Chocolate cupcakes with Peanut Buttercream Frosting

Your Basic Chocolate Cupcake

MAKES 12 CUPCAKES

 INGREDIENTS

1 cup soy milk

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract, chocolate

extract, or more vanilla extract

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup cocoa powder, Dutch-processed or regular

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF and line muffin pan with paper or foil liners.

2. Whisk together the soy milk and vinegar in a large bowl, and set aside for a few minutes to curdle. 

3. Add the sugar, oil, and vanilla extract, and other extract, if using, to the soy milk mixture and beat till foamy. 

4.In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. 

5.Add in two batches to wet ingredients and beat till no large lumps remain (a few tiny lumps are okay).

6.. Pour into liners, filling threequarters of the way. 

7.Bake 12-17 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to cooling rack and let cool completely.

PEANUT BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

Use the most creamy, natural peanut butter you can find; try to avoid chunkier varieties where the oil separates easily, instead choose peanut butters whose texture is thinner and the oil seems to stay put better. Also, salted peanut butter gives it a true peanut butter flavor.
The barley malt or molasses is entirely optional; the malty flavor adds even more depth to the roasted taste of peanut butter. But the frosting still tastes great without it.
This recipe makes a generous amount of filling to be piped into cupcakes. Double the amount to frost the top of cupcakes.

INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup margarine, softened
2 tablespoons shortening (Earth Balance sticks are the best for this)
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1 tablespoon barley malt syrup or molasses, optional
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1-1/4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 to 2 tablespoons rice milk, soy milk, or soy creamer

DIRECTIONS
1. With electric handheld mixer, cream together margarine and shortening at medium speed till smooth.
2. Add peanut butter, barley malt syrup, and vanilla, and beat until very smooth, 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Beat in sugar; mixture will be very stiff.
4. Dribble in rice milk a little at a time, beating continuously till frosting is pale tan and very fluffy.( Adjust the thickness of the frosting by adding rice milk or more confectioners' sugar in small increments if necessary.)
5.  Frost or fill cooled cupcakes.