Tuesday, May 1, 2007

May Day Cupcakes

I have been craving something chocolaty and sweet lately. Actually, this is not at all unusual for me. The problem is, this craving is never good for my waist line, especially as it's already May and bathing suit season is just around the corner!
Well, thank goodness for this recipe I came across, called Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes. Now I'm not at all a vegan but when I read the ingredients for these babies, I thought it had everything I was looking for in a cupcake, and hey, if it satisfies my craving AND is on the healthier side, then more power to it! I gave it a go and wouldn't you know it? They were luscious, light, chocolaty, and didn't even taste "healthy". I substituted Sucanat sugar in place of the regular granulated sugar and mixed in some crushed Nilla wafers to give it some additional texture and crunch. Bye, bye chocolate craving (at least for today).
Vegan Chocolate Cupcake (adapted from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World by Isa Chandra Moskowitz):
Ingredients
1 cup soy milk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup Sucanat (or can use granulated sugar)
1/3 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder, Dutch-processed or regular
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
10 crushed Nilla wafer cookies (optional)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F 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. Add the sugar, oil, vanilla extract, and almond extract 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. Add in two batches to wet ingredients and beat until no large lumps remain (a few tiny lumps are OK). Stir in the Nilla cookie crumbs if using.
Pour into liners, filling three-quarters of the way. I used mini cupcake liners which took about 10 minutes to bake. For regular size cupcakes, approximate baking time is 15 minutes. Baking time may vary however so bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.


2 comments:

Julie said...

Hi,
What a clever idea to add crushed Nilla wafers. That would definitely add a little substance to a cupcake (I'm a fan of heavy, dense chocolately things). I've never heard of Sucanet sugar...what is it?

Thanks for visiting my blog, as well!

Henny A. said...

hi Julie,

i'm new to Sucanat as well but heard it may be somewhat better for you than regular white granulated sugar. Anyways, it's a sugar that hasn't had it's molasses removed (which occurs in white sugar). Some say it is sugar in a "more natural form". I saw a bag at Whole Foods and thought I'd try it out in recipes. There's no strange aftertaste or anything, at least in these cupcakes. Thanks for the question and for taking a look at my site.
Augustina