Blackberry Velvet Cupcakes
Servings: 13
Calories: 3672
Ingredients:
- 13 Ounces Columbia Fruit frozen Columbia Star Blackberries
- ¾ Cup Granulated Sugar
- ⅓ Cup Canola Oil
- 1 Cup All-Purpose Flour
- 2 Tablespoons Dutch Process Cocoa Powder
- 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
- ½ Teaspoon Baking Soda
- ¼ Teaspoon Salt
- ½ Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 Teaspoon Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 8-Ounce Package Vegan “Cream Cheese”
- ¼ Cup Non-Dairy Margarine
- 1 Cup Confectioner’s Sugar
- ½ Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 13 Halved Pecans, to Garnish
Preparation:
- To make the cupcakes, the first thing you want to do is thoroughly rinse and dry your berries.
- Toss them all into your food processor, and let the machine run until the berries are completely puréed.
- Press the pulp through a fine-meshed strainer to remove all of those crunchy seeds, and extract as much liquid as you possibly can.
- You should end up with about 1 cup of blackberry juice; if your measurement is a bit scant, add water until you reach that amount.
- With seedless berry purée ready to go, you can now preheat your oven to 350°F and line 13 muffin tins with cupcake papers.
- In your stand mixer or a large bowl, combine the blackberry purée, sugar, and oil.
- Stir vigorously to emulsify and set aside.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and soda, and salt.
- Slowly sift these dry ingredients into the wet, stirring just until combined.
- Add in the vanilla and then vinegar last, mixing briefly and then quickly spooning out the batter into the prepared cups.
- Bake for 15–18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Once the cupcakes have completely cooled, you can make the frosting by simply beating together the “cream cheese” and margarine until smooth, adding in the sugar and vanilla, and then whipping on high speed for a minute or two, until homogeneous, light, and creamy.
- Apply to cupcakes as desired and top each with one halved pecan.