I made these cupcakes for my final assessment in the Essential Vegan Desserts Course by Fran Costigan through Rouxbe. They were so delightful. they are small perfect bite size of goodness. The best part, the frosting is made without unhealthy shortenings.
For this recipe, if you have never worked with agar before, don’t be worried about it. Agar is made from algae and is often used by vegan chef instead of gelatine (which comes from animal bones). Agar is way easier to work with and doesn’t smell bad compared to gelatine.
If you like this recipe, and want to make more like this one, I highly recommend getting her book Vegan Chocolate!
Mini-Chocolate Cupcakes To Live For (Vegan)
These mini-cupcakes are a great way to give your guests a small bit of sweetness without over-indulging. The frosting is made without unhealthy shortening and is simply devine. Inspired by Fran Costigan's Chocolate Torte To Live For and Creamy Chocolate Cupcake Frosting. Recipe adapted and shared with permission by the author, Fran Costigan. The presentation was inspired by Chloe Coscarelli's Yoga cupcakes.
Servings: 36
Equipment
- mini-cupcake pan
- Food Processor
- pipping bag and tip
Ingredients
Mini-chocolate cupcakes
- 1/2 cup organic whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup organic all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup organic dutch-process cocoa powder (I prefer Rodelle Organic Gourmet Baking Cocoa, often available at Costco)
- 1/4 cup organic granulated sugar finely ground in a blender, or magic bullet
- 1 tsp alluminum-free baking powder (I like Bob's Red Mill)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/4 tsp mild-tasing extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup preference for organic if possible
- 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp non-dairy unsweetened milk (I use organic unsweetened soy milk)
- 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
Creamy Chocolate Frosting
- 2 tsp agar powder
- 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp water at room temperature
- 1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk well-stirred, plus more to adjust final consistency if needed (do not use light)
- 3 tbsp pure maple syrup or agave nectar
- 1/8 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/3 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder (I prefer Rodelle Organic Gourmet Baking Cocoa, often available at Costco)
- 2/3 cup organic granulated sugar
- 1 ounce dark chocolate (60-72%) chopped
- 4 3/4 tsp arrowroot powder
- 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
- 36 whole fresh organic raspberries cleaned
Instructions
Making the mini-chocolate cupcakes
- Make sure you position a rack in the middle of your oven and preheat it to 350°F / 180 °F. Fill your mini-cupcake pan with mini baking cup made out of unbleached parchment paper *.
- Place a wire mesh strainer over a medium bowl. Add the flour, cocoa powder, finely ground sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to the strainer and stir with a whisk to sift the ingredients into the bowl. If any small parts are left in the strainer, add them to the mixture in the bowl. Using a whisk, aerate the mixture. (Important step for a fluffy texture).
- In a two cup glass liquid measuring cup, whisk the oil, maple syrup, milk, vanilla and vinegar until completely combined. Immediately pour into the dry mixture and whisk until the batter is smooth. Using a small cookie scoop or a tablespoon pour the batter into the mini paper cups.
- Bake the mini-cupcakes in the center rack for 16-18 minutes, or until the center of the cupcake looks set, and a toothpick comes out clean or with a couple of crumbs.
- Place the muffin pan on a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the pan and place on the cooling rack so they can cool even more. Cover the cupcake with plastic wrap (or another wrap that will prevent them from drying out). Let the cupcakes completely cool before decorating them.
Making the frosting
- Add the agar powder into a medium saucepan and pour 3/4 cup of the water over it, and set aside for 10 minutes without stirring or heating.
- Bring the liquid to a boil over medium heat, stirring a few times. Reduce the heat to law. Cover the saucepan and simmer for 5 to 6 minutes, stiring a few times to release any bits of agar that may be stuck on teh bottom of the pan. Check that the agar is fully dissolved.
- Whisk in the coconut milk, maple syrup, and salt into the agar mixture and simmer for 2 minutes. Add the sugar and simmer for about 1 minute until dissolved. Add the cocoa powder slowly, whisking constantly until it is dissolved. Simmer for another 2 to 3 minutes. Make sure you stir the bottom so it doesn't burn. Add the chocolate and stir until melted.
- In a small cup, dissolve the arrowroot with the remaining 2 tablespoons of water. Whisk constantly and add this slurry to the simmering chocolate liquid. Cook only until a full boil is reached. The mixture will feel thick almost immediately. Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the vanilla extract. Stir frequently until the mixture becomes lukewarm.
- Pour the chocolate cream into a 9 inch by 9 inch glass baking dish or other shallow dish and let cool to room temperature. Refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours until the cream is firm.
- Spoon the mixture into a food processor and pulse a few times until creamy. It will be similar to a chocolate pudding.
- Transfer into a pipping bag with a pipping tip (I used the Wilton 1M for these cupcakes). Carefully top each cooled cupcakes with the frosting and an upside down raspberry.
Notes
* For the mini-paper cups, I really like If You Care Bran available on Well.ca
If you tried this recipe, I would love your feedback in the comments, or tag me on Instragram using @lifeampedup and #lifeampedup.
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