Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting (Improved)

Last year was my first time attempting egg-free chocolate cupcakes. The cupcakes tasted good, but they crumbled more than I would have liked. This year Sabrina again wanted chocolate cupcakes for her birthday, so I decided to try out a new recipe. I started with a recipe for super easy, super moist chocolate cupcakes, which I tweaked to make wheat-free and corn-free. Voila! The result really was a moist and tasty cupcake that didn't crumble very much either. This is now my go-to cupcake recipe.

If you prefer, you also can use the recipe to make an 8"x8" cake, but you'll need to adjust the baking time. In addition, if you have coffee on hand, you can use 1 cup of hot coffee instead of the water and Starbucks Via. The instant coffee is just easier for us since we're not coffee drinkers.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting (Improved)
makes 12 cupcakes or 1 8x8 cake

Ingredients for the cupcakes:

• 1 cup hot water
• 1/4 cup flax seed meal. (I use Bob's Red Mill brand.)
  
• 1 1/2 cups Bob's Red Mill gluten-free flour
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa (I like the taste of Ghirardelli.)
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
  
• 1 tsp. Starbucks Via decaf instant coffee
  
• 1 cup granulated white sugar
• 1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. canola oil
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract. Use Trader Joe's alcohol-free vanilla extract or another vanilla extract that does not have corn syrup and is preferably alcohol-free, since the alcohol could be derived from corn. Recently I have been using Rodelle Vanilla Flavor alcohol free all natural extract, which I found at Stop and Shop.

Ingredients for the frosting:

• 1 cup dairy-free semi-sweet chocolate chips. I recommend Ghirardelli, Trader Joe's, or Enjoy Life brand.
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 2 Tbsp. agave syrup or honey
• 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
  
• pinch of sea salt

Instructions for the cake:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place cupcake liners in a muffin tin. Heat the water in the microwave until it is hot. Stir in the flax seed meal and set aside.

In a medium bowl sift together (pressing through a sieve or using a whisk) the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, sea salt, and instant coffee. In a separate small bowl, add the white sugar, apple cider vinegar, canola oil, vanilla extract, and water and flax seed mixture. Whisk until thoroughly combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Stir until no trace of flour remains.

Pour a level 1/4 cup of batter into each cupcake liner. Place the muffin tin in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the tin from the oven and check to make sure the cupcakes are done using a toothpick: very few if any crumbs should cling to the toothpick when poked into the center of a cupcake. Let the cupcakes cool for a couple of minutes in the muffin tin before removing them to cool fully on a rack.

When the cupcakes have cooled off completely, spread the frosting over them. Add sprinkles, too, if you would like. At Whole Foods I found India Tree brand sprinkles that are made with cane-sugar crystals and are corn-free.

Instructions for the frosting:

Place a small saucepan over low heat. Add the chocolate chips and canola oil to the pan. Stir frequently, until the chocolate chips have just melted. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the agave syrup, vanilla extract, and sea salt.

Pour the liquid from the pan into the bowl of a standing mixer (or another mixing bowl if you use a hand-held mixer). Place the bowl in the refrigerator for 20 minutes so that the liquid cools and thickens slightly. Using the whisk attachment, beat the liquid on medium speed until it lightens in color and thickens to a spreadable consistency. If the liquid does not seem to be thickening, place it in the freezer for 1 to 2 minutes to cool it down further. Then try mixing it again. When the liquid has turned into a frosting consistency, spread the frosting over the cupcakes or cake.