1 prepared vegan pie crust, regular, graham cracker, or oreo
Instructions
Melt the chocolate. I do this in the microwave for this recipe, in 10 second intervals, stirring between. You may even need to decrease that as it gets close.
Add drained tofu (no need to press) to food processor or blender and blend briefly.
Add the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. If it won’t mix or won’t get smooth add another tablespoon of milk.
I had a bad cupcake day yesterday, so I had to redeem myself with these! We had made the frosting earlier, so it didn’t get quite as smooth as I wanted here, but it tastes good – just isn’t as pretty in photos.
Chocolate Cherry Cupcakes
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cherry extract or cherry juice
1 teaspoon vinegar
5 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup cold water
1/4 cup chocolate pieces or chips
1/4 cup dried cherries chopped
In a large mixing bowl, mix flour, sugar, cocoa, soda and salt. Make three wells in the flour mixture. In one put vanilla; in another the vinegar, and in the third the oil. Pour the cold water over the mixture and stir until moistened. Add the chocolate chips and cherries and gently mix. Spoon into cupcake tins (fill 1/2 to 2/3 full). Bake at 350°F. oven for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in a cupcake comes out clean. Allow to cool before frosting.
Frosting/Icing
2 cups powdered sugar
¼ cup vegan butter, softened
3 tbsp chocolate syrup
1/2 teaspoon cherry juice or extract
1+ tbsp soy milk
Cream sugar and butter. Add syrup and extract. Add soy milk if necessary to reach desired consistency.
Last weekend, I was unexpectedly craving fresh cherries. I am not that big of a cherry fan, so who knows. At any rate, I put cherries in my Imperfect Foods order. Then I forgot I did that and put them in my Instacart order. It was a whole bunch of cherries.
So, I started looking for bread to make – of course I did. And then I happened across a recipe for Chocolate Cherry Porter Bread on Connoisseurus Veg. And that seamed perfect as a starting point. I made adjustments here and there, because I do that.
I made this recipe in loaf pans, so I have been calling it bread, but it’s definitely closer to cake – in the same way that banana bread is more like cake. My bread didn’t come out 100% the way that I wanted, so I’ve made some adjustments here that should make it even better! Because my ganache went south, I ended up with a LOT of ganache and made it into a thicker layer rather than a glaze. But the recipe here is for a ganache drizzle. This recipe makes enough for two loaves.
Ingredients
For the Bread
511g flour
400g sugar
95g cocoa powder
4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 11.2 oz. bottles Guinness
1/2 cup vegan margarine melted
2 tsp. almond extract
575g fresh cherries pitted and halved
For the Chocolate Ganache
185g vegan chocolate chips
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1/2 cup non-dairy milk or creamer
Process
Bread
Preheat oven to 350.
Grease or spray a 9 x 5 loaf pan with cooking spray.
Combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Add porter, margarine and vanilla. Stir just until blended.
Fold in cherries.
Pour into loaf pan.
Bake 1 hour, or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.
Ganache Drizzle
Place the ingredients in a glass or metal bowl.
Fill a saucepan (that the bowl will fit in) with about an inch of water.
Bring to a boil and then lower the bowl into the water.
As chocolate begins to melt, start whisking and continue until everything is incorporated and smooth.
