Vegan Dark Chocolate Cupcakes With Frosting

danakscully64's Note:

This recipe is fantastic and the cupcakes turn out very moist because of the applesauce. My entire family raved about them! You don't have to be a vegan to enjoy these, these are also ideal for those with egg or dairy allergies. Make sure you're using trans fat free margarine like Nucoa or Earth Balance (both vegan). This recipe can easily be cut in half as well. (Update: I changed the frosting recipe due to inconsistent results. The new one is much better, in my opinion. Recipe from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World).

• Total Time: 30 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 30

Yield: 30.0 cupcakes

Cake

• 2 cups boiling water
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup margarine, softened
• 2 1/4 cups white sugar
• 3/4 cup applesauce
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Frosting

• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1/2 cup margarine
• 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup soymilk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line muffin tin(s) with paper liners.
2. In medium bowl, pour boiling water over cocoa, and whisk until smooth. Let mixture cool. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; set aside.
3. In a large bowl, cream margarine and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the applesauce, then stir in vanilla. Add the flour mixture alternately with the cocoa mixture. Pour mixture into prepared muffin cups, filling each 2/3 full. (If making a cake instead of cupcakes, use 3- 9 inch pans, coated with non-stick spray.).
4. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes (or 25-30 mins for a cake). Allow to cool.
5. Beat the shortening and margarine together until well combined and fluffy. Add the sugar and beat for about 3 more minutes. Add the vanilla and soy milk, and beat for another 5 to 7 minutes until fluffy. Adjust with more soy milk or confectioners' sugar if necessary. Frost cupcakes once they are completely cooled.

Reviews

[Chef #1449637]

These are divine! Truly, nobody can guess they're "vegan" cupcakes -- in fact, as someone else has said, they're BETTER than "regular" cupcakes. They make plenty so you'll have some for the kids' school event or whatever, plus some for home too. Mini-cupcakes take about 11 or 12 min. in our oven. I've made with both unsweetened and sweetened cocoa powder; both are very good, but you can guess that the sweetened are really ultra-sweet for folks like kids and hubbies whose mouths are filled with only "sweet tooths." (Sorry, I have a 2 year old.)<br/><br/>Instead of vegan margarine, I've used (both times) 1/2 cup (or one full tub) of coconut spread (a margarine substitute, found near the butter) and 1/2 cup of shortening. <br/><br/>Just one more PRO for this yummy recipe! There are no eggs, so you can lick the bowls and beaters clean! The white part is tropical in flavor, using the coconut spread, and sweeter than the dickens with all that sugar. The chocolate part is much tastier when using sweetened cocoa.<br/><br/>Yeah, I haven't made the icing yet, just use store-bought. (In our house we're needing to avoid both dairy and soy b/c of new allergies.)<br/><br/>Try this one, everybody, and enjoy! It's worth all the bowls. I'm keeping this one to use again and again.

[bethatc1979]

Delicious cupcakes and sooo moist, would never know they are vegan. I made for vegan sis in law but i LOVED them too, actually one of the best and moistest cupcake i think ive had. i didnt do the icing tho

[Red_Dragon]

I originally made these for a vegan friend of mine (just the cupcakes - I haven't tried the icing yet), happy to find a vegan recipe that did not require hard to get ingredients. I was amazed at how well they turned out. They were very easy to put together, and they turned out incredibly well textured and moist. She proclaimed they were even better than the ones at our local organic grocer's bakery counter, and my non-vegan friends who tried them loved them as well. I admit I had expected them to be inferior to "traditional" cupcakes - how wrong I was! These have definitely become a mainstay in my cookbook.