After seeing several facebook posts in my newsfeed about the delicious holiday treats many of my friends were baking, I felt inspired to do some holiday baking of my own. I get bored easily in the kitchen so I enjoy experimenting. Sometimes the experiments are a total flop like the vegan pumpkin fudge I tried making this afternoon. While the taste was yummy, it was a sticky gooey mess. Though it might make a fun edible finger paint for the kidlets?
While the fudge was a flop, the Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Peppermint Frosting turned out kind of amazing! In fact even my hubby who doesn’t particularly like sweets (how is that possible?!?) enjoyed them. I decorated them with crushed candy canes and mini vegan chocolate chips. Honestly though you could forgo this step and they would still be delicious…I was just feeling extra festive! 🙂 Also for fun I juiced a few cherries and added the juice to my frosting (trying to avoid chemical dyes). This resulted in a light pink color, but pure white frosting is just as pretty!
A quick note on vegan baking: I used to struggle with getting vegan baked goods to have a nice, fluffy texture. However after several failed attempts, I found baking soda and apple cider vinegar to be the most successful egg substitute.
Cupcake Ingredients:
- 2 cups of flour
- 3/4 cup of sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1.5 cups of coconut milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup liquid coconut oil
Cupcake Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Set aside.
3. Whisk together vinegar, milk, vanilla, and coconut oil.
4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Stir together until well blended.
5. Pour batter into cupcake tins and bake for approximately 20 minutes.
Frosting Ingredients:
- 2 cups of powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons of soft coconut oil (not too warm and not liquid)
- 2 – 3 tablespoons coconut milk
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon peppermint extract
Frosting Directions:
1. Mix all ingredients together with an electric mixer until desired texture. Start with 2 tablespoons of milk and add more as needed. It usually takes a few minutes of mixing to get a nice, creamy frosting.
Be sure to wait for cupcakes to completely cool before frosting!
ENJOY!
What is your favorite holiday treat to make? Any fun traditions to share? 🙂
– Sarah
Tags: baking soda and apple cider vinegar, candy canes, chocolate chips, chocolate cupcakes, coconut milk, coconut oil, delicious holiday, edible finger paint, egg subsitute, teaspoon vanilla, vanilla peppermint frosting, vegan chocolate, vegan cupcakes
