monday loves...cupcakes or cake

i am not much of a cake fan, but i have to admit these cupcakes are fabulous and yes of course they are vegan and pretty darn easy to make!!!

here is my recipe (i altered the original a bit)

OH SO YUMMY-vegan choco cake

cake...

1 1/4 organic whole wheat flour

1 cup raw sugar

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (i was super excited to find a brand that was organic and fair trade!)

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup warm water

1 tsp organic vanilla extract

1/3 cup organic olive oil 

1 tsp vinegar

preheat oven to 350 degrees.  mix flour, sugar, cocoa, and baking soda and stir well with a fork.

slowly add mixed water, vinegar, oil and vanilla 

cook for 30 minutes and let cool for 2 hours before frosting.  (i didn't have time to wait 2 hours so after it cooled for little bit i tossed it in the fridge to speed up the cooling process)

chocolate glaze...

1/2 cup raw sugar

4 TBSP earth balance vegan spread (i used the earth balance coconut spread)

2 TBSP almond or coconut milk

2 TBSP cocoa powder

2 tsp vanilla extract

in a small saucepan, bring to boil sugar, spread, milk, and cocoa. stir frequently, then reduce heat to a simmer for two minutes, stirring constantly.  remove from heat and stir for another five minutes.  add vanilla, stir and immediately pour.  let cool for about an hour.  i have made this recipe into cupcakes and also in a cake pan.  works both ways, but the glaze works better over a cake.

ENJOY...

i made these for a friend for her birthday so i dressed them up with these candy making sticks and some fun little recycled cards and paint samples!!!!!

i was super excited to find these if you care baking cups at one of our local stores.  i previously had only seen them at whole foods (not in alaska:(  and was beside myself when i saw these along with some coffee filters on the store shelf!!!!!!  if you care makes unbleached chlorine-free products that are compostable, biodegradable and did i mention they look super cute!!!!!!