So, it's November in Chicago. And it gets dark here – like seriously, pretty darn Dark – right around the time you leave your office. You go to work in the morning and the lake is a nasty greenish white, and you come home from work in the Dark and the sky is spitting little lobs of white on your nice black cap. And there is nothing for it, let's be honest, but to eat lots, and to eat with your friends.
Which is why Becky and I decided to make chocolate cupcakes last weekend. Vegan chocolate cupcakes, actually. Which are possibly better than regular cupcakes, and easy, too (no flaxseed oil! no wheat germ!). They are rich, delicious, and incredibly moist, a word I find difficult to even write without cringing, which should give you an idea of how yummy they are.
The recipe is from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. Its authors have an entertaining blog of their own, which remains entertaining despite not having been updated since October 2007. "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World" was published in October 2006, so we should give them a break, and also go buy their book at your favorite local bookseller.
The recipe is available from the Washington Post. Or you can join us here for this retelling.
Anyway, here are the ingredients:
1 cup soy milk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup canola oil (I used vegetable oil instead, which I think is okay)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract, chocolate extract or more vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
And here's what you do. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (did I mention that this was a great November recipe?) and line a muffin pan with paper or foil liners.
Whisk together the soy milk and vinegar in a large bowl, and set aside for a few minutes to curdle (I don't quite know what curdling looks like. Becky whisked this combo together for a minute or two and the bubbles just sat there. So maybe bubbles = curdling, I don't know. Either way they turned out pretty good).
Add the sugar, oil, vanilla extract, and other extract (if using) to the soy milk mixture and beat until foamy. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. (I'm generally too lazy to sift, but I went ahead and followed these directions, and I think that was a good idea).
In two batches, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and beat until no large lumps remain (a few tiny lumps are OK).
Pour into liners, filling 3/4 of the way. Bake 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.
You can make yummy frosting for them, too.
Just beat together 1/4 cup vegan shortening with 1/4 cup vegan margarine and then add 1 3/4 cups confectioner's sugar, a bit of vanilla, and a smidge of soy milk. If you want to be crazy (and we did) you can crumble up some Newman-Os (or other vegan sandwich cookie) and add them to the mix.
The frosting will end up looking a lot like the side of the road does in January, but don't let that deter you. It's really good!
1 comments:
What they lack in animal exploitation they make up for by being moister than a bucket of Oil of Olay! And even yummier after being in the fridge for a few hours.
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