Combo Cupcakes

This weekend I was dying for some decedent, rich chocolate cupcakes. 

I had a hard time finding any cupcake recipes that didn't have any eggs, since was out of eggs, so I made my favorite raspberry balsamic cupcakes, but with some twists. 

I recently bought a bottle of raspberry balsamic and black cherry vinegar from Pirate O's, I don't really know what I will do with them but it gave an amazing flavor to the cupcakes! 

What you need;

1 cup milk
1 1/2 tablespoons raspberry balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons almond meal
1/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

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

Whisk together the milk and vinegar, set aside for 5 minutes (mixture will curdle). Whisk in sugar, oil, and vanilla. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, almond meal, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the center of dry ingredients and pour in soy milk mixture. Stir until just smooth (do not over mix).

Pour into liners. Bake 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

Here is the original recipe for raspberry balsamic cupcakes.

For the frosting I just did a quick Google search for "chocolate frosting" and this one was second from the top; 

It looked good and I had everything I needed for it, so I decided to give it a shot. It was very easy to whip up and piped out very nicely. It is very sweet though! Next time I make it I will try to add melted dark chocolate, I think that would be awesome. But these hit the spot and have been a huge it. For being so easy, these are a must for a last minute treat.

This is the recipe as pulled from the website;

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks or 1/2 pound), softened (but not melted!) 
• 3 1/2 cups confectioners (powdered) sugar
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 4 tablespoons milk or heavy cream

Instructions

1. Cream butter for a few minutes in a mixer with the paddle attachment on medium speed. Turn off the mixer. Sift 3 cups powdered sugar and cocoa into the mixing bowl. Turn your mixer on the lowest speed (so the dry ingredients do not blow everywhere) until the sugar and cocoa are absorbed by the butter. Increase mixer speed to medium and add vanilla extract, salt, and milk/cream and beat for 3 minutes. If your frosting needs a more stiff consistency, add a little more sugar. If your frosting needs to be thinned out, add additional milk 1 tablespoon at a time.

And the final delightful product;