These vegan chocolate cupcakes with date syrup are delicious! Date syrup is a unique substitute to granulated sugar, and is great for baking desserts! Dates and chocolate pair together fantastically, and are an underrated duo.
Making this recipe is quite easy and is suitable for beginners. Vegan cupcakes can be expensive at the store, but making your own is a great way to create affordable alternatives for you and your family. All in all, this recipe doesn’t take a lot of time to make a good product for you to enjoy!
It is always preferable to make your own cupcakes at home, because that way you can ensure every ingredient is fresh and healthy. There’s no preservatives, and you can make every ingredient high-quality and organic if you choose. At the grocery store, there isn’t always that luxury of finding freshly made baked vegan cupcakes for sale.
I made a chocolate vegan frosting recipe to tie into this one. It is made from coconut oil, and is quick and easy to make! To me, this frosting recipe tastes like a quintessential milk chocolate bar. Additionally, this frosting recipe also uses date syrup!
You must let your cupcakes cool completely before attempting to apply the frosting. If it is even slightly above rom temperature, it can melt into a glaze instead. You can always bake the cupcakes the night before, then make the frosting in the morning.
If you want to make designs with your frosting check out this article here That will show you how to decorate your cupcakes with the chocolate frosting.
There’s no added sugar and pairs perfectly with my vegan coconut oil frosting!
Let’s Talk Ingredients!
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Wheat Flour
For this recipe, any kind of wheat flour will do. Additionally, ancient grains such as einkorn, rye, and spelt are all acceptable choices for making these scrumptious cupcakes.
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Date Syrup
Date syrup is an underutilized sweetener in baking. I have found that dates and chocolate flavors blend together fantastically, and are an inspiration for making this recipe. Date syrup does a great job in any kind of chocolate-based baked good.
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Coconut Oil
Coconut oil is my top vegan butter substitute for baking. It’s healthy, it’s cheap, and it does a great job as a butter replacement in recipes. Make sure your coconut oil is at room temperature and is softened prior to adding the the mixture. If it is melted your cupcakes will come out looking deformed. I made this mistake once in an effort to mix the ingredients together more easily. Never again!
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Plant-Based Milk
Any kind of plant-based milk is acceptable for this recipe. I personally prefer using vanilla almond milk for mine, but that’s just me. I am confident that you can but in whatever kind of vegan milk you want in this recipe and have success!
Storage
I stored these vegan chocolate cupcakes on the counter in a sealed container. If you put these in the fridge, your vegan frosting will harden. Even if you haven’t piped on your frosting yet, I don’t advise storing baked goods in the fridge if you can help it. This environment will dehydrate and harden your baked goods.
It’s a good idea to make these the night before, and then apply the frosting in the morning. The reason being that a cupcake even slightly above room temperature can melt the frosting into a glaze. So don’t be impatient and let your cupcakes take their dear time cooling down.

Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes with Date Syrup
Equipment
- Spoon
- 2 Medium bowls
- Measuring equipment
- Baking cups
- Muffin tin
Ingredients
- 1⅔ cup wheat flour
- 1¼ cup plant based milk
- ¾ cup date syrup
- ¼ cup coconut oil (softened, room temperature)
- ½ cup applesauce
- 3 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 350.
- Stir together all dry ingredients into a bowl.
- Stir together all wet ingredients into a bowl.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing them together.
- Put your baking cups in your muffin tin, then add batter ¾ of the way up.
- Put in oven for 30-35 minutes. Insert toothpick into the cupcakes to test if fully cooked.
- Best served warm.