Mini Cupcakes!!!

I'm too lazy to look through the piles of old clothes at thrift stores, but I love finding things in the kitchenware section! One of my latest finds was a pair of mini cupcake pans. I keep thinking of all the cute little things I can make in them (I've already asked my mom to send me her Black Bottom Cupcake recipe so I can attempt to veganize it). So since it was my friend Danny's birthday a couple days ago, I decided to make her a batch of delicious mini chocolate coconut cupcakes!

I used the basic chocolate cupcake recipe from the cookbook Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World, which by the way has the most reliable and tasty recipes I've tried. I added about 1/2 tsp of coconut extract to the batter and then frosted them with a Coconut Buttercream Frosting. They were awesome, and next time I'm going to make a big batch, buy some pastry tips, and decorate them all with a bunch of different frostings. Hmmm. I can't wait!

Here's the recipe...I hope I don't get in trouble for posting it!

Basic Chocolate Cupcake
1 cup soy milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar (I use red wine ving. cause I didn't have any...seemed ok to me)
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond, chocolate, or more vanilla extract (I used coconut)
1 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line muffin pan with cupcake liners.
2. Whisk together the soy milk and vinegar in a large bowl, and set aside for a few minutes to curdle. Add the sugar, oil, vanilla, and other extract if using, to the soy milk mixture and beat till foamy. In a separate bowl, sift the remaining dry ingredients. Add in two batches to wet ingredients and beat till no large lumps remain ( a few small lumps are okay).
3. Pour into liners, filling three-quarters of the way. Bake 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. (Because I made mini cupcakes, I only had to bake them for 12-15 minutes). Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

Fluffy Buttercream Frosting (this makes a lot of frosting!!)
1/2 cup non hydrogenated shortening- room temp
1/2 cup non hydrogenated margarine- room temp ( I use Earth Balance, careful cause a lot of margarine isn't actually vegan)
3 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted if lumpy
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (I used coconut extract)
1/4 cup plain soy milk or soy creamer

Directions:
1. Beat the shortening and margarine together until well combined and fluffy. Add the sugar and beat for about 3 minutes. Add the extract and soy milk, beat for another 5-7 minutes until fluffy.

I sprinkled unsweetened shredded coconut over the tops after I frosted them. Deeelish!

Happy Birthday Danny!!!