One down....dozens to go.

Basic Chocolate Cupcake
with Caramel-Cocoa Buttercream.

This was the first recipe
that I tried
from my newly purchased
cupcake cookbook.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Caramel-Cocoa Buttercream.
(Adapted from "Vegan Cupcakes take over the World" and Love & Olive Oil)

Ingredients
1 cup coconut milk
1/3 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Frosting:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature (I used butter, so it is technically no longer vegan...you could use margarine)
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons milk (again...no longer vegan...but you could use soy milk, hemp milk, etc.)
1 tablespoons caramel topping

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin pan with paper liners.

Whisk together the coconut milk, sugar, oil, and vanilla extract and beat till foamy. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add to wet ingredients and beat until no lumps remain.

Pour into liners, filling each with 1/4 cup of batter. Bake 18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

Before frosting, cut a small round hole in the top of each cupcake. Fill the hole with caramel topping and replace the removed cupcake. Then frost.

For frosting, cream butter until smooth and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Add cocoa powder and beat until incorporated. Add milk and mix to combine. Add confectioners’ sugar 1/2 cup at a time and mix until light and fluffy, 3-5 minutes total. Add caramel topping and mix well.