Chic Vegan

Vegan and Fabulous!

Blood Orange Cupcakes With Easy Dark Chocolate Ganache

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My undeniable love for blood oranges and my passion for chocolate have come together in this amazingly scrumptious cupcake recipe.  I have made these yummy little guys at least 3 times since I first found the recipe in June. I couldn’t help but share.

This recipe is by Dynise Balcavage (The Urban Vegan and fellow Philadelphian) and was featured in the June 09 issue of Grid, Philadelphia’s guide to sustainable living. Dynise’s book, The UrbanVegan: 250 Simple, Sumptuous Recipes From Street Cart Favorites to Haute Cuisine will be released in the fall and is now available for pre-order on Amazon.

Cupcakes

  • 3 tbsp. canola oil
  • ½ cup soy or rice milk
  • ⅓1 cup blood orange juice
  • (juice of about 2 to 3 oranges)
  • ½ tsp. orange extract
  • 1 tbsp. blood orange zest
  • (zest from about 2 oranges)
  • ½ tsp. vinegar
  • ½ cup sugar
  • ¾ cup flour
  • ½ tsp. baking powder
  • dash of salt

Ganache

  • ¼ cup dark chocolate buttons or chips (70 percent cocoa, minimum)
  • 2 tbsp. vegan margarine (non-hydrogenated)
  • ¼ tsp. orange extract
  • ¼ tsp. vanilla extract
  • blood orange wedges for garnish

Cupcakes

  • ˜˜Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place liners in cupcake pans. In a medium bowl, mix wet ingredients, including zest, until smooth.
  • ˜˜In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients. Stir in the wet ingredients and mix until very smooth. There should be no lumps.
  • Fill pans ¾ full with batter. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until knife inserted in center of cupcakes comes out clean.
  • Let cool completely on a rack before icing with ganache.

Ganache

  • ˜˜Mix all ingredients in a medium glass bowl. Microwave on 50 percent power until melted. (Times will vary depending on your microwave.) Or melt in a small saucepan on the stove over low heat.
  • Stir well and allow to cool slightly. Spread ganache on top of cupcakes. Adorn each cupcake with an orange section or some orange zest.
  • Allow ganache to harden slightly before serving.

This recipe makes 6 cupcakes.

If blood oranges aren’t available, substitute navel oranges.

*Recipe and photo by Dynise Balcavage

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