Preheat the oven to 350F and fill a muffin tin with 6 cupcake liners. Start by adding the plant-based milk and apple cider vinegar to a large mixing bowl and let sit for 5-10 minutes until the milk begins to separate and curdle. Then, add in the rest of the wet ingredients including the  sugar, oil, and vanilla. Gently whisk everything together.

Next, use a flour sifter to add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl including the pastry flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder, and salt. Gently whisk until a smooth cupcake batter forms.

Next, add in the red food coloring until the cupcake batter is bright red in color. It will dull down in color while baking, so make the batter more red than you want the cupcakes to be.

Add the cupcake batter to the cupcake liners until each is about ¾ full. Then, add to the oven and bake for 22-24 minutes until the cupcakes are fluffy and cooked through.

Remove the cupcakes and let cool before frosting.

While the red velvet cupcakes are cooling, make the vegan cream cheese frosting. First, add the cold vegan butter to a mixing bowl and use an electric mixer to whip until creamed and no chunks remain. Then, add in the cream cheese and vanilla and whip together until smooth. As a final step, turn down the speed and gradually whip in the powdered sugar ⅓ cup at a time.

The cream cheese frosting will be very soft at this point. Add the frosting to a piping bag and then place in the fridge for 5-10 minutes until firm. Then, remove and frost the cooled red velvet cupcakes. Top with sprinkles and serve!