I’ve done it. I’ve taken my beloved Everything-Free Chocolate Cupcakes and un-chocolated them. I’ve made Everything-Free Vanilla Cupcakes. I have a feeling this is just the beginning of a beautiful chronicle of everything-free cupcakes.
Straight from Seuss! Purple foods make me so happy. They look like they belong in a Dr. Seuss book alongside Sneetches and Wockets and Sam-I-Am. The color is story-time stunning thanks to the magic of anthocyanins in the purple sweet potato.
These fun-as-fiction potatoes are pretty easy to find, especially at Asian markets. The flavor and texture is great, and I just can’t get over that vibrant purple color. They kind of make the orange ones seem boring, but don’t tell them I said that.
That frosting! If I told you that this frosting perfectly mimicked buttercream I’d be lying. It’s not lighter than air, fluffier than a cloud, or sweeter than sugar. But I did just make frosting from a potato. A purple potato. A purple potato that was once underground surrounded by roots and dirt and critters. And it happens to be more beautiful than any frosting I ever made with vegan butter and confectioner’s sugar and food coloring.
That’s the beauty of working with natural, unrefined ingredients. Nothing is perfect and nothing has to be. It just has to taste good. And this frosting tastes very, very good.
If you don’t want frosting the color of a Heffalump, then try topping the cupcakes with my chocolate frosting instead. Vanilla + chocolate is always a winner.
Everything-Free Vanilla Cupcakes
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 6 cupcakes 1x
Ingredients
- 1 cup pitted Medjool Dates ((about 12))
- 1 cup water
- 1 1/4 cup oat flour
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 cup non-dairy milk
Frosting Options
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- In a blender, combine the dates and water. Blend until smooth.
- Add the vanilla extract, baking powder, oat flour, and non-dairy milk. Blend until well combined.
- Spoon the batter into 6 lined or oiled muffin tins. Fill them 3/4 of the way, and smooth the tops.
- Bake at 350F for approximately 25 minutes.
- Remove from the pan and let them cool completely before frosting. Enjoy!
- Store frosted cupcakes in an airtight container, preferably in the fridge for optimal freshness.
What’s you’re favorite Dr. Seuss story?
Is it bad if I just eat the frosting…by the spoonful? No? Okay, good!
Heck no! But you will be missing out…
These I can’t wait to try….thanks for bringing the chocolate cupcake goodness to vanilla!!
And I can’t wait to try chocolatey-ing them up again with some chocolate frosting! <3
Oh my… the frosting looks soooo goood! I’ve never had purple sweet potatoes. Now I’m definitely on the lookout for these beauties. Beautiful photos 🙂 Pinned ^.^
I only tried them for the first time recently, but they’re pretty incredible. Not too hard to find around here either. Thanks girl <3
That frosting is just gorgeous! The Lorax has always been one of my favorite books because the message in it is so important.
Thanks Melissa! The Lorax is a classic, and so many of his books have important messages hidden behind the silliness and rhymes. My favorite would probably be Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are. I remember being obsessed with that book as a kid 😀
Natalie — I’m obsessed with this frosting! So. Beautiful.!!!. I definitely did not expect that’s what that purple sweet potato you flashed on ig was going to be used for 🙂 Genius!
Yeah it’s not the most conventional use of a purple sweet potato, but my mind just thinks in desserts not dinners. I can’t get over the color either!
I’ve been obsessing over purple sweet potatoes lately and just love that you used then as frosting. They’re so sweet and I can totally imagine that they would be delicious. Yum!!
I’m glad to find a fellow purple sweet potato lover who’s baking them into crazy-awesome things too 🙂
Would almond flour work in place of oat flour?
I don’t bake with almond flour often, so I cannot tell you from experience. I’ve only made them with oat, wheat, and a GF mix. Sorry about that, but if you try it let me know how it goes.
I want to make these for my daughters birthday. We going to be out for the day, how well will the frosting keep at room temperature on hot day?Also can I make the frosting a day before?
The cupcakes will be fine at room temperature, however, I worry the frosting will become too soft and melt off the cupcakes. Is there anyway you could frost them right before serving and keep the frosting chilled? The purple, sweet potato frosting does not do well being made in advance, perhaps you’d be better off going with a different more traditional frosting and just using this cupcake?
Could you use cane sugar instead of the dates?
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The dates are necessary to bind it altogether, so not in this recipe. If you want a similar recipe with granulated sugar than I suggest this one: https://www.feastingonfruit.com/home/2015/06/24/vanilla-blueberry-muffins-oil-free-gf. You can use cane sugar instead of the coconut sugar and leave out the berries. Hope that helps!
