I’ve been searching for the perfect basic cupcake recipe for a while.  I wanted a basic go-to recipe that I could use to base other concoctions I try out.  I found one at handletheheat.com that had a good, easy, basic recipe and it showed what happened if you subbed different ingredients out for others.  I love trying to make dessert recipes  healthier, and I’m not vegan, just vegetarian, but I try to limit my dairy so I wanted to try and make a go-to vegan cupcake recipe.  I like to see if I can make desserts still as tasty while switching the ingredients. 

I listed the original recipe along with the things I switched out such as almond milk, flax seed for eggs, and coconut oil for butter.  The next batch I make, I’ll probably use coconut or rice flour to see if I can make it gluten free too.  I have a niece who has Celiac disease and can’t have gluten, so I like to make sure she can still enjoy as many of the same treats as everyone else. 

For the icing I wanted to use something I had already and had bought peaches the day before so I decided to try and make some vegan icing with coconut oil and powdered sugar.  This one I made up as I go, but the measurements should be pretty close.  Just eyeball it!  Also make sure to keep these refrigerated so the icing doesn’t melt. 😉

Cupcakes:

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup unrefined virgin coconut oil
• 1 egg or 1 teaspoon flax seed + 2-3 teaspoons water (enough to make the consistency of an egg)
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup of milk (I used almond milk and it turned out fine)

Combine all dry ingredients and then add wet.  Mix with a hand mixer and then scoop into lined muffin tin.  The batter will be a little thicker than regular cake batter so don’t worry. 

Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes.  Makes 12

Icing:

• 1/4 cup unrefined virgin coconut oil melted
• 1 peach blended in a blender, bullet, or food processor 
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon milk (again I used almond milk)
• 1 cup powdered sugar (you may have to add more if it’s too watery)

I also added a little flour to mine to thicken it up.  Add all ingredients and blend with a hand mixer. Next let it set in the fridge for about an hour or about 20 minutes in the freezer to thicken up the icing.  And again since it’s made with coconut oil you’ll need to keep these refrigerated so the frosting doesn’t melt.

Also I used whole wheat flour in my cupcakes because that’s what I had but for the next time I think I would use either regular flour or coconut flour.  The wheat flour gave the cupcakes a kind of muffin taste, which wasn’t bad but if you’re going for a more traditional cupcake taste I’d use something else.  Enjoy!