Monday, October 10, 2011

Chocolate Vegan Cupcakes with Fluffy Vegan "Buttercream" Frosting and Engeye Health Clinic



I bet you're thinking, "there's no way THAT is a vegan cupcake!!!"  But I asure you that it is most definitely a vegan cupcake.  So, now you may be asking yourself this question: how good are vegan cupcakes and vegan frosting really?  I will tell you that the reality is they are actually quite good...at least these recipes are!

I was inspired to make a vegan dessert because my future brother-in-law is a vegan (my other future brother-in-law is a gluten-free vegan, but he is currently living in Uganda with his wife doing work at a rural health clinic, so I'll worry about a dessert for him at a later time).

Anyway, this recipe is printed in Martha Stewart's Cupcakes, but the actual recipe is courtesy of Divvies Bakery.  These cupcakes are very easy to make and without further adieu, the recipe follows.  Enjoy!

Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes
The cupcake ingredients (you probably have all of this in your pantry right now).

First, sift together your dry ingredients.

Then blend your wet ingredients together.

Finally, combine the dry and wet ingredients and bake.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups cake flour, sifted
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 cup and 1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp distilled white vinegar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup water

Directions
1.  Preheat the oven to 350 F and line a standard muffin tin with paper liners.
2.  Sift together cake flour, granulated sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.
3.  Mix together the oil, vinegar, vanilla, and water with an electric mixer until well combined.
4.  Add the flour mixture to the oil mixture and mix until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl.  Note, the batter will be very thin and watery.
5.  Divide the batter evenly between the lined cups in the muffin tin (they should be filled 3/4 full).
6.  Bake for 20-25 minutes, rotating half-way through the bake time.  A toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center of the cupcake should come out clean.
7.  Cool the cupcakes completely on a wire rack.
8.  Frost with vegan "buttercream" or dust with powdered sugar.

Fluffy Vegan Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
1/2 cup non-hydrogenated shortening (earth balance is a good brand--I used the non-hydrogenated Crisco, because that is what I had in the kitchen).
1/2 cup non-hydrogenated margarine (earth balance is a good brand)
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup almond milk (alternatively, you could use coconut milk, chocolate almond milk, hemp milk, etc)


Directions
1.  Beat the shortening and margarine together until light and fluffy.  
2.  Then add the powdered sugar and mix together for 3 minutes.  Note, you may need to add more powered sugar to make the frosting to the consistency that will work for you in order to frost or pipe the cupcakes.  If you add too much powdered sugar, just thin it out with some extra almond milk.
3.  Finally, add the vanilla and almond milk and mix for another 5-7 minutes until light and fluffy.  
4.  Decorate as usual and enjoy.  


A note about Engeye Health Clinic.  As I mentioned earlier, my future brother and sister-in-law both are living in Uganda for the next 1.5 years working for Engeye (pronounced Engay) helping to bring more modern, yet basic health care to Ugandans.  From their website, they are a "non-profit that works to improve the lives of Ugandans through its affordable health clinic."  Additionally, they "operate a scholarship program to empower the next generation of Ugandans."  Consider making a one-time donation, or better yet, a monthly donation, to this wonderful non-profit, and to help support the clinic and the work that my future sibling in-laws are doing.  Tell you what, make a donation, and I'll make you some of your very own vegan cupcakes (or something else if you're not brave enough to try these babies).


6 comments:

  1. This seems like the perfect recipe for me :) Thanks for posting. And I LOVE the picture of all the cupcakes with the different frosting patterns.

    ReplyDelete
  2. @Heidi, thanks! They were quite easy to make and tasted quite good.

    @Struggling patchworker: the recipe was really easy; and if you don't want to frost them, you can just dust them in powdered sugar or cocoa powder and they'll be equally delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hey Taylor! I just got on FB and saw a link to this. How cool and thanks for the help fund raising. We miss and love you guys. We got a rooster from a patient and so we had to get him a wife. they are happy in the new chicken coop we built together and roaming the yard eating all the bugs! Chickens are cool pets. We haven't named em yet. will send pics in the next update!

    ReplyDelete
  4. How Yummy these were.. Wonder if I can still order up a batch. ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  5. These look awesome, Taylor! So pretty... We'll have to try some when we come back to visit. Happy wedding planning!!

    ReplyDelete