I’m so intrigued by these! I just made the chocolate ones and now am onto making these. A question: I have a few vanilla beans that I don’t know what to use for. Would there be a way to incorporate them into this recipe to make it even more vanilla-y? Like even into the frosting? I really want to make the most of them. THanks!
Oooh actual vanilla beans! Those are a precious resource. Yes you can definitely use them in here! Do you have a high speed blender? If so you can just cut the vanilla pod in half and throw half of it into the blender while blending the dates and water. That’s will make the most of them since you can use the outside and inside of the pod. If not then I would suggest just scraping out the seeds and combining them with the dates and water in the food processor. I say to cut it in half if blending because you don’t need all of it if you are using the whole pod. If you are just scraping out the seeds though then use the whole thing.
Thanks for the tip. Would you recommend still using the vanilla extract along with the bean? I’m dreaming of little black flecks in my cupcakes! ?
Nope, you won’t need the extract if you use the bean! Mmm those black flecks in anything make me so happy 🙂
Hi Natalie,
Can I replace the dates with maple syrup or stevia? If so, can you advise how much should I replace it for?
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Hi Natalie, I’ve made this recipe twice and both times, the batter seemed very fluffy but the final product sank and became very dense. I love the flavor, and so I want to get this recipe just right! Do you have any idea why this happened or what to do about it? Thanks so much!
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Hi Manya! So sorry the texture isn’t coming out well for you, but usually when that happens to me with this recipe I find it’s due to over blending. You need to blend VERY briefly otherwise the oats will get gummy and ruin the crumb. You can even blend the dates + water and then mix the rest by hand just to be on the safe side. Hopefully that will fix the problem for you. P.S. I do have a video coming of this recipe very soon!
Hi Natalie! I seem to be having the same problem as Manya above, the flavour of the cupcakes is wonderful (especially with your date chocolate frosting from the vanilla cake recipe!!) but they seem to sink and become dense after they come out of the oven. I was wondering do you buy store bought oat flour or just grind your own from oats? Perhaps I should try sieving my oat flour before I use it in the recipe in case mine hasn’t grinded fine enough and that’s causing them to become dense. Also a recipe video for these would be great to see exactly how you get yours so perfectly!
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I grind my own flour from rolled oats in the blender, but store-bought works as well. Usually if I have the gummy-ness sinking problem it has to do with old baking powder (not enough leavening power) or most commonly over-mixing. I don’t have a video for the cupcakes since this is an older recipe, but I do have a video of the cake version here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrIdq8PrQCw The amounts are different but the process is the same. Hope that helps!
Just made these & they taste AMAZING💛 I added some raisins & cinnamon to this recipe 🙂 Love how healthy these cupcakes are & still super delicious!
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YAY!! That sounds lovely with the additions–like oatmeal raisin cookie meets cupcake😋 So happy you liked them and I hope there are many more delicious batches and variations to come for you!
Hey Nathalie,
For a social experiment at school we’re going to make healthy and unhealthy vegan cupcakes. For the healthy ones we are going to use this recipe but for the unhealthy ones we want to replace the datepaste with sugar and the oatflour with regular all purpose flour. Is this possible or do we need to add something to bind everything in the unhealthy ones? Thankyou beforehand♡ I love all your recipes!
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Hmmm so I wouldn’t recommend replacing the date paste in this recipe as it really adds so much to the recipe in terms of volume/binding/moisture/sweetness. I really can’t say what they would be like without it. I would suggest just using a classic vegan vanilla cupcake recipe, this one is my personal fave and I’ve made it many times: http://www.isachandra.com/2010/11/vanilla-bean-cupcakes-with-chocolate-ganache/ (and you can just use vanilla extract instead of the bean) Hope that helps and what a fun experiment!
Hello, could i replace the dates with bananas and how much would i have to add? If the dates are neccesary could i reduce the dates and add banana? How much date and how much banana would you have to add?
*necessary
I’ve never tried bananas in this one so I can’t say how that swap would affect the texture or taste. A better idea would just be to make these banana muffins without the coffee (use milk instead) and add vanilla extract: https://www.feastingonfruit.com/banana-mocha-chip-muffins/
I’ve been looking for recipes for my son’s first birthday and these sound great! Am I missing the frosting recipe, though? I swear I’ve read the post 6 times and even turned on my laptop, thinking the mobile version was just messed up but I’m still not seeing it. Is it supposed to be linked up under frosting options? Am I just blind? 🙂 Thanks!
