I find every time I make the switch to vegan I develop an intense sweet tooth. I'm pretty certain I eat dark chocolate everyday and you can definitely find me in Bulk Barn at least once a week.
Today is my frist day off in awhile and I should really be running errands but my craving for chocolate took over... I dusted off the powdered sugar from my Chloe's Vegan Desserts book and found the perfect recipe.
I had most of the ingredients on hand and the recipe said it's low in calories, so Chloe's Yoga Cupcakes seemed a perfect fit for my chocolate fix.
I did not have enough white sugar so I used brown instead. I also did not have any canola oil so I melted Earth Balance. The recipe made way more than expected so I decided to get creative with some add ins. Some additional ingredients I used in some individual cupcakes are crunchy peanut butter, chopped pecans, chopped strawberries and shredded coconut. The shredded coconut I used in a mini cake because I had some extra batter left over but no extra cupcake tins. I also did not have any raspberries for the garnish.
The successful add in ingredients were the strawberries because they added moisture to the finished cupcake. The pecans added a nice crunch to the cupcake. I was really excited to try the peanut butter cupcakes because it's my favourite flavour combination but unfortunately it did not enhance the flavour at all. It just made the texture weird. The real success was the mini cake. It tasted better than the cupcakes and had more flavour. I think this has to do with the length of time in the oven. Do not over bake these cupcakes because they lose their moisture quickly. After the mini cake cooled I cut it in half and put a thin layer of chocolate ganache in the middle. Then I put it back together and iced the top of the cake.
I cut a mini piece of cake and devoured in 10 seconds. The moisture level is outstanding, I have a funny feeling my mini cake will disappear by the end of the day. In addition to the slice, I probably ate about 5 mini cupcakes... you know, for testing purposes.
So much for low calories.
The Yoga Cupcake
Chocolate cake with a dark chocolate ganache
Ease of recipe: 5/5
I would make it in mini cake form with coconut and a middle layer of the ganache icing.
Overall Cooking Experience: 5/5
Although Casey and I had fun taking photos with the Yoga Cupcakes she was not interested in smelling/ tasting these cupcakes!
Final: 25/25
I am amazed with this recipe, it's a must make!! But make sure you add the Natasha twist and sprinkle some unsweetened coconut onto the top of the uncooked cake/cupcake before baking. Also add the extra layer of ganache in the middle, you can thank me later ;)
