Mexican Chocolate Cupcakes with Cacoa Nibs

I haven't made these cupcakes in well over a year or so and I forgot how delicious they are. There's nothing better than resurrecting an awesome recipe that kills. I specifically made these for the office Halloween Party. I wanted to add a little something on top to make it look like dirt because we had these cheesy plastic hands that you can stick into the cake. Loved the addition of the nibs, I think next time incorporating nibs into the cupcake will make it even better.

Vanilla Hazelnut Cupcakes

I've been wanting to make a decent quick hazelnut cupcake for a while now I just haven't been in the cupcaking mood the last few months. I made these for a small family Fourth of July celebration and they tasted fantastic. I used a simple vanilla cupcake recipe and added 1/3 cup of hazelnut meal to the batter to get a nice, but not overpowering hazelnut taste. I think you can buy hazelnut meal at a local Co-op or specialty store for an arm and a leg, using a food processor does the same thing for a fraction of the price. I can't believe I actually used to live without one of those.

For the icing I used a quick chocolate ganache from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. And dusted with crumbled hazelnuts.

Chocolate Trinity

We decided a few weeks back that we would once again host a Vegan Sunday now that we're in a new space that's quite a bit larger than the last. The theme was pre-Valentine's Day and as an extra bonus I decide to get tiny pink pastry boxes so that everyone could take a few cupcakes home with them. At first I wasn't sure what I was going to do and then I settled on about ten different kinds of cupcakes and then decided I didn't know what I was going to do.

I finally came to my senses and kept it easy, I was going to make simple chocolate and vanilla cupcakes and do something different with the frosting. A chocolate cupcake with chocolate ganache and chocolate cream cheese frosting to round out the choco-overload. The hardest part was trying to tame the chocolate cream cheese frosting that had the consistency of feta. Sadly I was never able to spread it in the way I hopped, it was still delicious.

Order

Last week I made two dozen cupcakes for an order, I thought they turned out pretty...

Rich Chocolate Cabernet Cupcakes

The combination of chocolate and wine are awesome in wine tastings, so why not cupcake the two? I'm officially making a petition to allow for the verb usage of the word "cupcake" FYI. I don't think I'm the first person to combine chocolate and wine into a cupcake maybe not even the first vegan. I decided on a whim to try these out last week and I'm told they were my best cupcake to date... Maybe I can get a few testimonials in the comments section for those who were lucky enough to nibble on these.

For these cupcakes I didn't want to fall into standard "flavor the icing" mentality and keep the cupcake really simple, which is always a success don't get me wrong, but I waned to make something truly ass-kicking. I opted for a rich chocolate cupcake and added a cheap cabernet sauvignon to the mix, on top of a really killer cupcake I added thin layer of a rich chocolate ganache over the tops and finished the cupcake with a vegan butter cream frosting with cabernet sauvignon added instead of soy milk.

I'm taking away one lesson from these cupcakes 'WATCH THE BAKING POWDER'! Thankfully my mistake didn't ruin the flavor or the cupcake itself. You might be able to tell from the photos that the cupcakes are a little sunken. I didn't take into the account that I'd have to up the baking powder with the addition of the cabernet. The mistake made the addition of the chocolate ganache a lot easier, I was originally planning on breaking a hole in the center and filling it with the ganache. All's well that ends well.

Peanut Butter Cupcakes

If you like peanut butter these are the cupcakes for you! Moist and fluffy and yet these cupcakes maintain a high dose of peanut butter bliss. This recipe is taken from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World and is perfect as is. I'm planning on translating this one into a gluten free cupcake eventually. I think the recipe could also be good substituting peanuts for cashews, that's only if you're a cashew addict like myself.

I paired this cupcake up with a rich chocolate ganache because its almost impossible to beat a combination of peanut butter and chocolate. If you're feeling really indulgent pair with decent soy ice cream and serve warm. Better yet serve with more chocolate ganache.

Minty Chocolaty Cupcakes

These cupcakes KILLED at a vegan gathering several months ago. By far one of my all-time favorite recipes. I went a little over board on the mint, James said it was too much when he tasted the batter, thankfully some of the minty flavor was lost when I baked these.

When it comes to mixing flavors it doesn't get much better than mint and chocolate (my words). These cupcakes are really easy too, just take your basic chocolate cupcake recipe (vegan or not) and substitute most of the vanilla extract ( I usually add about 1/4 teaspoon) with about 2- 2 1/2 teaspoons of mint extract.

I like topping these with a pure chocolate ganache;

1/4 cup soy milk
2-3 tablespoons of agave nectar
4-6 oz of chocolate chips

heat soy milk over low heat, when the milk is nearly boiling add agave nectar and remove from heat. Slowly add in the chocolate chips until thick and creamy.

For a little extra gay factor I added a few mint leaves to each cupcake.