A couple of friends of mine are vegan so I decided to try out a vegan chocolate cupcake recipe with a bit of a twist. Peanut butter and chocolate is one of my favourite combos!

Peanut butter and chocolate.

The cupcakes are turned out alright, the true test will be tomorrow when I take them to the cohort. While I like how fluffy and moist they are (of course I had a tester) they are a little bland and not as rich as I would like. The peanut butter ball in the centre competes with the flavours in the cake (which is weird because it is supposed to be chocolatey but the almond extract that they recommend is the culprit here) but is a nice surprize on its own.

Batter with coconut oil chunks and the batter ready for the oven.

Nice crispy tops with peanut butter balls.

I topped three cupcakes with a “buttercream” made from the leftover peanut butter filling, some vegan butter, shortening, extra icing sugar, and some almond milk. I HATE the flavour of vegan butter (Earth Balance) so I just made a small amount of icing with that and went with my favourite buttercream for the rest.

I clearly need to hone my icing skills.

I used Coconut Oil which I love but it seized when I poured it into the batter and I had a bit of a battle incorporating it. If you aren’t prepared to do a heat bath to melt the oil in the batter (ugh not my brightest moment), then best to stick with canola or olive oil.

Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes

Adapted from Oh She Glows

Yield: 24 cupcakes

• 2 cups non-dairy milk (I used Dark Chocolate Almond milk)
• 2 cups sugar (I used white sugar but might do brown next time to make it more rich)
• 2/3 cup coconut oil (or other oil)
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 tsp pure almond extract (optional, I would opt out if you are going to pair the chocolate in the cupcake with another flavour of icing or filling)
• 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup cocoa powder, sifted
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt

Peanut Butter Ball Filling

• 3/4 cup sifted powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• pinch salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F and line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners. Beat together the following ingredients in a large bowl: non-dairy milk, oil, sugar, apple cider vinegar, vanilla, almond extract. Beat on medium speed for a minute or two.

2. Now sift in the dry ingredients: flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix well, until the clumps are gone. If you are a dolt like me, place the bowl in a larger bowl that has some warm water in the bottom. This will help to melt the clumps of Coconut Oil, stir until incorporated.

3. In a small bowl combine the peanut butter, powdered sugar, and salt. I normally use a spoon to start and then knead it together with my hands until it is shiny and well combined.

4. Spoon the batter into prepared cupcake pan, about two thirds full for each. Roll a teaspoon of the peanut butter mixture into a ball, press one ball lightly into the centre of each cup.

5. Bake for about 22 minutes at 350F, or until the cupcake slowly springs back when pressed with a finger. Allow to completely cool before frosting.