David Lebovitz stated he has “a blanket mistrust of any recipe with a superlative in the title.” In other words, anything coined “The Ultimate” or “The Finest” should be met with skepticism. Now, I take superlatives seriously, too. Often it is the recipes with “Best,” “Ultimate,” and “Greatest” in their titles that I dismiss instantly. But these cupcakes…. they could turn the carnivores in my family vegan.
My friend, Jen, baked about 3 dozen of these gems for her husband’s birthday. She and her husband are both personal trainers and when she walked into the gym with these, everyone put in a few more reps or stepped up the incline on the treadmill. The flavor is intensely chocolate. The texture is moist and ethereal.
Do I think they are the “Ultimate”? Yes. But, in the name of research, I’ll keep tasting and baking more chocolate cupcakes just to make sure.
Jen’s Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup canola oil (Jen uses an organic brand, but I don’t think it matters)
1 cup soy milk (Jen says full-fat, please)
1/3 cup dutch process cocoa (Jen uses the Whole Foods brand and says to use the best quality you can find)
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Mix the apple cider vinegar and soy milk. Let stand for 5 minutes.
- In the meantime, line an 8-inch round pan with parchment paper or a cupcake pan with holders. Spray well with cooking spray.
- Combine dry ingredients. Mix in oil and vinegar-milk mixture. If the mixture appears too thick, add additional soy milk. The batter will be runny.
- If making cupcakes, fill almost to the top. Jen says they do not expand much. Bake cupcakes for 14-18 minutes. Check after 14 minutes.
- For a round cake, bake 20-25 minutes, until tester comes out clean.
Chocolate Frosting
Ingredients
- 1 stick margarine
1/2 cup dutch process cocoa
2 cups powdered sugar
2-3 tbsp soy milk
2 tbsp vegetable shortening
Directions
- In a mixing bowl, combina all the ingredients except soy milk (either by hand or with an electric mixer). Once blended, slowly stream in soy milk until desired frosting consistency is reached.
wow thanks for this – i am a cupcake nut and these look delicious. wondering if it’s possible to do the icing without the margarine and shortening (transfats!)? wonder if it would work with whole wheat flour also…hmm. must try.
I had the same reaction to the frosting ingredients – I think you could omit it. Without margarine or shortening, the frosting will be more runny but the taste shouldn’t differ much. I’ve come across vegan frostings using silken tofu as a binder – have you tried that?
I found some trans-fat free vegan frostings. Let me know if you try any!
Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting – mix the following:
1 container tofu cream cheese (or non-dairy cream cheese)
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract (or other flavor extract of your choice)
1 tsp lemon juice
Vegan Chocolate Frosting – puree the following:
2 Cups Organic Chocolate Chips (melted over very low heat)
1 Block (12.3 oz) of Firm Silken Tofu
2 tbsp maple syrup
1½ tsp Vanilla
ooh thanks for the links. my experience with firm tofu is that it can create a sort of chewy texture. (not sure what firm silken is). just tasted an amazing silken tofu chocolate pie, so i am sure that will make a lovely frosting. tofu cream cheese is also creamy. i also just found a recipe for homemade margarine, may try one of these days.
just tried these and posted. too tempted to eat another!