Not only are these cupcakes vegan and dairy free but they’re also low iodine! So everyone really can have their cake and eat it!
This recipe is just genius, I don’t know how it works but it just does. I love that there’s no fancy of expensive ingredients in this recipe, just a handful of solid pantry staples making this not only a great recipe to cater for those with allergies, but also for those who have run out of eggs or butter! This recipe is one of my old favourites but I’ve given it a makeover with some new pics and a Thermomix conversion.
These cupcakes come out super light and super fluffy and are extra special topped off with some dairy free buttercream. The buttercream is super easy to make and you can use your choice of non-dairy milk, just be sure that it’s unsweetened otherwise it will make the flavours all off balance. My buttercream looks a little grainy, that’s nothing to do with the recipe, it’s just that I went all Mary Baker Home Maker and milled raw sugar into icing sugar, only I didn’t quite mill it enough. Sigh.
A few months ago, my friend Leda (she who makes the famous Eggplant Tzatziki) invited me to a cupcake decorating class and I couldn’t go but looking at these cupcakes, I clearly needed to! After I finished decorating these, the kitchen looked like a Chocolate Buttercream Apocalypse, it was all over the worktops, the floor, the cupboard handles and on almost every appliance and utensil within reach. That is no reflection on the recipe but it is a reflection on my lack of organisation. When I was at university, I spent on summer vacation on Long Island in New York working in McDonalds where the “Clean As You Go” policy clearly passed me by. I did however learn how to make the best scrambled eggs when I worked the breakfast shift, and that’s a life skill I’ll always be proud of.
What’s your greatest life skill? Do you clean as you go in the kitchen?
Ingredients
FOR THE CUPCAKES
1 ½ cups (210g) self-raising flour
1cup (230g) caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
½ cup (125ml) canola or vegetable oil
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 cup (250ml) water
1 tablespoon white vinegar
FOR THE FROSTING
2 cups icing sugar
50g soy margarine
1-2 tablespoons unsweetened almond milk (or non dairy alternative)
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
How to – Traditional
- Preheat oven to 190C/170 C fan-forced. Line a 12-cup cupcake tin with papers.
- Combine all the ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat for 3 minutes, until it is smooth and a dropping consistency.
- Use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to divide mixture into cupcake cases. Bake for 15-20 minutesor until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and place the cupcakes on a wire rack to cool completely.
- To make the frosting, place the icing sugar and the soy margarine in a large bowl and mix with an electric hand mixer until mixture is thick but well combined, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add the cocoa powder, vanilla. Add the almond milk a tablespoon at a time and continue to mix until smooth and the consistency of soft serve, about 1 minute.
How to – Thermomix
- Preheat oven to 190C/170 C fan-forced. Line a 12-cup cupcake tin with papers.
- Combine all the ingredients in the TM bowl and mix for 6 seconds on speed 6. Scrape down sides of bowl.
- Mix again for 10 seconds on speed 4. Scrape down sides of bowl and mix again for another 10 seconds on speed 4 until mixture is smooth and runny.
- Use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to divide mixture into cupcake cases. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and place the cupcakes on a wire rack to cool completely.
- To make the frosting, place sugar and margarine into TM bowl and mix on reverse speed 2 for 4 minutes. After 15 seconds, add in the milk. Use spatula to assist if needed and scrape down the sides of the bowl if required.
TIP! You can also make this as one whole cake but make sure you cook it in a slower oven and for a longer time.
