Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes

Some of our friends, a couple with two children, came to stay with us this weekend from "back home." We went to the Omaha Zoo on Saturday and enjoyed seeing lots of animals and spending time together (except for Jonathan who was home sick).

One of our guests is very lactose intolerant and cannot eat anything made with milk (unless it is lactose free). I wanted to have a home baked dessert for her, so I made vegan chocolate cupcakes! I used this recipe from Chow.com. It does not require any special ingredients I don't usually have (I used almond milk instead of soy--I always have one of the other on hand because I dislike dairy milk).

Here is the recipe I used for chocolate frosting. It turned out amazing! Very creamy and chocolatey. The best part of the cupcake. The only special thing I had to buy was the vegan butter.

3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cups cocoa powder
1 tablespoon vanilla
4 tablespoons almond milk
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup vegan butter (Earth Balance buttery sticks)

I creamed the shortening and vegan butter. Then added vanilla. I didn't really have directions so I added a little bit of dry ingredients and a little bit of milk at a time until it was the right consistency. Then I piped it on with my new pastry bag and tips that my friends gave me for Christmas! It made about twice as much as I needed. I will definitely  make this frosting again!