Diary Free Cooking - Chocolate Cupcakes!

After my husband and I realized our daughter is sensitive to dairy in my diet, we went dairy free. This was challenging for me as I love dairy. One of the things that helped me cope was finding delicious dairy free alternatives to my favorite foods. My first order of business: dairy free chocolate cupcakes.  This recipe was adapted from a recipe from joyofbaking.com. I've never made the recipe with dairy, so I have no idea how it would turn out. I also didn't like the frosting recipe included with the Joy of Baking recipe, so I created my own variation from the recipe on the back of the Rademaker's cocoa box.

These cupcakes are perfect - light and spongy in texture without too much chocolate. Even my husband who normally dislikes chocolate will eat these!

Chocolate Cupcakes
1/2 cup Dutch processed cocoa (I use Rademaker's - no dairy or nut cross contamination)
1 cup boiling hot water
1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup dairy free margarine (I use earth balance buttery sticks)
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 375. Line 16 muffin cups with paper liners (or butter the muffin tins). In a small bowl, add the powdered cocoa to the boiling water. Stir until creamy, and then let sit at room temperature. In another bowl, stir together (or sift if you have a sifter) the flower, baking powder, and salt. In a mixer bowl, cream the margarine and sugar together. Add the eggs to the creamed margarine and sugar one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition. Add the vanilla extract, and beat thoroughly. Add the flour mixture, and stir until just incorporated. Add the chocolate last, and stir until all the batter is evenly mixed.

Fill the muffin cups about 1/2 to 2/3 full. Bake for 18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. They should be springy and moist. If you bake them too long they will dry out.

Chocolate Frosting
1/2 cup shortening (I use Spectrum organic shortening)
3 cups confectioners sugar
1/2 cup dutch processed cocoa (I use Rademaker)
1/3 cup rice milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the shortening and confectioners sugar on high. Lower the speed and add the cocoa powder. Add the milk and vanilla extract. If the texture is too thick, add more milk. Beat until glossy. This frosting is pipeable (see photo above).