Peanut Butter Chocolate Heaven Vegan Cupcakes

I asked myself... are vegan cupcakes tasty without any eggs, milk and any dairy products?

Mummy, this cupcake tastes like Reese! - It is true! Eating these peanut butter chocolate heaven vegan cupcakes are like eating Reese's Peanut Butter Cups Chocolate but interestingly, in the form of chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting. Being a vegetarian-wannabe-me, I'm happy that these peanut butter chocolate cupcakes with no use of any animal products are actually tasty to eat! I'm happy too that both my never-becoming vegan husband and son were enjoying these animal-friendly cupcakes too. However, I must admit that the taste and texture of these cupcakes are never the same as those with butter, milk, cream and eggs.

These chocolate cupcake bases are very moist and chocolat-y but somehow I can detect a subtle soy milk taste in them. Without cream or butter, they are not very rich in their chocolate flavours and texture but nice being light and fluffy. To make these cupcakes extra heavenly, this recipe suggest serving these chocolate cupcakes with chocolate ganache and peanut butter cream.

With no butter, how am I going to make vegan buttercream? The book suggested shortening! - Yucks! Being shortening-defying me, I thought that substituting shortening with extra peanut butter in this buttercream recipe might works but yielded an ugly-looking oily buttercream instead. - YUCKS...again! For shortcut, I have decided to use only peanut butter itself as frosting instead...

Are chocolates vegan-friendly? Not all but only those being dairy-free... Being chocoholic, I'm fussy buying the chocolates that we eat and refuse to buy any dairy-free chocolate for all reasons. Thus, based on the chocolate ganache recipe in this book, I have made a modified version. Comparing the usual non-vegan chocolate ganache, this one is not the usual creamy and luxurious kind but I must admit it is good enough being vegan chocolate ganache.

Chocolate cupcakes + chocolate ganache + peanut buttercream = heavenly? Yes to certain extent but only for the initial bites of these cupcakes. I must have been overwhelmed with these peanut butter frosting resulting the last few bites of these cupcakes being too rich to finish. I reckon these cupcakes will be nearer to heaven with lesser peanut butter or fluffier peanut butter buttercream...

Peanut Butter Chocolate Vegan Cupcakes

This is how soy milk becomes buttermilk!

Making these cupcakes is very easy! Just mix...

... and bake!

I didn't have dairy-free chocolate to make vegan chocolate ganache and so made this instead.

Chocolate cupcake + chocolate-maple sauce = Near heaven... almost!

I can't make any better vegan peanut butter frosting and this is all I have.

Now... the final heavenly touch!

Heavenly... only for the first few bites! :p

Here are the recipes from the book, Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero
(with my modification and notes in blue)

Basic Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes

Make 12 cupcakes
1 cup soy milk
l tsp apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
(used 1/2 cup raw caster sugar)
1/3 cup canola oil
(used rice bran oil for butter-like taste and texture)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract, chocolate extract, or more vanilla extract
(used vanilla extract)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder, Dutch-processed or regular
(I used Callebaut Dutch-processed ones)
3/4 tsp baking soda
(replaced with baking powder)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350°F (or 160°C fan forced) and line muffin pan with paper or foil liners.

Whisk together the soy milk and vinegar in a large bowl, and set aside for a few minutes to curdle. Add the sugar, oil, and vanilla extract, and other extract, if using, to the soy milk mixture and beat till foamy. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add in two batches to wet ingredients and beat till no large lumps remain (a few tiny lumps are okay).

Pour into liners, filling three-quarters of the way. Bake 18 to 20 mins (I baked mine for 20 mins), until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to cooling rack and let cool completely.

My Vegan Chocolate Ganache

Place 3 tbsp of cocoa powder in a bowl. Add maple syrup gradually into the cocoa powder and stir as you add the syrup. Stop adding the syrup when the required smooth consistency is achieved which requires about 4-5 tbsp of syrup. This amount is enough to top 12 cupcakes.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Heaven Cake

Fill piping bag with peanut buttercream frosting (or only peanut butter), and top the chocolate cupcakes with chocolate ganache topping. Pipe a swirl of frosting on top of glazed cupcakes (and shape frosting with a spatula if you are using just peanut butter).

Happy Baking
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