vegan gluten-free chocolate cupcakes with chocolate ganache

Hello all! It’s been way too long…I hope that you’re all doing well and enjoying fall! On my end, I’ve actually moved in with three friends for a bit! We’re living in a small beach town in California called Carmel. My friend Meera’s family has graciously let us stay in their home, and it’s been a beyond amazing experience. We’re a two minute walk from the beach and the scenery is unreal. I’ve never lived so close to the ocean before, and I feel so lucky to be able to see it in its many forms—when it’s early morning, sunset, and even at night! Some days a fog hangs in the air and other days it’s bright and sunny, making the water a gorgeous glistening blue.

Aside from going on lots of walks together, watching the TV show The Good Place, grinding out our school work, and jamming to Hamilton together, we’ve been cooking LOTS! On our first full day here, we set the fire alarm off by accident because we burnt some toast (maybe more than once…), and I also overestimated how much rice the Instant Pot could hold, which resulted in liquid rice oozing out of the venting hole. But aside from that, I’ve been so impressed with the food we’ve been cooking together. I’m currently gluten-free and pescatarian, another one of us is vegan, another one of us is nut-free, and another one of us has no dietary restrictions whatsoever. Even with all our diets, we’ve been managing to make lots of good meals that we can all eat (applause!). Highlight dishes include a falafel, tomato, and cucumber salad with a garlic-yogurt dip, chana masala, white bean and kale quesadillas, spicy garlic tofu with coconut rice, and nori wraps. I’ll be making a separate post on all of the different recipes we’ve made soon.

Now onto the recipe for this post! I made these vegan gluten-free chocolate cupcakes for Donald’s birthday (he turned 19!), and they were definitely a hit. Not only did they accommodate to everyone’s diets, but they were delicious too. I have to say, I’m usually a little intimidated by baking vegan and gluten-free, but these cupcakes were super approachable because I was familiar with all of the different ingredients. What more? They came together in a pinch!

I loved the combination of the fluffy chocolate cake and the decadent chocolate ganache. A sprinkle of powdered sugar added a visual pop which enhanced the overall presentation. The cupcakes were gobbled down by my three friends as well as Donald who got 12 (what can I say, it was his birthday). I’m so glad that everyone enjoyed them!

Vegan Gluten-Free Chocolate Cupcakes

Recipe from Gluten-Free Palate

Makes 12 cupcakes

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Position rack in center of oven. Line a 12 serving cupcake pan with papers; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, vigorously whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, and salt until there are no visible clumps.

In a separate medium bowl, mix together the coffee (or water plus coffee granules), vinegar, vanilla extract, and olive oil.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir only until they just come together. The mixture should be thin and lumpy.

Spoon batter evenly into cupcake pans, filing it about 2/3 full. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove from oven and let cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove from pan and let cool on a rack.

My Notes

I used a chocolate ganache recipe instead of the frosting recipe, and I also cut down on the sugar that this recipe originally calls for, but feel free to adjust according to your preference.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups Gluten-Free Flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup granulated sugar (to taste)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup brewed coffee (or 1 cup of warm water mixed with 1 1/2 teaspoons of espresso powder or instant coffee granules)

1 tablespoon white vinegar (or lemon)

2 teaspoons gluten-free vanilla extract

6 tablespoons (1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp.) olive oil or vegetable oil

Vegan Chocolate Ganache

Recipe adapted from Simply Recipes

Makes about 2 cups

Directions

Melt the chocolate either in 30 second bursts in the microwave (stirring vigorously between each burst) or over a double boiler until the chocolate is mostly melted with some solid pieces still visible.

Remove from the microwave or the double boiler, and stir until the chocolate is completely melted. Set aside for 5 minutes to cool, stirring occasionally.

Using wooden spoon, gradually mix the coconut milk into the chocolate until smooth. Then mix in the 1/2 cup of powdered sugar a little at a time, followed by the vanilla. Mix until smooth. The mixture should have a thin, ganache-like consistency.

Dip your cooled cupcakes into the chocolate ganache. Feel free to dip as many times as needed. Sprinkle on some powdered sugar, and enjoy!

My Notes

The original recipe is for a vegan chocolate frosting, but I adapted it to make a ganache. I didn’t add as much powdered sugar as the original recipe calls for, which gave it the ganache consistency. If you follow the original recipe, you’ll get a thicker frosting-like consistency.

I love that this recipe doesn’t call for anything that people wouldn’t find in their pantry (many other vegan frosting recipes call for dairy-free butter).