Red Velvet Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache & Toasted Coconut
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For about 45 years, I managed to get up each morning and go about my business without ever having eaten a red velvet cupcake. What’s the fuss about, I thought? So you throw some red food coloring into a vaguely chocolate cupcake batter and suddenly everyone regresses to their 7th birthday. Whatever. And then I was hit from out of nowhere. Completely blindsided by the roaming Sprinkles cupcake truck in La Jolla, doling out non-vegan and vegan cupcakes. Their lone vegan offering was red velvet. Never one to pass up an edible freebie, I swiped the confection before the nice lady behind the counter could change her mind. Truth be told, I was a little miffed that my only option was red velvet, but ever the trooper, I served myself a soy mocha and sat down to enjoy my treat. Boy howdy. I was wrong, and I’m sorry. Red velvet cupcakes are wonderful. I am jumping on the RV bandwagon. Since Sprinkles is about 1,440 miles away, I now have to make my own. Not a huge fan of thick frosting made with shortening, however, I decided a chocolate ganache would make a respectable topper. Toasted coconut adds a nice, nutty flavor.
Red Velvet Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache & Toasted Coconut
Makes 12 big cupcakes
Cupcakes:
1/4 cup vegan “butter”
1/4 cup prune puree
1/3 cup maple sugar
2 tbsp. egg replacer + 6 tbsp. water (whisk together until frothy, then set aside for a minute)
1 tbsp. Red Velvet Bakery Emulsion (or 1 tsp. gel paste red food color or 1/4 cup liquid red food color)
1 very ripe medium-sized banana, properly smashed
3 tbsp. Dutch-process cocoa
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vinegar
1 1/2 tsp. powdered stevia
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup light coconut milk
Chocolate ganache:
1/3 cup almond or soy milk
3/4 cup vegan semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tbsp. vegan “butter”
~1/2 cup large flake, unsweetened coconut, toasted
Preheat the oven to 350F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper or silicone cups (or lightly spray with cooking oil).
Make the cupcakes:
In a small bowl, whisk together the whole wheat pastry flour and the AP flour. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat the “butter,” prune puree and maple sugar until well combined. Add the egg replacer mixture and the red velvet emulsion, banana, cocoa, baking soda, stevia, salt and vinegar.
Beat the flour mixture into the wet mixture – alternately with the coconut milk – ending with flour. Divide the batter among the muffin cups and gently smooth the tops. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top feels firm and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for a few minutes in the tins, then remove to wire racks to cool completely.
Make the ganache:
Using either a double boiler or a small saucepan, warm the soy milk to a simmer , then turn off the heat and stir in the chocolate chips, vanilla extract and “butter.” Stir until the chips are fully melted and the sauce is completely smooth.
To ice the cupcakes place the wire cookie racks in baking sheets or put wax paper underneath the racks to catch the chocolate drips. While the chocolate is still very warm, spoon the ganache over the cupcakes, making sure to get chocolate all over the top to cover any bare spots. Gently press toasted coconut pieces into the chocolate. Eat at once or set aside for the chocolate to set.
(Today is my brother’s birthday and if he were here, I would force him to eat one of these as further proof of the divine-ness of vegan baking. But as he is not here, I will eat his cupcake for him. Happy birthday, bro. Love you.
The original recipe is from King Arthur Flour. There are my usual vegan substitutions, plus I backed off on the amount of sugar and fat and thought coconut milk would add nicely to the flavor.)
Please don’t be afraid if I show up in a tent on your lawn ready to do chores for cupcakes.
Haha! We can always use an extra hand! And an extra stomach!!
These look heavenly! I might have to make these for my sweetie.
My sweetie and I are having some today :-)!
YUM. I love (and miss!) red velvet cupcakes. I’m trying to cut back on the sweets but I just might have to make an exception soon for these bad boys!
You might feel a teensy bit better knowing I cut the sugar by using stevia – but I hear ya! I try to be good most of the time!
That ganache looks so rich and chocolately! I keep hearing about red velvet cupcakes, I’ve never seen them in the UK but I will be keeping an eye out for them now.
Made these last night for Valentine’s Day, minus the coconut. They are divine! Rich, heavy, and they rose beautifully! Keeping this one in my recipe box, thanks!!
Oh, that’s awesome!! Thank goodness they turned out :-)! And I really appreciate the feedback. Yay!