Vegan Marble Cupcakes

When I was a kid, marble cupcakes were always my favorite. I mean, you get the best of both worlds, chocolate and vanilla together! Also, they felt kind of special, because you usually would only get them at celebrations or birthdays! The weird thing is though, I have not really made many marble cakes since I became vegan.

The one celebration cake I made that was a marble cake was about 10 years ago when I made one for an ex boyfriend. It was one that was pretty fussy where you had to whip the eggs separately and fold them in and what not, and I made a really good vanilla butter cream to top it off. It was the best marble cake I had ever tried at that point. And all my ex boyfriend said about it was that it didn't taste like the cake at the grocery store (you know the ones made with fake ingredients and shortening?). There is a reason he is an ex lol. That cake was bomb.

I was thinking about that the other day and I decided that I kinda wanted some marble cake again. But I didn't want to make a giant cake, so I decided on cupcakes instead! After all, they are just as delicious, but less time and effort to make. The best part is, this batter is really easy to make compared to that cake I made 10 years ago that was super fussy.

I frosted them with a pink coconut cream frosting and they were super delicious! Sweet and soft with the rich chocolate cake and fragrant vanilla cake combined plus the creamy frosting! If you are a marble cake fan, definitely give them a try!

Vegan Marble Cupcakes
Makes 16 cupcakes

Ingredients:

16 silicone muffin tins, or foil muffin tins

Cake:

• 1 3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 1/2 baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 3/4 cup granulated xylitol*
• 2 cups full fat coconut milk (the thick kind, I prefer Thai Kitchen brand) at room temperature
• 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 Tbsp cider vinegar

Frosting:

• 1 1 15 oz can full fat organic coconut milk, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup raw cashew butter or macadamia nut butter (or additional coconut cream from the top of the can for a nut free version)
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• pinch sea salt
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp raw coconut butter (NOT OIL), warmed to liquid
• natural vegan food coloring (optional), I used 1/2 tsp beet powder for pink, but matcha could also be used for green, or turmeric for yellow.

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F degrees and position rack in center of oven.
2. Set out 16 muffin tins.
3. Whisk flour, baking soda, sea salt, and sugar in a large bowl to blend well.
4. Whisk coconut milk and vanilla extract together in small bowl to blend well, then whisk into the flour mixture until well blended.
5. Divide the batter between 2 bowls, and whisk the cacao powder into one of them, then whisk 1 Tbsp of the cider vinegar into each bowl.
6. Transfer cake batter to prepared tins and bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 15-20 minutes.
7. For the frosting, combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until completely smooth. Pour into a bowl and place in the freezer until it is thick like whipped cream (whisking every so often), about 45 minutes to one hour.
8. Spread the frosting on top of the cupcakes, and serve!

*The reason I used xylitol for this cake was to keep it pale in color.  If you do not care for xylitol, use 1 cup coconut sugar or 1 cup maple sugar instead, just keep in  mind you will get a darker color cake. Or you could just use regular sugar if you prefer that.

*Do not feed this cake to dogs, xylitol is toxic to them.