Happy Birthday Mr. Wonderful!

I was really worried when I elected to go on the Sip 5-Day detox the same week as my hubby’s birthday, for one major reason:  cupcakes.  I can’t resist a cupcake of just about any flavor.  Any flavor that is, except Red Velvet which I happen to loathe.  So while most times I’d be upset that he made this request of me, today I couldn’t be happier.  Seriously.  I made these gleefully.  Complete with vegan cream cheese frosting.  Enjoy!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

For the Cupcakes:

• 1 cup vegan milk
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup vegan granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup canola or vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons vegan red food coloring* or two small bottles of red food coloring
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 teaspoon chocolate extract, optional (this can be hard to find, so omit it if you cannot locate it in your local store)

For the Frosting:

• 1/4 cup vegan butter, softened
• 1/4 cup vegan cream cheese, softened
• 2 cups vegan powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• soy milk to get correct consistency

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line muffin pans with liners.

Whisk together the vegan milk and vinegar and set aside to curdle. I had Westsoy Light Soy Milk on hand.

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl.  Add the oil, food coloring, chocolate extract, vanilla extract and almond extract to the curdled soy milk. Combine wet ingredients with dry ingredients in mixer with paddle attachment. Do not over mix, or your cupcakes will turn out gummy – small lumps are okay.

Fill cupcake liners about three-quarters full as these cupcakes will rise fairly high. And make sure you use the right size of cupcake liners – mine were too small for my pan, but I used them anyway!

Place in hot oven and bake 18-20 minutes until done, or until toothpick inserted in the center of one of the cupcakes comes out clean.

Cool cupcakes in the pan for five minutes, and then transfer to a cooling rack or surface to cool completely.  Using a mixer, cream together the vegan butter and vegan cream cheese until just combined.  Whip in the powdered sugar in 1/2 cup batches. Scrape down the sides and mix until smooth and creamy. Mix in the vanilla then use the soy milk to get the consistency you prefer.  I like to pipe icing into the cupcakes so I prefer a thicker icing.

No animals were harmed in the making of these cupcakes.

Recipe adapted from:  http://www.noveleats.com/