I wanted to retry an egg free chocolate cupcake recipe but this time include the vinegar. As I have been learning from my research online and from talking to other bakers, eggs can serve three purposes, for rising, for moisture or for binding.
When I first starting baking egg free, I only knew about the moisture purpose and so replaced egg with applesauce. Depending on the recipe and the desired outcome, that only goes so far. For a dense cake, this works. For cupcakes, not so much. Not particularly sure why cupcakes are so different from cakes but I do know that without the rising agent, cupcakes will be a droopy mess.
So, taking to heart the advice of one our Through My Kitchen Window readers, Laurel Powell, Lenhartsville, I’m using baking soda and vinegar as my rising agent in cupcakes. Yes, it does work. And, no, you can’t taste the vinegar, nor the baking soda.
I found this egg free chocolate cupcake recipe on grouprecipes.com. This is one that I plan to use again and again. I doubled the cocoa powder from 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup. I also replaced the oil with melted butter to get that butter flavor. And, of course, I added chocolate chips because you can never have too much chocolate. Then, I topped it with chocolate frosting. Note that the cupcakes come out dry at first, so seal them in a container and put them in the fridge over night. They reabsorb moisture and will be much more moist the following day.
Egg Free Chocolate CupcakesIngredients
1 1/2 cup white flour1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup baking cocoa powder 1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt1/3 cup oil or melted butter
1 tbs. vinegar1 tsp. vanilla1 cup water
Chocolate chipsDirectionsCombine flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Add water, oil or butter, vinegar, vanilla. Mix well. Fill paper cupcake cups 3/4 full. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top. Bake in oven heated to 350 degrees for 25 minutes.
Source: grouprecipes.comChocolate Icing
Ingredients5 tbs. soft butter3 tbs. milk
1 tsp. vanilla2 cups confectioners sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powderDirectionsCream butter and first cup of confectioners sugar. Add cocoa powder and vanilla. Slowly add milk and final cup of confectioners sugar until you get the desired texture and taste. Frost fully cooled cupcakes. Share, eat and enjoy!
Until next time, keep baking!Lisa Mitchell is an editor for Berks-Mont Newspapers. We’d love to share your recipes with readers also! Email your recipe to lmitchell@21st-centurymedia.com and mark the email Through My Kitchen Window.
