Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes with "Cream Cheese" Frosting

So here's the deal. I'd already gone to the store specifically to buy apple cider vinegar, tofu "cream cheese", and soy milk for the vegan cupcakes. I'd then made the cupcakes, and they were merrily baking away while I started mixing the frosting. Then, to my chagrin, I realized I'd used up almost all of the powdered sugar on the lemon bars from the day before. I contemplated going back the store, but I was already in pj pants, and since I can't go to the store without running into nine thousand people from church, I would've had to get dressed again, and well, I decided to experiment.

My handy dandy American's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook told me that I could substitute one cup granulated sugar + one teaspoon cornstarch + a little spin in the blender for one cup of powdered sugar. The cookbook politely said, "Works well for dusting over cakes, less so in frostings and glazes." But did I listen to the cookbook? Nooo....I thought it would totally work to grind up my sugar and cornstarch and then make vegan sour cream frosting with it. Oh well, at least the cupcakes looked good in my cutesy new cupcake caddy.

And the cupcakes themselves weren't that bad, once you got over the crunchiness of the frosting. They were moist, in an almost gummy way, like the other vegan cupcakes I made. I prefer a finer crumb, but they were still had a nice chocolatey flavor. I got mixed reviews about them at work, but the people that didn't like them were merely indifferent, and the people that liked them really, really loved them. So I think all in all, I'd give them one thumbs up.

Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes with "Cream Cheese" Frosting

from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World

Cupcakes

1 cup soy milk

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

3/4 cup granulated sugar, preferably raw

1/3 cup canola oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp almond extract, or more vanilla

1 cup all purpose flour

1/3 cup cocoa powder

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

Frosting

1/4 cup vegan margarine, softened

1/4 cup vegan cream cheese, softened

2 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. For the cupcakes whisk together the soy milk and vinegar and let it curdle for a few minutes. Add the sugar, oil, and extracts, 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 till no large lumps remain. Pour batter into a lined muffin tin, until cups are about 3/4 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into one comes out clean. Cool for a few minutes, then remove the cupcakes to a wire rack and cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting, cream together the margarine and cream cheese until just combined. Beat in the powdered sugar until frosting is smooth and creamy, then mix in the vanilla. Keep the frosting refrigerated if you're not going to frost the cupcakes right away.

This will make one dozen frosted cupcakes, plus an extra few tablespoons of frosting...which you can probably snack on if you actually use powdered sugar, and don't have gritty frosting!