Hostess Sno Balls were a favorite treat of mine when I was a wee one. I loved the chocolate cake and creamy filling topped with more luscious creaminess and then coconut. The real ones contain gelatin, making them not only not vegan, but not even vegetarian. They also have a crap ton of corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup and sugar. Yes, all 3. These vegan Sno Ball cupcakes taste just like the real thing. They are super easy to make and super easy to eat!
Just these chocolate cupcakes alone are amazing! They are a vegan chocolate cake recipe I have been working on and trying to perfect, and I think I have done it. Super easy, super chocolatey and fudgey, while some how maintaining a lightness and fluffiness that is unmatched! My daughter loves to eat these cupcakes plain!
However, I wouldn’t stop there. They are then filled with a super fluffy and not overly sweet vanilla cream. Topped with more of it, and then the signature pink coconut! If you are worried about pink and red food coloring not being vegan, you can skip it and have white coconut topping. However if you want pink, there are many companies who can accommodate. I used Color Kitchen Beet Color, from Thrive Market.(they aren’t sponsoring this post, I just really like this color and thrive market has all kinds of good stuff for vegans)
So, once you get your food coloring, you can make all kinds of beautiful things happen. There are also a lot of great recipes out there for making your own natural food coloring, so if that is up your alley, go for it. I am just really lazy.
These cupcakes are one of the greatest things of all time, I had a pretty rough week, and needed an old friend to comfort me. Once they came out of the oven, were stuffed, frosted and took a dip in some pink coconut, I said “why, hello there, old friend. I have missed you!”
Vegan Sno Ball Cupcakes
Ingredients
Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes
- 2 C. All purpose flour
- 1/2 C. Cocoa powder
- 2 tsp. Baking powder
- 1 tsp. Baking soda
- 1 tsp. Salt
- 1 1/2 C. Almond milk
- 1 1/2 tsp. Apple cider vinegar
- 1 1/4 C. Sugar
- 1/4 C. Vegan butter, I used Earth Balance
- 1 tsp. Vanilla
- 2 Tbsp. Brewed coffee
Cream Filling/Topping
- 1 C. Vegan butter
- 1 C. Vegetable shortening
- 4 C. Powdered sugar
- 2 tsp. Vanilla
- 1/2 tsp. Salt
- 2 C. Coconut, shredded
- A few drops of red or pink food coloring, vegan(optional)
Instructions
Make the cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a medium sized mixing bowl, sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, mix together the almond milk and apple cider vinegar. Set aside to thicken.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together the vegan butter and sugar. Then add the vanilla and coffee. Continue to beat together until fully combined and light and fluffy.
- Now add the dry mixture and almond milk mixture to the wet butter mixture, alternating between the dry mixture and the almond milk mixture, mixing until everything is fully combined.
- Place cupcake papers in a cupcake pan, and fill the each hole about 2/3-3/4 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely.
Make the Filling and Topping
- Once the cupcakes have cooled, in a large mixing bowl, beat on high the vegan butter and vegetable shortening until light and fluffy. Then add the powdered sugar a little at a time until fully combined and the frosting is thick and fluffy. Add the vanilla and salt and mix to combine.
- In a small bowl add the coconut and a few drops of food coloring to desired color and stir together.
Assemble
- Using a small knife, fork, or I like to use a piping tip, scoop out or push down the cupcake in the center top. Fill with the cream filling, then top with more cream. Smooth out into a circular top, then press the coconut onto the top. Fully cover the top with the coconut. Consume!
Notes
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