Hey Erin! Hmm nope, that frosting recipe is definitely gone😕 This reicpe is honestly so old and I’ve changed recipe plugins so many times I’m guessing it got lost during one of those transitions. But it’s similar to this recipe just made with purple sweet potatoes: https://www.feastingonfruit.com/low-fat-vegan-vanilla-frosting/ Or i’m sure you have plenty of frosting recipes of your own you could pair with them 🙂
I have lots of frosting recipes but nothing date-sweetened or healthy enough that I’d want to give my son. 😀 Thanks for the reply! I made these cupcakes for my breakfast and called them muffins. So it’s really okay, right? 😉 They’re so good! I’m going to make them again with frozen raspberries and blueberries (neither of which are sweet) and finally have something with grains I can give my son! Yay. I’m thinking frozen berries might make the batter too wet but I’ll try, anyway.
Thank you so much! I’ve made lots of banana or date-sweetened muffin recipes but they all came out gummy. Not these! I’m off to look to see if you have more oat + date-sweetened goodies.
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I forgot to add that I used water instead of milk because there’s no type of milk (other than coconut) which we can do. Worked great!
Me again. 😀 You’re probably getting sick of me. I made these again this morning and reduced the dates and water to 3/4 cup and added 3/4 cup frozen blueberries. They were great! Thanks again. 🙂 PS – I’m freezing most of this stuff for an upcoming trip. Not that you think I eat a batch of muffins every day. 😉
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Okay that’s just genius! But I have to ask, what color were they?🤔 Regardless, I love blueberries in everything, so I gotta try that. Haha I mean I don’t judge😂😂 And I’ll never get tired of you!
I’ve made these so many times. They are bloody delicious. Since my 4yo helps me with baking all the time, we skip the frosting and usually use some jam as frosting instead 🙂
I rave about your website all the time to friends, family and internet groups.
I love baking your flour-free, sugar-free desserts because my son can have as much as he wants without me having to feel guilty. And the flour -free ones are even better since he can eat the batter.
I’m not sure if it’s because I quick soak in hot water then rinse my dates .. but I never have to use the 1/4 cup of milk. They always come out perfect. Moist, soft and fluffy.
You’re my favourite dessert blogger. Thanks again! <3
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Aww this all makes me so so happy to hear😊😊 I love that you and your kiddo both enjoy them and he helps in the kitchen too! Hmm so yes, it most likely is because you soak the dates first that you don’t need the milk. They absorb some moisture there for sure, but also I’ve forgotten the milk before here too and they turned out okay. Well thank you for the wonderful feedback, you totally made my morning❤️ Happy (healthier) baking to you!
Where is the purple frosting recipe? Thanks!
Right here: https://www.feastingonfruit.com/vegan-halloween-cupcake-monsters/
Amazing recipe can’t wait to try it. Only butter, oil and sugar free recipe that didn’t have unusual ingredients so thank you very much.
Also from the comments above you stated that you had forgotten to add milk but the texture wasn’t affected. I wondered if that meant that I don’t need to use milk and my cupcake will still be moist.
Again, thank you again for making this AMAZING recipe.
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With enough batches I’ve come to realize the milk really doesn’t make any difference, so feel free to skip it. But doesn’t hurt either 🙂 I hope you love them, let me know how it goes!
Thank you so much for the advice! I’ll be sure to let you know how the cupcakes turn out.
Also I was wondering if there is a substitute for oat flour. If there isn’t, can I use the oats without grinding it into oat flour.
P.S I am really grateful for your advice. I wasn’t expecting such a quick response so thank you, once again.
😐 Sorry it’s me again I saw on your chocolate cupcake recipe you stated that almond flour could be used instead of oat flour. However, butter should be added instead of the milk. I was wondering what would happen if the milk was not replaced for butter?
Also, I am planning on substituting the date and some water (essentially date paste) to honey. Do you think it would have an effect on my cupcake in any way?
Thank you for taking your time to answer my never ending questions. I’ll make sure to tell my friends and family about your BRILLIANT and HEALTHY and EASY TO MAKE recipe.
They say it’s good to be inquisitive but I think I should stop with questions.
In the method you mentioned blending and using a blender however I have neither a blender nor food processor. What do you recommend I do? Can I use a handheld whisk instead? If so, will it affect the cupcakes?
