Chocolate Mint Cupcakes

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I meant to post these earlier, but have just been feeling really run down and lethargic lately. I have some pictures I need to edit and posts I need to write. I woke up this morning and didn’t realize until I went to the grocery store that it was St. Patrick’s Day. Ooops. So I hurried to get this recipe posted today.

I originally wanted to make chocolate stout cupcakes for St. Patrick’s Day, but I didn’t have all the ingredients. So, instead, I decided to make these mint cupcakes. I figured the green icing would be Irish enough.

I knew I would not be allowed to eat these, since chocolate is on my “foods to avoid” list. Let me tell you, it’s really hard to give up chocolate and cocoa. But, if it makes me feel better, it may be worth it. I’m still trying to figure out the whole low oxalate thing, so I decided to cheat and eat one of these cupcakes. I mean, how could I post a dessert I hadn’t even tried? Yum, it was delicious. I love the combination of chocolate and mint.

You must add the ganache to these cupcakes, trust me. Mr. Surly, being eager to eat this tasty treat, grabbed one of the iced cupcakes before I had added the ganache. He said it was just ok. Once I gave him the ganached topped cupcake to try, he declared them perfect; the ganache just tied all the flavors together. He really liked theses cupcakes a lot, he asked me if I had done anything different when making these. I told him I just followed the recipe. He just seemed to like these better than the previous cupcakes I’ve made. I think it’s just how all the flavors come together, complimenting each other.



Chocolate Mint Cupcakes
Printer-friendly recipe
makes 6 cupcakes

Cupcakes:
½ c milk
½ tsp apple cider vinegar
6 Tbl sugar
2 Tbl + 2 tsp canola oil
½ tsp vanilla
½ tsp mint extract
½ c flour
2 Tbl + 2 tsp cocoa
generous ¼ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp baking powder
pinch salt

Mint Icing:
2 Tbl shortening
1 ½ c powdered sugar, sifted
2 Tbl + ½ Tbl milk or cream
¾ tsp mint extract
¼ vanilla
green food coloring

Ganache Topping:
1 ½ Tbl milk or cream
2 Tbl + 2 tsp semisweet chocolate chips


make the cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350 F

Grease or line muffin pan.

Whisk together milk and apple cider vinegar, set aside.

Sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In a mixing bowl, combine sugar, oil, and both extracts. Pour in the milk/vinegar, beat til foamy.

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients in 2 batches, beat til smooth and no lumps. Fill cupcake wells ¾ full. Bake about 18 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Remove to wire rack to cool completely.

make the icing:
Mash the shortening with a fork to soften. Add ¾ c of powdered sugar and a splash of milk. Mix. Keep adding sugar followed by milk until the icing is smooth and creamy. Stir in extracts. Add food coloring to achieve desired shade of green.

Frost completely cooled cupcakes with icing.

make the ganache:
Put milk in a small custard dish or ramekin. Microwave 20-30 sec until ready to simmer. Stir in chocolate chips til melted. Allow to cool about 10 minutes. Once cooled, to about room temp, use a Tbl to add a dollop of ganache on top of each cupcake. Add sprinkles, or any garnishment, if desired.




Source: halved and slightly adapted from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World by Isa Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero