Vegan CupcakesThat Make Even Non-Vegans Swoon

Okay, so there was no definable swooning. And it was my boyfriend trying them, so I guess it was a little biased. But we did love them and they honestly didn't taste like they were made with zero dairy ingredients!

I love chocolate. But I am a chocolate cupcake snob, for me it has to be decadent, or I'd rather have vanilla. These darling cupcakes were rich, decadent and moist. They were ascetically beautiful too, so dark against the white icing, which was nice because I made them just as a treat for my love. And pretty simple! I had all the ingredients in my kitchen. What more can you ask for?

POW! Try these cuppycakes.

So here is my modified recipe of "Basic (Vegan) Cupcakes" À la Chow.com

I chose to add extra vanilla instead of a different flavor, upped the amount of cocoa and grated some dark baking chocolate flakes into the mix. 

"Wet" Ingredients (Bowl #1)

- 1 cup soy milk (I used plain Silk)

- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar* I might try half a teaspoon next time, they had an odd aftertaste I need to trouble shoot

- 3/4 cup granulated sugar

- 1/3 cup oil (I used vegetable oil)

- 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Dry Ingredients

-1 square dark baking chocolate (check that it's vegan)

- 1 cup all-purpose flour

- 1/3 to 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, Dutch-processed or regular

- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda

- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

- 1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Whisk together the soymilk and vinegar in a large bowl.

2. Set it aside for 3 minutes to curdle.

3. In a separate bowl sift all dry ingredients together.

4. Add sugar, oil and extracts and beat until foamy. (It doesn't take much, I used an electric beater)

5. Mix together and beat out large lumps. Small lumps will remain, just make sure all the dry bits are mixed in!

6. Preheat to 350F.
7. Shave the chocolate square and add in  3/4 of the shavings to the mix and stir.

8. Grease muffin tins and fill mix 3/4 up each cup. Sprinkle the remaining shavings on top of some cupcakes. I chose to make half tiny cupcakes and half regular.

9. Bake for 18-20 minutes. Watch them if you are doing small ones! Check by inserting a toothpick or fork all the way into one. If it comes out clean they are ready.

I used their icing too. It was very creamy, but made twice as much as I needed which gives me the excuse to make more cupcakes soon. I would have loved to try the Oreo version (yes Oreos are vegan!) but didn't have any on hand. Half the recipe to avoid this. It also took longer than the recipe's claimed 8 minutes, but maybe that's just me. I hand sifted the icing sugar which made it take longer.

Chow.com's Vegan Fluffy ButterCream Frosting (What a lovely name!)

- 1/2 cup nonhydrogenated shortening

- 1/2 cup nonhydrogenated margarine, I used Becel vegan (so easy to find in stores!)

- 3 1/2 cups powdered icing sugar, sifted if clumpy

- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

- 1/4 cup vegan milk, I used Silk light vanilla  (or vegan creamer)

1. Beat the shortening and margarine together in a large bowl. I used a electric beater. Make sure you beat until well combined and fluffy. Add the sugar and beat for about 3 more minutes.
2. Add the vanilla and soy milk, and beat for another 5 to 7 minutes until fluffy.

Decorating time! This is of course optional, but it is the most fun of the whole process. I put my large cupcakes into red cupcake holders, and used a very silly nozzle in a reused plastic bag to make designs. I sprinkled some with chocolate sprinkles. To make them extra special I put them on my glass cake plate and sprinkled it with icing sugar. A great Valentines-y treat. If you could only guess what made them extra special!