full with batter. Bake for 20-24 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the cupcake comes out clean. Let cool completely on a wire rack before filling and frosting.
Blackberry Buttercream Frosting
- Add 1 cup sugar and the water to a small saucepan on medium heat.
- While the syrup is cooking, add the egg whites and cream of tartar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat on high speed. When the egg whites start foaming, slowly add the remaining sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form. If your syrup is not ready, lower the speed, but do not turn the mixer off.
- The syrup is ready when it pours off the spoon in a steady stream or reaches 235F.
- With the stand mixer on high speed, slowly pour the syrup into the egg whites, but DO NOT let the syrup hit the whisk. It should be a steady stream into the bowl.
- Continue beating the frosting until the bowl cools down and feels barely warm. Switch to the paddle attachment and add the butter one tablespoon at a time.
- Continue beating until frosting stiffens. If it’s not stiffening then stick the bowl in the fridge for 20 minutes, and then try again.
- Put the blackberries in a blender and blend until there aren’t any blackberry chunks left. Pour blackberry mixture into a mesh strainer that’s over top a bowl to separate the seeds. Using a spoon stir and push the mixture against the strainer to get as much in the bowl as possible. There should be about ½ cup to use in the frosting.
- Add the seedless blackberry juices and the vanilla in the frosting and beat until well combined.
Filling
- Insert the apple corer or cupcake corer into the cupcake ⅓ the way in, twist gently, and remove the top.
- Add blackberry jam.
- Frost your cupcakes however you would like.