Easy Chocolate Cupcakes

I’ve mentioned before that I’m not big into baking. I don’t own a mixer… or even cake pans. But I do have a muffin tin. I love this recipe because it preps like a muffin. Last year I tried making it vegan with flax seed to replace the eggs and it came out great. Happy Birthday! Or Thursday. They’re that easy.

Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated #104 (May/June 2010)

• 3 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine (OR, use 2 oz unsweetened chocolate plus 1/2 cup granulated sugar)
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda 
• 6 Tbsp coconut oil, melted
• 2 eggs (or 2 Tbsp ground flax seed)
• 2 tsp white vinegar (to activate baking soda, do not omit)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Place chocolate (or chocolate and sugar) and cocoa in a heatproof medium bowl and pour in 3/4 cup boiling water. Whisk until melted. Set in refrigerator to cool completely, about 20 minutes. (Or do ahead and let it cool, covered, on the counter.)
Prepare 12-muffin pan with cupcake liners or grease with butter or oil. Preheat oven to 350.

(To replace eggs with flax: combine 2 Tbsp ground flax seed with 6 Tbsp very hot water. Let stand 5 mins until thickened. Add to recipe instead of 2 eggs.)

Whisk flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl and set aside.
Whisk oil, eggs, vinegar and vanilla into chocolate mixture until smooth. Stir in flour mixture until smooth.
Divide evenly among muffin cups. Bake 12-15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs. Cool in pan 10 mins, then carefully remove.
Cool completely before frosting. 

Coconut Mousse:
This is a whipped-cream style topping, that will be best spooned onto the cupcakes just before serving. Once frosted, store cupcakes in the fridge. Open a can of coconut milk. Poke 2 holes down through the solid white “cream,” and pour out the liquid into a jar with a tight fitting lid. (Save to add to smoothies!) Scoop out the solid cream into a roomy bowl. Whisk in powdered sugar, a tablespoon at a time, until it’s as sweet as desired. Whisk in 2 Tbsp of cocoa powder and a little more sugar to make chocolate mousse. A pinch of salt will enhance the flavor.
Frosting: For something that’s closer to buttercream, use 1/4 cup coconut oil and use a spoon to mash it together with 1/4 cup coconut solids. Add 1 cup powdered sugar and mix it together gently to avoid too much mess. Then another cup. Pinch of salt. A Tbsp of liquid from the can will loosen it up considerably. Tint with food coloring. For a spring birthday, I tinted shredded sweetened coconut green with a few drops of food coloring, piped frosting from a freezer bag with corner snipped off, pressed coconut onto it, piped a little more in the center, and added a candy egg. Super cute.

Simplest frosting option: In the past I’ve used an 8 oz tub of whipped cream cheese, sweetened with 6 Tbsp powdered sugar or to taste. Wait to frost cupcakes until ready to serve.