Eggless Chocolate Cupcakes

Eggless Chocolate Cupcakes

It was Sunday afternoon, and I wanted to bake! Just to bask in the joys of baking! As I am no sweet-tooth. 
I also had been looking up YouTube videos for Cake Frosting. So there it was! A perfect reason to sum up the baking itch that didn't let me give in to the ritual Sunday afternoon siesta! But, no regrets, the Cupcakes were yum, and the frosting was just okay. But, I'm learning, and this is just the start! Did you read between the lines... that this means I will bake often, meaning I will sin often, to polish those frosting skills..., which honestly, need improvement! ;-)

Here is the recipe I adapted from a Facebook group friend. 

Ingredients: 
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 cup fine sugar
4 tablespoons cocoa
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup water/1 cup coffee(room temperature)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons white vinegar/malt vinegar (room temperature)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Method

1. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl and sieve twice.
2. Combine wet ingredients very well.
3. Gently fold in the flours in three separate batches and mix till all ingredients mix well. You can use a spoon/spatula/hand whisk to mix, a beater is not needed. Do not overmix.
4. Pour mixture into a cupcake tray lined with liners. Bake at 170°C for 12-15 mins.
5. The cupcakes are ready when a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. 
6. Cool the cupcake completely before frosting.

For all the vegans out there, this is a yum chocolate cupcake to soothe the sugary pangs!

Notes

- Overmixing is not good for cake and cupcakes. So, do not overmix.
- After all ingredients are combined, the mixture becomes a bit thin and certainly doesn't look the ribbon-like consistency. Do not worry with this, the end results are a super moist and soft cake.
- The same ingredients, with a little less of the water, might work well for a microwave recipe too. 
- 


For the Frosting

( I needed to frost 6 cupcakes, and this was my first attempt, so I have used a minimal quantity. For larger quantities, just double the ingredients) 

1/4 cup butter (at room temperature) [I used home-made butter]
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp Vanilla Essence
1 tbsp Cocoa for chocolate frosting (you can take more if you want the frosting to be more chocolatey)

Method

1. Beat the butter well until light and creamy. 
2. Add the vanilla essence and the powdered sugar. Beat this well with an electric beater. 
3. Buttercream is ready. 

Notes:
- I found the Buttercream too sweet.(I am not a sweet-tooth) I could have added some salt, which may have given the buttercream a better taste
- I am looking for a less sweet recipe, and instinct tells me that adding cornflour might help, though I do not know the exact proportion and the resultant taste. Will try it out someday. 
- I used home-made butter as it is unsalted and white in colour, ideal for vanilla frosting. Maybe market butter would have worked well too, considering that the amount of sugar needed is double, and would not leave any trace of the yellow tinge. 
- Adding cocoa for chocolate frosting certainly reduces the sweetness quotient. 

If Buttercream isn't for you, Chocolate Ganache Icing with sprinkels would be the best! Well, leaving out Chocolate was never an option, was it? ;)