“Mom, I have an idea” Alice says with a daydreamer’s stare out the window.
Alice has many ideas so I hear this proclamation pretty often. “Ok, babe. I’m just about to experiment with our favourite chocolate cupcake recipe. I’m going to try to make them even better! Do you want to come help me and you can tell me your idea?” I respond, with a slight eagerness to change the subject and avoid the usual Alice-has-an-idea-mischief.
“Nope. I need a box and some paint.” she says very matter-of-factly.
So, Alice started to work on her idea and I began mine with the crunch of a can opener opening a can of coconut milk.
It is amazing what deliciousness you can create from a can of good-quality coconut milk. Add some flour, cocoa and sugar and you have the makings of the greatest chocolate cupcake recipe.
I may not be vegan myself but this Vegan Chocolate Cupcake recipe is a powerhouse in the dessert category. Hold on to your bicuspids, Carnivores, given the option between one of these cupcakes and some bacon, I’m pretty confident that I’d choose the cupcake. There I said it. Bacon can’t win all of the battles. I’m just as surprised as you are.
A few weeks ago Wholesome Sweeteners sent a generous parcel of sweet goods to Hot Pink HQ. The assortment of organic sugars, sweeteners and flavoured agave has had me re-visiting my favourite recipes as well as creating brand new concoctions to crave. Listen — my punk rock roots don’t allow me to shell a brand name simply because they sent me some free stuff, that’s just not the way I roll. If you see me directly mentioning a brand name on Hot Pink Apron, it’s because I genuinely dig it and want to share the positive effects.
Now, that I’ve gotten that off my chest, let’s make some magic with those sugars…
- 1 can of good quality coconut milk (DO NOT SHAKE before opening), divided for frosting
- 3/4 cup Wholesome Sweeteners organic sugar
- 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup organic, fair-trade cocoa powder
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- the coconut solids, approximately 1/2 cup
- 1 Tbsp cocoa
- 1 Tbsp Wholesome Sweeteners organic blue agave syrup
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners and set aside.
- Scoop out two large spoonfuls -- about 1/2 cup -- of the coconut solids from the top of the can and set in the fridge to keep cool. Pour the remaining coconut solids and liquid "milk" into a large mixing bowl -- there should be about 1 cup worth. In the same mixing bowl, whisk together the coconut milk, sugar, melted coconut oil, vinegar, and vanilla.
- In another bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt until combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet, mixing until just combined. Scoop the batter into each of the prepared tin cups.
- Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake emerges clean. Let cool completely on a wire cooling rack before frosting.
- DO NOT WHISK the ingredients together. Gently fold the cocoa powder and agave into the coconut milk fat solids -- it will become a gelatinous mess if handle too much. Scoop onto each cooled cake. Sprinkle on some coconut flakes and/or sprinkles. Enjoy! xo
This recipe is really easy to prepare, just remember to fold the frosting together with a spatula instead of whisking with a beater. The coconut fat can’t handle whipping like a butter would. The below pics include the exact same ingredients, the only difference being technique. If your frosting does get a little droopy, place it in the fridge for another 20 minutes or so to cool and solidify.
As I frosted each cupcake and began sprinkling some coconut flakes and rough cut sugars for texture on top, I still had no idea what Alice was creating over at the table. She had been contently painting her requested box the entire time I was baking our cupcakes and who was I to interrupt a (quiet!) artist’s concentration.
“Look Mom!” Alice yells from the living room, “Now I can fly anywhere I want go!”
She had made herself a magical flying machine. Amazing. When it comes to making the very best Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes I’m all for adapting with new ingredients and ratios, but my Alice — this imaginative, creative, incredible little being — well, I hope she never changes.
My beautiful daydreamer deserved a treat.
— xxxxx —
What I’m Drinking:
Coffee. As usual. I don’t know if it’s the never ending winter or that I have a severe addiction to caffeine but I just can’t seem to sip enough bold, dark coffee these days. If the day ever comes that I have my very own toy figurine, I vow that it will come with an itty bitty coffee cup attachment to clip onto those little plastic fingers.
What I’m Listening to:
Hooked on this elegant Rachel Fannan cover of one of my all-time favourite Roy Orbison songs. It’s a good day to be a food + music fan, don’tchya think?
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