Dave's Pandemic Birthday Chocolate Cupcakes

Dave and Becca visited in the backyard and kept a "social distance" on his 29th birthday this year. He blew out his birthday candle on a chocolate cupcake.  Made with cooking oil instead of butter, these cupcakes are light and moist with good chocolate flavour. I use Rodelle's Dutch-processed organic baking cocoa.

If baking ahead of time, cooled cupcakes can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 days before frosting and serving.

If you don't want to frost and serve all the cupcakes immediately, unfrosted cupcakes can be individually wrapped and stored in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Makes 12-14 cupcakes

• 1/2 cup milk, room temperature
• 1/2 Tbsp white vinegar
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup white granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder, sifted
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup boiling water

1. Stir vinegar into room temperature milk. Let sit 5 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
3. Line a cupcake or muffin pan with paper liners.
4. Sift into the large bowl of your electric mixer: flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sifted cocoa powder.
5. Mix well.
6. In a separate bowl, whisk together: milk and vinegar mixture, egg, oil and vanilla.
7. Pour the wet ingredients gradually into the dry ingredients while mixing. 
8. Scrape sides of bowl, stop mixing when combined.
9. Pour 1/2 cup boiling water into a measuring cup.
10. Turn on mixer and carefully pour the hot water into the batter while mixing. Batter will be thin. 
11. Fill each cupcake liner half full of batter.
12. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven about 20 minutes.
13. When baked, top of cupcake will bounce back when touched. Toothpick inserted into centre will come out clean, with a few or no crumbs.
14. Remove baked cupcakes in oven and let sit in pan 10 minutes.
15. Then remove cupcakes from pans to finish cooling on a rack.
16. Frost only when completely cool.

Chocolate Frosting 

Makes enough frosting for 12-14 cupcakes or a single 9" layer of cake.

All ingredients should be at room temperature. Butter should never me melted or softened in the microwave. Remove from the fridge ahead of time and let soften on the counter. If you only have 1/2 cup butter, mix it with 1/4 cup shortening to make 3/4 cup. When doubling this recipe, you can use 1 cup butter and 1/2 cup vegetable shortening and it will still taste delicious.

• 3/4 cups butter OR 1/2 cup butter and 1/4 cup shortening)
• 3 cups icing sugar
• 1/8 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted
• 1 Tbsp room temperature milk or cream
• cupcake decorations (optional)

1. Using a mixer, whip the butter at high speed until creamy, about 3-4 minutes (double the time if doubling the recipe.)
2. Melt chocolate chips over low heat, stirring in a bowl sitting in another bowl of hot water. Do not let any water get into the chocolate chips. Set aside.
3. Mix cocoa powder into the whipped butter.
4. Add icing sugar gradually to butter mixture, scraping sides of bowl after each cup is added.
5. Mix in milk and melted chocolate.
6. If frosting seems too thick to pipe add an additional teaspoon of milk.
7. Fit piping bag with a Wilton 1M tip or an open star piping tip.
8. Use rubber spatula to fill piping bag with icing.
9. Starting with outside edge of  cooled cupcake, pipe icing in a clockwise (circular) motion, spiralling into centre of cupcake top.
10. If desired, top with a chocolate chip, halved candied cherry, candy sprinkles, crushed candy canes, other decorations, or a birthday candle.