Chocolate Cupcakes (dairy-free & egg-free)

Cupcake Ingredients:

• 3 cups flour
• 2 cups sugar
• ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 cups cold water
• 1 cup canola oil
• 1 Tbs vanilla
• 1 ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips dairy-free, nut-free (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F
2. Prepare muffin tin with paper liners
3. Whisk flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, & salt in a large bowl – set aside
4. In a separate large bowl, combine water, oil, & vanilla
5. Whisk dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until thoroughly blended
6. Fill muffin cups about 2/3 full
7. Sprinkle chocolate chips over each cupcake
8. Bake for about 17 minutes, or until tester comes out clean
9. Cool completely

Frosting Ingredients:

• ½ C dairy-free margarine
• 2 ½ C confectioners’ sugar-add more if needed
• ½ C unsweetened cocoa powder
• ¼ C water
• 
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1. In a large glass bowl melt the margarine
2. Add sugar, cocoa, water, & vanilla – beat until creamy and smooth
3. Frost cooled cupcakes

Note: I stumbled across this recipe when I realized I didn’t have any eggs on hand.  I used real butter instead of margarine, evaporated cane juice instead of sugar, and regular chocolate chips. I used mini muffin tins (sprayed with olive oil) and decorated the cupcakes with M & M’s for a Mother’s Day treat. These little cakes are extremely rich.  Make sure you have a glass of milk or cup of coffee nearby. Enjoy!