Before macaroons, cupcakes were all the rage and today I had a hankering to make some. I decided to go all the way and make the winning entry for the Food Network’s Cupcake Wars (USA). The really exciting thing is I didn’t have to adapt the recipe to make it vegan – it won as it was. A is for awesome!

I did make a couple of tweaks to the recipe. You can view the original version by Chef Chloe here. I used stone ground wholemeal flour – which is a lot more fine than regular wholemeal flour, more dense than refined white flour and adds a nutty flavour, but I found the cupcakes were still light and fluffy, moist and the nutritional benefit from the wholemeal makes me feel less guilty for all that sugar!

Makes 12 cupcakes (well I only got 10.5 but whatever!)

for the cupcakes
1/5 c. plain flour (subst: stone ground wholemeal flour)
1 c. organic sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 c. coconut milk
1/2 c. peanut oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tblsp apple cider vinegar

for the soaking liquid
1/4 c. masala
1 Tbls Bushells coffee and chicory syrup

for the raspberry sauce
1 c. frozen raspberries
1/2 c. agave nectar or rapadura sugar (pure sugar cane juice dried)
1 tsp lemon juice
1/8 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt

for the frosting
1 Tblsp Bushells coffee and chicory syrup
1 Tbls vanilla extract
1/4 virgin coconut oil (make sure its solid. If outside temp is too warm it will be liquid, just put in fridge to solidify – but not too long or it’ll be a rock)
4 c. icing sugar
2 Tblsp water

Good quality cocoa powder for dusting

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (160° fan forced)
2. Line a dozen muffin tin with cupcake foils
3. Sift together flour, baking soda, sugar and salt
4. In a separate bowl, combine coconut milk, oil, vanilla and vinegar
5. Combine wet and dry ingredients with a whisk until thoroughly mixed
6. Distribute cake mix into cupcake foils making sure to lick the bowl and spoon clean!
7. Bake for 15 – 20 minutes
8. Make the raspberry sauce: In a small saucepan, cook the raspberries and agave/sugar on medium heat until raspberries wilt down. Simmer on low for 5 minutes until a runny jam like consistency
9. Remove from heat and add vanilla, lemon juice, cinnamon and salt. Let cool in fridge
10. Make the frosting: by beating the coconut oil for about 1 minute with an electric beater. Add icing sugar, vanilla and coffee syrup and mix. Add 1 Tlbsp water at a time to form a buttercream consistency. Beat on high for 5 minutes scraping down the sides as you go.
11. Make the soaking syrup: Combine the masala and coffee syrup in a bowl
12. Assembly: Once cupcakes have cooked then cooled, using the tip of a knife or spoon, cut a small hole from the top of each cupcake.
13. Pour in 1 tsp of soaking liquid
14. Fill the hole with raspberry sauce
15. Dust with cocoa powder
16. Using a knife smother on frosting mixing it up with bits of cocoa or you can make yours prettier than mine by using a piping bag and dusting with cocoa
17. Top with a dollop of raspberry sauce or a fresh raspberry