First, my work office flooded and destroyed my computer and everything on my desk.
Then, I was called for jury duty.
Then, I found a plagairized student paper, and his paper gave me a paper cut and I bled all over.
And that was just Monday to Wednesday.
Clearly, this was a week to find me sobbing on the sofa, desperately needing some seriously comforting comfort food.
Chocolate was required.
No arguments, no compromises, no substitutions.
Absolutely. Positively. Necessary.
Except that the week was already so toxic, I didn't want to pile on more internal poison above and beyond the already pretty highly mounded external catastrophes exploding all around.
What's a poor, traumatized gal to do?
Besides, obviously, sitting and weeping as the smallest violin in the world plays a sad song just for me.
What I needed was action! Something to get my mind off the crappy week and pointed in a more positive direction - a direction that had cupcakes. Lots of cupcakes. Lots of tiny cupcakes. Lots of tiny chocolate coated cupcakes.
But healthy, tiny chocolate coated cupcakes.
By healthy, I mean healthy. H-E-A-L-T-H-Y.
Gluten-free. Grain-free. Processed sugar-free. Dairy-free. Egg-free. And vegan.
Nothing but healthy in these tiny tasty chocolate coated cupcakes.
Yes, that was a good direction to be headed, I think we can all agree.
And you know what?
First, I got a new computer. A super-fast spiffy shiny new computer.
Plus, I was dismissed from the jury. And they paid me a whole whopping $32 for my trouble.
The plagairized paper, that's still an issue.
But hey, the paper cut healed up nicely.
And I ate lots of tiny chocolate coated cupcakes.
So many I felt kinda sick, actually.
At least now I feel bad for all the right reasons, and that's something.
Vegan Vanilla Mini Cupcakes with Cocoa Glaze.
Modified from Babycakes Covers the Classics by Erin McKenna.
Here's the original donut recipe, and here's a variation for vanilla icing, if you are so inclined.
Makes 30 mini-cupcakes and 1 3/4 cups glaze.
For the cupcakes:
1 cup coconut sugar
3/4 cup brown rice flour
1/3 cup garbanzo and fava bean flour
1/2 cup potato starch
1/4 cup arrowroot
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup canola oil
6 tablespoons applesauce
1/4 cup vanilla extract
1/2 cup hot water
For the cocoa glaze:
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/3 cup agave nectar
1/3 cup soy milk powder
2 tablespoons cocoa powder: 1 tablespoon black cocoa and 1 tablespoon dutch cocoa
3/4 cup melted refined coconut oil
1 teaspoon lemon juice
You will also need 3, 12-cupcake mini-cupcake pans and a food processor.
For the cupcakes:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Use coconut or canola oil spray to grease 3, 12-cup mini-cupcake trays and set aside.
In a medium bowl, mix together the coconut sugar, flours, potato starch, arrowroot, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum and salt. Gently break up any lumps in the coconut sugar.
In a small bowl, mix the canola oil, applesauce and vanilla extract until combined. Add the hot water and mix again.
Add the wet ingredients to the bowl of dry ingredients, and mix well with a rubber spatula until thoroughly combined.
Using a small ice cream scoop or spoon, drop a little less than 1 tablespoon of cupcake batter into each cup. There should be enough batter for about 30 mini-cupcakes.
Bake for 7 minutes, then rotate the trays in the oven and bake for an additional 6 to 7 minutes, or until a toothpick tester comes out with few crumbs, and the cupcakes look dry and golden.
Let cool in the cupcake pan for 15 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack and cool completely.
For the cocoa glaze:
Note: All of the ingredients need to be at room temperature.
Combine the coconut milk, agave nectar, soy milk powder, cocoa, and vanilla in a food processor. With the processor running, add 1/2 cup of the coconut oil in a slow, steady stream. Add the lemon juice, then add the remaining coconut oil. Continue to process for another minute until the cocoa glaze is thick and creamy.
If the liquid ingredients are too cold, the coconut oil will solidify instead of blending, and you will have lots of white streaks in your cocoa glaze. Don't panic. Just take about 1/3 cup of the separated glaze and warm it in a microwave for about 10 to 20 seconds until the coconut oil melts, and then pour this warmed cocoa liquid slowly back into the processor while it is running. This should re-homogenize your glaze mixture. Allow the glaze to cool to room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes. Before using, stir gently.
Now, assemble the mini-cupcakes in all their glory by gently dipping the top of each cold cupcake in the cocoa glaze. Allow the glaze to set at room temperature. Store the cupcakes at room temperature. Best within a day.
This recipe makes more glaze than necessary for the mini-cupcakes. The glaze should not be refrigerated or it will solidify like a brick. It will keep at room temperature for 4 or 5 days in a tightly sealed container.
Always good to find delicious looking gluten free recipes - thank you for sharing : )
Posted by: Vonnie | 20 March 2012 at 02:02 PM
Thanks Vonnie - enjoy!
Posted by: Jammy Chicken | 28 March 2012 at 09:23 PM