Sorry for the long list of questions; and also, thank you 😊
Hmm when working with dates you really have to have either a blender or food processor to grind them up. But if you are going to try your honey swap then just mixing/whisking by hand will be fine 🙂
Almond flour is much less binding than oat flour, that is why I add the nut butter. It helps to hold them together without eggs or egg replacers, so if you skip it they will be quite crumbly. And yes I do think swapping the date paste for honey will affect the texture since that is such a big part of this recipe, but it’s hard for me to predict how and if it will still work so you’ll just have to try and see!
Um quinoa or buckwheat would be fine here instead of the oat, or if you can do gluten all purpose or spelt works! I don’t recommend whole oats though, they would be like baked oatmeal then not cupcakes. And of course 🙂
😊😊 Thank you for your advice. I’m going to stop bothering you now but I’ll make sure to tell you how the cupcake turns out.
No worries, and please do!
Really nice recipe! Love the color, I’m looking for a cake without sugar for my next 1 year old girl, but I have a question, my baby didn’t try dates yet, so it’s a possibility to replace it for bananas? And maybe do you have a recipe to make it in a 5,9″ round cake?
Thanks in advance
Bananas aren’t as sweet, so swapping them in here will make it kinda bland in my opinion, but you could try it! Might be better finding a banana bread recipe and just baking that in a cake pan. I do have a version of this cake with the amounts to fill a 9″ (round or square) cake pan though here: https://www.feastingonfruit.com/healthy-vanilla-cake-chocolate-fudge-frosting/ Hope that helps and good luck!
Hi Nathalie
Thanks a lot for your awesome recipes, I am so addicted to your videos (so on the point, well edited and eye-pleasing). Please keep
I have a question:
Somehow my baking always turns out dark brown, also for this recipe (same goes for the lemon bund cake, berry joghurt cake, Quinoa vanilla cupcakes etc). Except for the vanilla extract (I only had vanilla paste), I rigorously followed your instruction in this recipe.
Do you maybe have an idea what the reason could be? Is it the vanilla paste? Or is it the oven? Do you use bottom and top heat, or only bottom heat?
Sorry for bothering you, but it would be really helpful to hear your opinion on this. Thanks a lot!
Thanks for the kind words! Hmm so usually color has to do with the type of sweetener or flours, but if you are following my recipes then they should turn out the same color as mine do. Do they ever taste burnt? If so it could be the oven–I use bottom and top heat with a rack in the middle of the oven. It could be the vanilla paste too, I’ve never worked with that so it’s hard to say.
Hi i was wondering if this recipe could be done with almond flour instead of oats for a gluten free version?
If so,
Do i need to change anything else? 🙂
Thanks
Almond flour and oat are not perfect subs unfortunately, they will turn out too wet/moist. Maybe try these that are designed for almond flour instead: https://www.feastingonfruit.com/easy-chocolate-chip-muffins/
Made these with coconut whipped cream this morning for the kiddos. So good! Do you have any tips for helping these not stick? We used paper liners and they were hard to get off. Live this recipe
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YAY! I am so happy you guys liked them, with coco whipped cream sounds perfect😋 As for the papers sticking, they do come off easier once the cupcakes are cooled. Or just spray/grease your muffin tin instead of using liners. With oil free recipes it’s hard to avoid the sticking. Thanks for the feedback!
Hi, I ‘m clicking on the links for the frosting, but none of them work 🙂
Oh no! Sorry about that, they should be all fixed now 🙂
Thanks so much! 🙂
Hi Nathalie, doe the recipe really call for 1 TBSP baking powder? I thought that there was a slight bitter taste because of the amount of baking powder
Cheers,
Yvonne
Oops no it should be 1 tsp!
I absolutely love this recipe and love that my whole family (including my 3 year old) can enjoy the cupcakes! I never write reviews, but after using this recipe for the last year I had to say thank you!!!!
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Brittany!! I am so so happy you guys love this one and even kid approved! And I am so honored you took the time to write a review, thank YOU so very much❤️
Hello! I love this recipe and the chocolate SO much! Thank you for creating and sharing them! I wish I could make a version of this in even more flavors, and I’m wondering if you think substituting other flavor extracts at the same portion of the vanilla (or in addition to?) would work. For example, strawberry, lemon, etc. Thank you!!
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I am so happy you love this recipe, Meredith! Yes, I do think that would work, although to get even stronger fruit flavor you could also try blending in some of the fresh fruit or fresh fruit juice with the date mixture😊 just decrease the amount of water you use accordingly to bounce it out so you don’t end up with too wet of a batter. Hope that makes sense, happy baking!
Can’t wait to try these! If I sub a gluten-free flour for the oat flour, would you recommend the same measurement? Thank you!
Yes, 1 1/4 cup of gluten-free flour too!
Thank you!