only once a year...to cj's dismay

every year for the summer solstice i make the most delicious cupcakes you've ever had. yup. i'm being quite serious. they're like nothing you've ever had. i got the recipe from this book. the entire book is delicious. you should probably invest in it. people are shocked when i tell them these little babies are vegan. cj's co-workers rememberd them from last year, and have been hounding him for some this year. cj tries to convince me to make them more often. but i'm a stickler for traditions...if you make them all the time then they lose their excitement. it's so worth the wait! so here's the recipe:

mexican hot chocolate cupcakes

ingredients:

1 cup coconut milk

1 Tbsp ground flaxseeds (seriously!)

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 Tbsp corn flour

1/4 cup almond meal

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (this is the best ingredient!)

1 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup canola oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp almond extract

directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 and line muffin pan with cupcake liners

2. whisk together coconut milk and flaxseeds and allow to sit for 10 minutes

3. in another bowl, sift together all-purpose flour, corn flour, almond meal, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and cayenne.

4. whisk sugar, oil, vanilla, and almond extract into coconut milk mixture. gently add wet ingredients to dry. fill cupcake liners three-quarters of the way. bake for 22-25 minutes until a knife or toothpick inserted through the center of one comes out clean. transfer to a colling rack to cool completely.

5. sift a layer of confectioner's sugar onto the tops of the cooled cakes. then sift on cocoa, then lastly sift on a layer of cinnamon.