Eggless chocolate cupcakes with cookie dough frosting

You all know the drill; you have an itching to bake, you have time to create something decadent for your family, all the ingredients are in place and then wham! You check the fridge and yep, no eggs. Gaaaah! Of course there are lots of yummy egg substitutes but nothing beats the real thing.

Well this happened to me today. I had *just* enough eggs for our meal that evening but the mood to bake had well and truly stuck and for the first time in ages I found myself craving cupcakes. In recent years I've baked waaay too many for work that it's kind put me off baking them for leisure (hence my cookie obsession).

I have an eggless chocolate cake recipe that I use in the bakery for clients who request eggless cakes and I haven't made it in a while so I thought I'd share it here. It's chocolatey (and vegan!) and no one would ever guess that there's something missing from the recipe.

I've also been DYING to try out this cookie dough frosting recipe from Sallys Baking Addiction which gets rave reviews from everyone. And I'm happy to announce that it is indeed as amazing as it looks! Even without eggs, it tastes exactly like cookie dough should and I could seriously eat this by the bucketload. It makes a great frosting or cookie dough dip and I'm already thinking of ways to use it again.
I made 12 x cupcakes with this mixture but it also makes a 2" tall 8" cake. Store your cupcakes in an airtight container for up to 4-5 days but be aware that they do tend to dry out a little quicker than standard cupcakes due to the absence of eggs.




Eggless (and vegan!) chocolate cupcakes

• 200g plain flour
• 200g caster sugar
• 45g cocoa powder
• 1tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1/4tsp salt
• 1tsp vanilla extract (I also add 1/2tsp chocolate extract but that's optional)
• 250ml water (I use slightly warm water)
• 125ml vegetable oil
• 1tbsp white wine vinegar

Cookie Dough Frosting via my favourite blog Sallys Baking Addiction (this frosting makes enough to frost approx 16 cupcakes or an 8" cake)

• 110g unsalted butter (at room temp)
• 150g light brown sugar
• 1tsp vanilla extract
• 150g plain flour
• 1/2tsp salt
• 60ml milk (I used double cream to create a really creamy frosting)
• 150g chocolate chips

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350f/180C.
2. Line the muffin tray with cupcake liners or line your 8" tin with greaseproof paper.
3. In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, bicarb soda and salt. I used a small handheld whisk to do this as it helps remove the lumps from the cocoa.
4. In a small bowl mix the water, oil, vanilla extract and vinegar and add into your dry mix. Mix until fully incorporated and you can see no floury streaks. Be careful not to overmix as the bicarb and vinegar are reacting to add bubbles to the mix.
5. Fill each cupcake cup about 2/3 full and bake in pre-heated oven for about 20mins or until the top of the cupcake bounces back when pressed. Whilst cupcakes are baking make the frosting.
6. With an electric or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar at medium speed. Add the vanilla and beat well. Stir in the flour and salt until doughy. Stir in the milk/cream and beat until fluffy. At this stage you can fold in the chocolate chips but I wanted to pipe my frosting so instead I sprinkled them over the cupcakes once frosted.
7. Remove the cupcakes from the oven and allow to cool in the muffin tray for 5-10mins. Remove from tray and allow to cool on cooling rack before frosting.
8. Store in an airtight container or cupcake box. In warm weather I'd advise refrigerating decorated cupcakes as the frosting can melt.