Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes

Recently my mom was diagnosed with a dairy allergy and I am still in disbelief about how many food items contain dairy in some form. Pretty much all of them. At least the ones you'd want to eat. She'd probably be better off allergic to gluten because there are a host of gluten-free products and menus out there. Dairy-free people have been sort of screwed over. In reality, all people with food allergies have been screwed over. In an attempt to make a birthday dessert for her I became frustrated when all my recipe search results ended in vegan recipes. I was looking for dairy-free, not vegan! Eventually I found this recipe and decided to give it a try. I'm happy to report these cupcakes were wonderful, you couldn't tell they were vegan at all! 

If you have any tried and true dairy-free recipes, I'd love to see them. 

The glaze on these cupcakes is a super simple one. I basically took a 1/2 cup seedless raspberry preserves, a splash of lemon juice, and simmered in a small saucepan until thinned. Then I dunked each cupcake while the glaze was still warm and let it set for a few minutes on the counter.

Recipe Rundown
Taste: Super chocolatey, sweet without being cloying. The raspberry adds a lovely fresh burst of tartness.
Texture: Moist, soft, you'd never guess there were no eggs or butter.
Ease: Even easier than regular cupcakes!
Pros: Easier and healthier than non-vegan chocolate cupcakes but just as good.
Cons: None, they get better as they sit on the counter in an airtight container too. 
Would I make this again? Yes.

Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes
Makes 1 dozen
Adapted from All Recipes

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
• 1 cup water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a standard muffin tin with paper liners.

Sift together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Add the oil, vanilla, vinegar, and water. Mix together until smooth.

Pour batter evenly into prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick entered into the center comes out clean. Cool completely.