Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting

You’d be hard pressed to find a bad chocolate cupcake. Well, unless of course you’re talking about vegan cupcakes. Even those styrofoam Hostess ones are somewhat palatable, but vegan cupcakes taste like sawdust! 😉

…. just kidding, of course!

I made these for a neighborhood dessert potluck, and was faced with a dilemma – they’re vegan, so I could do my fellow veg*ns a favor and label them accordingly, or I could simply put them out and let the omnivores devour them, completely unaware what they were eating was cruelty-free.

Ultimately, I decided to make a teeny tiny sign that said they were “vegan, but super yummy and omnivore approved” in hopes that some guests would either ignore the sign, or give this rabbit food a try.

Shockingly, even with a dozen other desserts on the table, many brave souls ate vegan cupcakes, and, dare I say it, enjoyed it!

These are really fantastic – moist, chocolatey, and a little bit fudgey. Everything you want in a chocolate cupcake, plus the bonus of a clear conscience!

I’ve made these for everything from birthdays to Easter to Christmas, and they’ve been a hit each and every time. If you’re looking for a chocolate cupcake that both vegans and omnivores will be raving over you absolutely can’t go wrong with these! 💖 💖 💖

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Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting

Ingredients

Cupcakes

• 1 cup plain coconut milk beverage
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp fine sea salt

Frosting

• 1/4 cup vegan margarine
• 1/4 cup shortening Spectrum Naturals
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 3 Tbsp coconut milk beverage
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

Cupcakes

1. Preheat oven to 350F and place paper liners in a cupcake tin.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together milk and vinegar, then set aside to curdle. Add sugar, oil, and extracts, and beat until foamy. In a separate bowl, sift together the remaining ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in two batches, and beat until no large lumps remain.
3. Fill liners 3/4 full. Bake 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick tests clean. Cool completely on a wire rack before icing.

Frosting

1. Whip together all ingredients. Cover with a damp cloth while decorating to prevent crusting.
2. Yields 12 Cupcakes

Recipe Notes

Adapted from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World

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