Chocolate Cupcake with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting and Chocolate “Nests”

from, Happiness in a Pot

The Most Perfect Chocolate Cupcake

 1 cup almond (or soy) milk
 1 teaspoon apple cider (or white) vinegar
 3/4 cup granulated sugar
 1/3 cup canola oil
 1-1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
 1 cup all-purpose flour
 1/3 cup cocoa powder
 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
 1/4 teaspoon salt
Chocolate “Butter”cream Frosting
 1/4 cup non-hydrogenated margarine, softened
 1/4 cup shortening
 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (sift if there is lumps)
 2-1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
 3 tablespoons almond (or soy) milk
 1-1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Garnish
 4 Cabury Flake bars
 Cadbury Mini-Eggs
Directions
 Preheat oven to 350°F and line muffin pan with paper or foil liners
 Whisk together almond milk and vinegar in a large bowl, and set aside for a few minutes to
curdle. Add the sugar, oil, and vanilla extract, and other extract, if using, to the soy milk mixture
and beat till foamy. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking
powder, and salt. Add in two batches to wet ingredients and beat till no large lumps remain (a few
tiny lumps are okay).
 Pour into liners, filling ¾ of the way. Bake 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center
comes out clean. Transfer to cooling rack and let cool completely.
 Prepare Chocolate Frosting: Cream together the margarine and the shortening until well
combined. Add the cocoa powder and incorporate well. Add the confectioners sugar in about ½
cup batches and beat well, adding a little splash of almond milk after each addition. When all
ingredients have been well incorporated, add the vanilla and beat until light and fluffy (about 3-7
minutes).
 To chop Flake bars: cut each bar into 4 even pieces. Take each piece and cut length-wise in half,
and then half again (see pics below).
 To assemble: pipe a swirl of frosting on top of each cupcake (I used a large star-shaped tip for
texture). Assemble a “nest” of chocolate using Flake bar pieces. I like to start with 3 or 4 bigger
pieces and then add little piece here and a sprinkle of crumbs there. Play around with it! Finish it
off with 3 Mini-Eggs in the middle. Ta-da!