Chocolate Mint Cupcakes- gluten free/vegan/top 8 allergen free

If you’re enough lucky to be Irish... You’re lucky enough!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Here is my take on a chocolate mint dessert for the holiday.  It consists of a a chocolate chip cupcake, topped with a creamy vanilla buttercream and drizzled with a chocolate mint "magic shell".  It is divine.  

I would have loved the buttercream to be a beautiful green, but as you can tell by the picture, the green is more of a moss color!   That's what happens when you use natural food coloring, so I decided to just let the buttercream be.  And after eating one, having the color  the perfect shade of green didn't matter to me at all.......

gluten free, vegan......allergy free!

Chocolate Chip Cupcake:

Oven 350 degrees

12 cup cupcake pan with liners

3/4 Cup  White Rice Flour

1/4 Cup  Brown Rice Flour

1/2 Cup  Potato Starch

1/2 tsp  Xantham Gum

1 Cup  Organic Sugar

1 tsp.  Baking Soda

1/4 tsp.  Sea Salt

3 TB  Cocoa Powder

6 TB  Canola Oil

1 tsp  Vanilla Extract

2 TB  Applecider Vinegar

1 Cup  Coffee (hot)  I used decaf.

1/2 Cup  Chocolate Chips (Enjoy Life)

In a large mixing bowl, sift all dry ingredients into bowl.  Mix on low to combine well.  Add in canola oil, vanilla extract, applecider vinegar and hot coffee.  Mix well on medium speed, scraping down when needed.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Divide evenly into a 12 lined cupcake pan.  Bake for 18-20 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.  Set aside and cool completely.

Vanilla Buttercream:

1/4 + 1/8 Cup  "Butter" (we use Earth Balance soy free)

1/4 + 1/8 Cup  Spectrum Shortening

pinch of salt

2 1/4 Cups  Organic Powdered Sugar

1 1/2 TB  Coconut Milk (carton) or milk substitute

1 tsp  Vanilla Extract

Natural Green Food coloring (if desired) 

Add butter, shortening and salt into large mixing bowl and mix on medium until well blended and soft.  Add in powdered sugar, milk and vanilla extract and mix on low until blended than medium until fluffy.  About 2-3 minutes.  Add natural food coloring if desired and mix until blended.  Set aside.

Chocolate Mint "Magic Shell"

1/2 Cup  Coconut Oil (melted)

1/4 Cup  Organic Powdered Sugar

3 tsp  Cocoa Powder

1/4 tsp  Mint Extract (or more if you like a stronger mint taste)

Add all ingredients into a small bowl and by hand until smooth.  It will be pourable.  Set aside.

Assembly:

Once the cupcakes have cooled completely, pipe on vanilla buttercream to a tall peak.  Put the iced cupcakes into refrigerator for about 1 hour to "set" the buttercream.  Once the frosting has set, take a spoon and drizzle the chocolate mint "magic shell" over the top of the cupcake.  The "shell" will set up fairly instantly.  At this point let the cupcakes sit until the frosting has a chance to come back up to room temperature.  The "magic shell" will stay firm and the cupcake is much more delicious to eat with a soft buttercream!  Enjoy!

Save image to computer and print!

May your thoughts be as glad as the shamrocks,

May your heart be as light as a song,
May each day bring you bright, happy hours,
That stay with you all the year long.

Also shared at:   Fat Tuesday, Create Link Inspire,Tuesday Talent Show,Totally Talented Tuesdays, Gluten Free Wednesdays, Waste Not Want Not Wednesday, Allergy Free Wednesday,  Show & Share Wednesday, Full Plate Thursday, Gluten Free Fridays, Whole Food Friday, Foodie Friday, Healing With Food Friday