16
Nov
2011

chocolate orange cupcakes – and the tolerant vegan turns 1!

Filed Under: Cupcakes, Desserts
Chocolate Orange Cupcakes with Orange Frosting or Orange-Bourbon Glaze

One year ago today, I sat down and typed out the first post for The Tolerant Vegan.

Can you believe it’s been a whole year?

I want to say thank you to everyone who clicks over here to my side of the interwebs every now and then. Thank you for taking a moment out of your busy lives to spend looking at my cats and my frosting and my rants about hockey. Thank you for your comments and your e-mails. I had no idea that I’d make so many new friends through food and I’m grateful every day that I have the chance to connect with so many awesome people. Thank you for welcoming me into your worlds and your stomachs.

To celebrate this happy day, the kind folks at Earth Balance have sent over some coupons to give away to a few lucky readers, just in time for your holiday meal planning. To enter, just leave a comment on this post by midnight on Sunday, 11/20.

Harrison will choose four commenters at random on 11/21 to receive a couple of coupons via snail mail.

Now let’s talk cupcakes.

I saved this Chocolate Orange Cupcake recipe for this special occasion. And because I just couldn’t settle on one topping, I’m going to talk about both. One one hand, we have a fluffy orange frosting recipe that I adapted from the lemon frosting I used earlier this year.

On the other hand, we have an Orange-Bourbon Glaze from Boulder Locavore.

Why pick just one? Exactly.

 

Chocolate Orange Cupcakes with Orange Frosting or Orange-Bourbon Glaze

Cake recipe from Chef Chloe Coscarelli via Veg News
Glaze recipe from Boulder Locavore
Makes 12 cupcakes
Printable recipe

Cake ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 cup vegan refined sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
  • 3/4 cup orange juice
  • 1/2 cup canola oil
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon orange zest

Orange Frosting ingredients:

  • 6 cups vegan confectioners’ sugar
  • 1/2 cup Earth Balance Natural Buttery Spread, softened
  • 2 teaspoons orange zest
  • 6 tablespoons fresh squeezed orange juice

Bourbon-Orange Glaze ingredients:

  • 1 cup vegan confectioners’ sugar
  • 1 tablespoon bourbon
  • 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed orange juice

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the orange juice, canola oil, vanilla and orange zest.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until fully combined.

Fill each cupcake liner about 3/4 of the way to the top and bake for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick can be inserted and removed cleanly.

Place the cupcakes on a wire rack to cool.

Now you have a very important decision to make. Are you going to frost your cupcakes, or are you going to pour glaze all over them? Or are you going to be like me and do both?

If you’re going the frosting route, make the frosting by simply combining all ingredients in a large bowl and mixing on low-medium speed until fully combined. Wait until the cupcakes are completely cool and then top with frosting.

If you want to use the glaze on your cupcakes, make the glaze by whisking together all ingredients

While the cupcakes are still warm, spoon the glaze on top. Or do what I do and fully dunk each cupcake in the glaze.

Whichever option you go with, I promise you won’t be disappointed.

 

34 thoughts on “chocolate orange cupcakes – and the tolerant vegan turns 1!”

  2. Congrats on your one year milestone. I must admit, I initially subscribed to your blog while going through the mofo blog roll & seeing your awesome cat pics:) but, I now also appreciate the recipes … Orange bourbon glaze, yum!

    Reply

  3. Happy blog birthday!!!!!! Thanks for gracing us with cat photos, awkward childhood photos and vegan treats. I am a dedicated follower who also likes tha hockey chats.

    I’ll thinking I need to make these cupcakes and eat/throw them at the screen tonight while watching Patrick Kane skate his mulleted ass across the ice.

    Reply

    • Please beat them by 10 goals so that way when they play the Flames on Friday they’ll be depressed and sucky! Oh but wait if you beat them maybe it will fire them up for Friday and they’ll play well!? Just beat them. I hate them so much.

      Reply

  6. This recipe looks delicious! I was just searching online for wicked vegan recipe blogs and, fortunately for me, stumbled across yours! I just bought a new container of cocoa camino fair-trade cocoa powder and a bag of organic oranges; I’m definitely making these cupcakes this evening. Thanks and looking forward to using your recipes!

    Reply

  9. There is no law against glaze AND icing on a cupcake. (If there is, I am pointedly ignoring that person.)

    Yay for blog anniversaries! (And don’t go to mine. It’s way outdated and I am lazy.)

    Reply

  10. Happy blog birthday. :)

    Harrison looks like he will take his duties very seriously, though tell him not to pick me – I live in a country with no Earth Balanace. *sob*

    Reply

    • Susan – Harrison said to tell you that as soon as his passport comes through he’s going to save up to take a trip down under and he’ll try to smuggle in some Earth Balance for you in exchange for Gizmo’s autograph (pawtograph?) :)

      Reply

  11. As planned, I made your cupcakes this evening and, oh my, they are so delicious!! Thank you thank you for this recipe. I used maple syrup instead of sugar; to make sure it wouldn’t be too runny I just added a bit of extra flour and cocoa powder and used a bit less oil and orange juice (added extra orange zest to make sure it would still be orange-y). Yum!! Half of them are already gone.

    Reply

  12. Thank you so much for linking back to me and using my glaze recipe! When I created it around Halloween time I was delighted at the flavors (even had some begging for delivery of any extras to ‘desparate’ friends who read about them on my blog). Your cupcakes are gorgeous. Simply love the photo of you swiping the cupcake in the glaze with the Eat More Cake papers. Fantastic!

    Reply

  13. Since you wrote such a lovely post, and it’s your birthday (sort of), I thought I’d come out of hiding and congratulate! I discovered your blog a couple of weeks ago and immediately fell in love with your wit and the cat photos (oh, and the food too :) ). My partner is usually shocked by the sheer audacity of some of your suggestions – I think the popcorn cake did it – and since she’s the one doing the cooking around here, I have yet to try some of these wondrous creations. Until then, I’ll continue to lick the screen of my speed dial. Wishing you all the best and many wonderful posts to come! (No need to include me in the draw since I live in the far-off and magical land of Croatia.:))

    Reply

    • Hi Iva! Thank you so much for the kind words! Croatia is on my “to go” list, it looks so gorgeous in photos! I’d love to rent a car and just drive around the entire country for a couple of weeks.

      Reply

      • Funny, that’s exactly what we’d like to do in the States someday, take the much-touted coast to coast road trip. If you ever need pointers in terms of what Croatia has to offer, feel free to ask! Ever since we moved to the seaside we feel like we’re in paradise, the sun is scorching in mid-November!

        Reply

  17. Congratulations to you and happy birthday to your blog! I love reading your recipes and looking at the pictures of your cats. Can’t wait to see what the next year has in store for you.

    Oh, the cupcakes look absolutely delicious! I think I would have to make both the icing and the glaze.

    Reply

  19. Happy Blog Birthday!! I have been craving a chocolate cupcake– I would even take one with no frosting but both look delicious! I’ll be making these like right now.

    Thanks so much for your fun posts and wonderful recipes!

    Reply

  21. That glaze… oh man. I recently made a giant (vegan) whoopee pie cake with an awesome orange buttercream (oh hello Earth Balance) and chocolate cake. It was awesome. But it would have been even awesomer with that bourbon glaze over the top. Happy blog birthday!

    Reply

  27. Pingback: Chocolate Orange Cupcakes

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