Vegan Chocolate Chip Cupcakes! Shhhh.... No One Will Know!

This weekend I was seriously craving some cupcakes.  There is nothing more domestic to me than making cupcakes for the entire family.  It fills the house with a warmth that cannot be matched.  Ahhhhh, cupcakes.  Can you tell that I am a fan?  Not only do I enjoy the taste of cupcakes; I love that they are portion controlled.  You can eat one without feeling too terribly guilty and you don't have to ask for a tiny slice.  Now that being said I made this batch of chocolate chip cupcakes with chocolate icing and it made about 48 cupcakes.  In a house of 4 people this is entirely too much.  I kept about 15 cupcakes and wrapped the rest up to pass out to family and friends.  I failed to tell anyone in the house that these were made with tofu.  After returning home I found one lonely cupcake remained. So much for sharing. 

I came up with this recipe by drastically modifying a cupcake recipe from the cookbook Modern Baker.  You can tweek this to your tastes.  Remember to have fun cooking; a happy cook makes for good food.

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cupcake Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 3/4 cups All Purpose Flour
• 2  1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• 1 1/2 cups of sugar
• 1 package of tofu
• 6 Tablespoons of milled golden flaxseed (replaces egg)
• 2 1/4 cups of vanilla soymilk
• 2 tablespoons of vegatable oil
• Juice of one lemon
• 3/4-1 cup of vegan chocolate chips

Preparation Instructions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Grease your cupcake pan or use liners. 

I use a stand mixer but I am sure that a hand mixer would be just fine.  Drain the water off of your tofu and dump into the mixer.  Beat it for a minute or so until it is creamy and then start adding your other ingredients.  Do not add the chocolate chips until you are done mixing. Your cupcake batter will be a little thicker than normal but will taste the same as traditional batter.  Stir in your chocolate chips.  Fill your cupcake liners 2/3 of the way full.  Bake for 20 minutes and let cool completely before icing.

I found the recipe for the frosting by Melissa Ray Davis on this blog!!

http://hubpages.com/hub/Vegan-Chocolate-Frosting-Recipe

Vegan Chocolate Frosting Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup vegan margarine
• 2 cups vegan powdered sugar*
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons vegan soymilk
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder (or more)
• a dash of salt

 Preparation Instructions:

1. Soften the vegan margarine.

2. Using an electric mixer, cream the sugar into the softened margarine. Then add the vanilla extract, soymilk, cocoa powder, and salt. Mix well. If it is too thick, add a very small amount of soymilk, and if it is too thin, add more powdered sugar. Continue to mix until the frosting is light and fluffy.

3. Frost your cupcakes.
4. Refrigerate for at least an hour to let the frosting set. Enjoy!
5. To store, seal the cupcakes in an airtight container and keep refrigerated.