In my efforts to incorporate more booze into my life, I made cornbread muffins with a hint of bourbon. This time I went for dark rum in a chocolate cupcake. They are delicious.
Cupcake Ingredients
1 cup demerara sugar*
1/3 cup coconut oil (or veg oil)**
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup rice milk***
1/2 cup dark rum
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup golden raisins, raisins, or
chocolate chips (or a combination)
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a muffin pan paper baking cups.
Beat together the coconut oil and sugar. Mix in the rice milk, cider vinegar, dark
rum, and vanilla extract.
In a separate bowl, combine the cocoa powder, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda,
baking powder, salt, and flour. When all
of the dry ingredients have been combined, slowly add the dry mixture to the
wet ingredients.
When the wet and dry ingredients
have been incorporated together, mix in your raisins/chocolate chips.
Portion out the batter into the pre-lined muffin pan.
Bake for 18-22 minutes.
I topped mine with buttercream to which
I added the zest of four small limes and the juice of one lime.
*I think that demerara sugar adds a richness to the recipe. If you don't have demerara sugar, use 1/2 cup of brown sugar and 1/2 cup of white sugar.
**I use coconut oil because I like the texture and body that it adds to the recipe, but canola or vegetable oil would also work.
*** You can use any milk substitute for this. I use rice milk because it's what I use on my cereal.
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There's nothing quite like jam made from freshly picked strawberries. My friend Jenica and I picked the strawberries in the morning and twelve hours later I had two batches of jam made and processed. Yum! 
