From the Vegan Dessert Cookbook: Are You Sure That’s Vegan by Claire Gosse. Posted with permission.
Chocolate Cupcakes
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1⁄2 cups white sugar
1⁄2 teaspoon baking powder
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1⁄2 cup canola oil
1⁄2 cup water
1⁄2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup soy milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3⁄4 cup cocoa powder
Butter-cream Icing
1 cup vegan margarine*
3 cups sifted icing sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1-2 tablespoons soy milk
Blue food coloring
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line muffin tins with cupcake liners.
In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and mix with a wood spoon. Mix until all the ingredients are combined and there are no lumps. You can use a whisk to get the lumps out.
Fill the liners with batter till they are 2⁄3 full. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick stuck in the centre comes out clean.
Let them cool for a few minutes in the pans, and then remove them and place on cooling racks to cool off completely.
To make the icing, beat margarine for about 30 seconds. Continue beating, adding the icing sugar 1⁄2 cup at a time. Beat on low speed till smooth. Add the vanilla and soy milk and beat again.
Ice when the cupcakes are completely cool.
Note: To get the icing that color I just added blue food coloring (a few drops at a time) until I got the shade of blue I was looking for.
*Whenever you have to cream or beat margarine it should be soft, so if the margarine you are using is hard, let it sit out at room temperature for a while to soften before using.
Enjoy