Chocolate Cupcake with Blackberry Filling and Red Wine Frosting

So these cupcakes are inspired by my wonderful Aunt Lori. She is a strong, kind and inspiring woman. She has been a person I can always look up to. There aren’t enough words to explain how much I love and admire her.

We all got together and painted some pottery for her birthday, picture below. It was fun to get together, talk and paint. Hopefully the results will be awesome.

Recipe based one recipes by Chow.com, Little Miss Vegan Cupcakes, and Eats Well With Others 

Chocolate Cupcakes

• 1 cup soy milk
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder, Dutch-processed or regular
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350°F and line a muffin pan with paper or foil liners.

Whisk together the soy milk and vinegar in a large bowl, and set aside for a few minutes to curdle. Add the sugar, oil, vanilla extract, if using, to the soy milk mixture and beat until foamy.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add in two batches to wet ingredients and beat until no large lumps remain (a few tiny lumps are OK).

Pour into liners, filling 3/4 of the way. Bake 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

Blackberry Filling

• 2 cups of coarsely chopped frozen blackberries
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp of cornstarch
• ½ cup water

Bring blackberries to boil in a saucepan. Add sugar and continue to simmer until reduced.

In a separate cup mix cornstarch with a few tablespoons of water. Add mixture to fruit and stir constantly for a minute or two. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Hollow out a small hole in each cupcake and fill with blackberry filling.

Red Wine Frosting

• 1 cup red wine (I used Siciliana)
• 1/4 cup vegan granulated sugar
• 1 cup earth balance
• 3 cups confectioner’s sugar

Place 1 cup red wine and vegan granulated sugar in a small saucepan over medium-high heat.  Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Bring to a boil and then simmer until the mixture has reduced to a 1/3 cup.  Allow to cool completely.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the butter and confectioner’s sugar.  Mix on low speed at first, gradually increasing to high until powdered sugar gets incorporated.  Whisk until fluffy.  With the mixer running, carefully pour in the cooled wine reduction.  Beat well until combined, scraping down the bowl if necessary.

Transfer the frosting to a piping bag and frost cupcakes.