Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes

What you need: pitted dates, water, Chocolate Silk, Silken tofu, flax seed, vanilla, baking soda, cocoa powder, brown sugar, all purpose flour.

You begin by putting one cup of dates in half a cup of water in a small sauce pan or pot and just bringing them to a boil. Remove it from the heat and let it cool just a bit. Preheat your oven to 425.

Then blend up the whole concoction. Make sure you get it really smooth.

Then put it through a strainer to get rid of anything that would cause lumps or skins or whatever. You need half a cup of puree after its all said and done.






Now grind up flax seed and put two tablespoons into a large mixing bowl. Leftover flax seed should be kept in the fridge.

 Add to the flax seed one and a half cups all purpose flour.

Then add half a cup of brown sugar (or sugar in the raw if you want something less processed).

Now add 3/4 cup of cocoa powder.

And then 2 teaspoons baking soda.

Now mix it all together really good. Make sure any chunks of baking soda are broken up well.

Now add half a cup of the silken tofu to one cup of Chocolate Silk in a separate bowl. It's going to be kinda chunky. Side note: I had never tasted Chocolate Silk before this and I have to say, it's AMAZING (and this is coming from a non-vegan, non-vegetarian). I'm sure that at some point tonight, my mother-in-law will come into the kitchen and find me drinking it out of the carton while trying to hide behind the refrigerator door.

Add in the date puree and one teaspoon of vanilla.

These wet ingredients need to be mixed really well. Either use an electric mixer or put the whole sh-bang back in the blender and get it nice and smooth.

Now add the wet ingredients to the dry and make sure that they are not over mixed but well incorporated. Best thing about this batter is that it's VEGAN so you can lick out the bowl without the fear of getting salmonella or something...

Now fill up muffin tins (either with liners or well oiled or Pam-ed) 1/2 to 3/4 of the way full. Bake at 425 for 12 minutes. Check to make sure they are baked all the way through by putting in a tooth pick. If it comes out clean, you are good to go! Sprinkle them with powdered sugar. (If you want to make this into a cake, bake it for 22-25 minutes. Be careful to let it sit for a while and cool without being disturbed to much because it will fall.)

Aren't they beautiful? And if you don't tell anyone they are vegan, I doubt they will guess it. Just serve them up (with a glass of the fabulous Chocolate Silk) and keep your healthy little secret to yourself until the plate is gone. Then come out and say, "Hey, you just ate vegan food and LIKED IT!"