Decadent Chocolate Cupcakes

(I went crazy with frosting on 1st batch.)

After searching the internet and cookbooks for simple vegan cupcakes for my son's 2nd birthday, I found a winner of a recipe.  The first batch I substituted rice milk for the soy milk.  It was fabulous!  On the second batch, I substituted in Vanilla Coconut Milk.  It was even more amazing!  No need to even frost these if you don't want the added sugar.  However, this basic buttercream frosting is delicious.  Just substitute rice milk or coconut milk for the soy milk to make it soy-free.  Honestly, even if we are able to do dairy in the future, I will make these instead!

Makes 12 cupcakes

Ingredients:
1 cup Vanilla Coconut Milk or rice milk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup granulated sugar or sugar alternative
1/3 cup expeller pressed canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder, Dutch-processed or regular
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350º.  Line muffin pan with paper.  Whisk together coconut milk and vinegar in a small bowl.  Set aside for a few minutes to curdle.  While milk curdles, add sugar, oil, vanilla extract to large bowl.  Add in curdled milk and whisk until slightly foamy.  In a separate bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  Whisk wet and dry ingredients together until no large lumps remain.  Fill liners 3/4 full.  Bake 18-20 minutes until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.  Transfer to cooling rack.  Let cool completely before frosting.

Ratings:
5 out of 5 family members love it!

Food Allergy/Intolerance Information:
We try to avoid sugar in our house.  Over the years, I have noticed all sorts of issues with my children and myself after sugar is consumed.  With the growing number of people avoiding refined sugar, there seem to be more sugar alternatives on the market each year.  Recently, we tried Raw Coconut Crystals from Coconut Secret.  While I'm not a dietary expert, I do know the taste is a hit in my home.

Happy 2nd Birthday, Ethan!