Preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C with the oven rack in the middle of the oven. Line a 12 cup muffin tray with paper liners. Set aside.
Make the vegan buttermilk. In a small mixing bowl or measuring cup, combine the room temperature soy milk (or other milk) with the apple cider vinegar. Stir and let rest for 5 minutes to curdle.
Mix the wet ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the canola oil, white sugar, and vanilla. Add the vegan “buttermilk” and whisk until fully incorporated.
Add the dry ingredients. Sift the flour into the bowl with the wet ingredients and add the baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Using a whisk, gently mix the cupcakes together. Be careful not to over mix the batter. You want this to just come together.
Fill the cupcakes. Carefully fill each lined cupcake about ¾ of the way full. For me, this is about 3 tablespoons worth of batter. You should get 12 cupcakes.
Bake and cool. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cupcake pulls out clean. They should be a nice golden color when done. Let them cool in the hot tray outside of the oven on cooling racks for 10 minutes. Then, pull the cupcakes out of the trays to finish cooling on the cooling racks. Let them cool completely before frosting.
Frost and serve! When the cupcakes are done cooling, it’s time to make the frosting! Make any kind of frosting you like. Use a spoon, knife, or piping bag and tip to frost the cupcakes. Sprinkle if desired and serve! Enjoy!
