Love and Olive Oil

Chocolate Amaretto Cupcakes

Chocolate Amaretto Cupcakes

Spiked cupcakes anyone? These cupcakes, much like my last batch of Mocha cupcakes, will give you a bit of a buzz, albeit in a slightly different way. I probably went a bit overboard on the amaretto in the frosting (2 tablespoons is a wee bit strong for only 12 cupcakes), so I’ll leave the recipe flexible and you can decide just how tipsy you’d like your cupcakes to be. Underage? Substitute 1/2 teaspoon almond extract for each tablespoon of amaretto. Granted, you won’t get the tingle of the alcohol in your frosting, but you’ll still have yourself some pretty darned good cupcakes.

These cupcakes arose from one of those, I. Must. Bake. Immediately. urges, that seem to be occurring on quite the regular basis (like, every weekend). Unfortunately, I think all my sugary concoctions are starting to take a toll on Taylor’s teeth (not that he didn’t have cavities before I met him) but I feel as though I’m making it worse. And me, who’s been cavity-free my entire life, can’t help but feel the twinge of guilt when he goes in for yet more dental work. Shudder. Maybe I need to start tossing my baked goods into the blender first and feeding him through a straw… that way the sugar never touches his teeth. Though, to be honest, a ‘blended’ cupcake kind of loses it’s appeal… ew.

Thanks to everyone for your endearing comments about the new design. I’m still tweaking it daily (oh the woes of being a designer…) like the cool new footer I added yesterday, which will show you the most popular posts of late and the most recent comments. Don’t forget to get yourself a gravatar too if you’d like to post a comment – the little picture next to your name will really let your personality shine!

Chocolate Amaretto Cupcakes

Makes 12 cupcakes.

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Ingredients:

1 cup coconut milk
1/3 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon amaretto liqueur
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
2 tablespoons almond meal or finely ground almonds
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

For Frosting:
1/2 cup butter or margarine, room temperature
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 1/2 – 3 cups confectioners’ sugar
1-2 tablespoons amaretto liqueur
2 tablespoons cream or soy creamer

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin pan with paper liners.

Whisk together the coconut milk, sugar, oil, amaretto, and vanilla extract and beat till foamy. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, almond meal, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add in two batches to wet ingredients and mix until no lumps remain (or very few remain).

Pour into liners, filling each with about 3 tablespoons of batter. Bake 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

For frosting, cream butter until smooth and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Add in cocoa powder, along with 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar. Beat until combined. Beat in amaretto to taste. Continue adding sugar 1/2 cup at a time, adding cream as necessary, until light and fluffy, 3-5 minutes. Spread or pipe onto cooled cupcakes.

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27 Comments

  1. Is it safe to say the actual cupcake recipe is vegan? 

  2. You think a cherry pie filling would pair well with this frosting? I want to use this on a chocolate cake I put cherry pie filling in between the layers

  3. Is it possible to do this recipe without the cocoa powder? I was hoping to do a plain amaretto cupcake. Thanks!

  4. I have to thank you for this recipe. I use it ALL the time in a billion different variations because they are ALWAYS perfect. I never knew you could use coconut milk instead of eggs? You’re the best! I love your blog :)

  5. These taste great, but holy cow…I never use cupcake papers at all: just a little organic cooking spray, and I’m usually good to go. I’d say the papers are not at all optional on this one. These were supposed to be for my birthday party tonight, but they completely crumbled when I took them out of the pan. :( I’m going to have to start over from scratch with another recipe. I might use the frosting recipe on a regular chocolate cupcake.

  6. I love amaretto. There’s an old mom n’ pop ice cream store in my city and a speciality ice cream flavor they sell is chocolate amaretto. I was skeptical to make the cupcakes because they were practically vegan. But OMG, they’re turned our surprisingly moist.

    I do have a small issue: Did your cupcakes turn out a bit oily? (Due to the coconut milk and oil…) I used paper liners but I think next time, I have to use foil liners because of the oily-ness.

  7. I have a friend who is allergic to almonds (and most other things). Any ideas of substitutes for almond meal? Can I just leave it out?

    • I’d suggest choosing another cupcake – amaretto is almond liqueur. Maybe not the best flavor for her. :) But in other recipes, almond meal can be substituted for any other finely ground nut, or a whole wheat flour, or even just regular flour.

  8. Great recipe! Thank you! I made these last night with some friends for my roommate who is lactose-intolerant and they were apparently delicious (I don’t like chocolate) :)

    Here’s a link to the site if you’d like to see!
    http://secretmarmalade.wordpress.com/2010/09/03/baking-with-the-girls-vegan-style/

  9. Thanks so much for such a yummy recipes. I made them as one of two varieties for my husband’s birthday, and they were a big hit! I’ll be posting them myself soon. :)

  10. Oh my these look so good. I’m going to add these to the top of my “must bake” list!! And love the blog. Definitely bookmarking.

  11. I love ameretto, so got to be great cakes, but even better, something delicious to bake for the vegans.

  12. i love love LOVE the cake stand it’s on! (and the cupcake itself looks pretty awesome, too!) where can i get some of those?

  13. Yum! I love cupcakes with booze!

  14. Mmm, that sounds good!

  15. These are lovely and must be truly tasty with that spike of amaretto!

  16. Elizabeth –
    the stands (we have a set of 6!) were a wedding gift from Taylor’s grandmother. There’s no brand name or marking on them, so I have no idea where she got them, but they are adorable, aren’t they? :)

    Nikki –
    Thanks for those links! Those handmade stands are adorable, and DEFINITELY going on my wishlist. :)

  17. I think I can help you out with that, Elizabeth! I don’t know where Lindsay found her’s (pillar candle stand?), but check out Whitney Smith’s Etsy store. She has several sweet cupcake stand designs (both domed and undomed). And, to showcase a whole dozen, you can’t beat Sprinkles’ cupcake tray! Goodies made with Lindsay’s recipes deserve special treatment!

    http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=31329845
    http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=31147654
    http://www.sprinkles.com/accessories/cupcake_tray.html

  18. I don’t usually salivate over cupcakes, but these seriously look fantastic. I’m going to buy cupcake trays just to make these.

  19. afterthought…where did you score that cute cupcake stand? it’s perfecto!!

  20. SHAZAMM!! Panty dropping cupcakes? :-) Okay, this sounds so absolutely fabulous! I must try this recipe. Thank you, thank you OH GODDESS OF TEMPTING FOODIES!

  21. They look fantastic, love the photography as well! I think the last alcoholic frosting I made was Baileys – maybe it is time for another!

  22. wow, those were some pretty strong urges, eh? but i do totally get it–happens to me sometimes and i just HAVE to bake. but i feel like my baked goods don’t ever come out looking quite as pretty as yours. these are GORGEY. and probably tasty.

  23. These look amazing! Delicious and beautiful….can’t wait to make them!

  24. Also….love the new footer. Blends so nicely with the whole understated site concept. Definitely one of my favorite blogs and I’m not even a foodie!

  25. Omg…I can’t wait to make these…..or at least print the recipe and give it to someone way more qualified to make for me. Keep ’em coming!

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