Trust me, I was a hardcore cynic. How can one achieve the fluffy ambrosial heights of chocolate cake without the binding protein of eggs? How can the crumb be made so moist and moreish without the joys of butter? And how can a buttercream be made so melt-in- the-mouth addictive without the fat of a cream cheese, butter or mascarpone? 

I also refuse to settle: if I have a vegan chocolate cake, it needs to meet or surpass its non-vegan equivalent in taste, in texture and in appearance.

And, it most certainly cannot have any weird artificial or suspicious gunk holding it together. 

Anyway, I stumbled across a basic recipe online: it came out disturbingly black, and tasted acrid. And I tried an online vegan icing recipe: it was revoltingly oily, and tear-inducingly bitter. So, I’ve chopped and changed and adjusted and refined, and this is the result: cupcakes that are juicy, fluffy, tender, and moist, with a smooth, creamy chocolatey icing. 

They are so good that I guarantee no one will guess they’re vegan.

And the recipe is ridiculously easy – the cupcakes can be whipped up in about five minutes in a single bowl.

They are actually very good without the icing, so feel free to leave them undressed. You could even add in vegan chocolate chips, too.

They can be made a couple of days in advance, and may be stored for a couple of months in the freezer in an airtight container.

Ingredients

For the cupcake mixture:

250g plain flour, sieved

80g unsweetened cocoa powder, sieved

2tsps baking powder

¾ tsp salt

200g caster sugar

90g light brown muscovado

90g dark brown muscovado

160ml olive oil

475ml water

4tsp white vinegar

For the vegan icing:

100g 70% dark chocolate, roughly chopped

450g icing sugar

25g unsweetened cocoa powder

½ tsp salt

100g vegan butter (I use VitaLife)

3 ½ tbsp. water

½ tsp vanilla extract

12-hole cupcake tray lined with cupcake cases 

Additional cupcake tray or mini cake tin for excess mixture, lined with parchment

Piping bag with nozzle (optional)

Method

1)    Preheat oven to 180°C.

2)    In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, caster sugar, and both muscovado sugars.

3)    Pour in the olive oil, water and white vinegar, and whisk together until smooth. Spoon the mixture into the cupcake cases so that each is about 4/5 full. If there is any mixture remaining, pour it into a baking parchment lined mini cake tin or another cupcake tray.

4)    Place in the oven to bake for 15-20 minutes (checking after 12minutes), or until an inserted cake tester comes out clean. Remove from the baking tray and place on a rack to cool while you make the icing.

5)    To make the icing, place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pot of boiling water. Ensure that the water does not touch the base of the bowl containing the chocolate. Melt the chocolate and remove from the heat to allow it to cool slightly.

6)    In a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle, or a large bowl (if doing by hand) sieve together icing sugar, cocoa powder and salt. Add in the vegan butter and begin to beat slowly (so that the icing sugar doesn't billow everywhere). Pour in the slightly cooled chocolate, water and vanilla extract and beat quickly until it combines fully and becomes light, soft and fluffy.

7)    Once the cakes are completely cooled, ice them, either swirling the buttercream on with a spatula, or by piping it on.

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