National Cupcake Day: Time to Celebrate

I didn't know it was National Cupcake Day until one of my Twitter friends -- Kristen -- told me. Well, this calls for a vegan cupcake celebration of intense chocolate proportions!

Simply put, these cupcakes are incredible.

I made them as a reward for running 17 miles on a special Sunday earlier this fall. The best part is that they taste 99.9% like my absolute favorite vegan cupcakes from Greenstar in Ithaca, NY (a coop I wrote about in this post). I topped my cupcakes with some pretty pink frosting and sanding sugar (though, I'm thinking the sanding sugar is likely not vegan -- so you may choose to omit this part).

Be careful, though. You kitchen may get pretty messy!


What you'll need . . .

• 6 tablespoons applesauce
• 2-1/4 cups soy milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 1-1/2 cups wheat pastry flour
• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup cocoa powder
• 2 cups unbleached cane sugar (I used Sugar in the Raw)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking soda

Method . . .

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Insert cupcake liners into a medium cupcake pan.
2. Whisk together the applesauce, soy milk, vanilla, and vinegar in a large bowl.
3. In another bowl, mix together the dry ingredients.
4. Cup by cup add the dry ingredients to the liquid ones. Beat well.
5. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full. Bake for approximately 20 minutes, or until the top of the cupcake is rather firm and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
6. Cool and then frost.

VEGAN WHITE (or pink) FROSTING

What you'll need . . .

• 3 cups vegan confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 cup non-dairy butter (I used Earth Balance) -- softened to room temperature
• 2 tablespoons soy milk (plus more to reach desired consistency)
• 1 tiny drop food coloring of your choice

Method . . .

1. Gradually add the sugar to the butter and cream together with an electric mixer.
2. Add the milk and continue beating . . . keep adding milk by teaspoonfuls until you reach a desirable spreading consistency. (I added approximately 3 teaspoons)
3. Drop in a tiny drop of food coloring to lightly color -- or a big one to vibrantly color.
4. Spread onto cooled cupcakes and then refrigerate.

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