A Double Dose of Chocolate

(above) Vegan Chocolate Mini-Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting

"I'll probably never meet another girl who will be able to [bake] a cupcake and read a textbook at the same time, all while running a 5K. Don't lie, you know you can do that with one hand tied behind your back" - this wonderful little quote was left in my yearbook by my friend, Tara. In order to celebrate the last day of junior year, I made cupcakes with the best frosting ever. This frosting is awesome. Unlike its traditional butter cream counterparts, it isn't overly sweet, so you can pipe copious amounts of the stuff on cupcakes. Its creamy with a good dose of chocolate infused in it (this is probably due to the fact that actual melted chocolate is also beaten in!). The recipe is from Our Best Bites. And guess what? There is a vanilla version of this frosting too, which I will definitely try soon.

(above) I baked up a half recipe (enough to make 12 standard size cupcakes) of Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes. I made 6 standard size cupcakes and around 36 mini ones (cute!).


(above) So first things first, you're going to want to melt some chocolate. 30 minutes on High in the microwave should do the trick.

(above) Ok, so I didn't have any milk. I mixed water with coffee creamer until it looked (and tasted!) kind of like milk.

(above) In the pot: Sugar, flour, cocoa powder.

(above) Milk, or in my case diluted coffee creamer is mixed in with the other ingredients and cooks until it is thickened. There weren't any visible lumps so I didn't bother straining the mixture. Let the mixture chill in the fridge.

(above) Beat the butter until creamy

(above) ...add in the chilled chocolate mixture.

(above) ...and add in the cooled melted chocolate.
(above) After all of that, you are left with a creamy, luscious chocolate frosting ready to be piped. Yum.

(above) I had a difficult time deciding which sprinkles to use. I can be quite indecisive.

(above) I settled with these colorful flower sprinkles.

(above) A frosted mini cupcake!

Chocolate Frosting

Recipe adapted by Our Best Bites from Sugar Plum

Makes enough to frost 24 cupcakes

Ingredients:

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup milk

1 cup real butter, softened

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted
Optional: Additional cocoa powder as needed

Directions:

1. Melt your chocolate chips if you haven't already and set aside to cool. You obviously don't want it so cool that it hardens, but you can get it close to room temperature and still have it be soft and stir-able.
2. In a small saucepan, whisk together sugar, flour, cocoa, and milk; bring to a boil, whisking frequently. Boil 1-3 minutes or until thickened like a thinned pudding. Remove pan from heat and strain mixture into a small bowl. Cool completely in the refrigerator or freezer.
3. When chocolate flour mixture is cooled, beat the butter until creamy, about 1 minute. Beat in the cooled chocolate mixture until well combined fluffy, about 1 minute. Finally add in melted chocolate and beat again until well combined and fluffy, about 2 minutes. If desired, add additional cocoa powder to taste, up to 4 tablespoons more.
4. Spread or pipe frosting on to cupcakes or cake.