Black Bean Chocolate Cupcakes with Tofu frosting

These cupcakes are nutrient rich with black beans and banana hidden inside them. Admittedly, they end up tasting somewhat like chocolate banana bread, but they're tasty nonetheless. You can't even taste the beans. I modified the recipe which I found on Madhuram's Eggless Cooking website, which originally called for a prune puree that sounded too bizarre even for me, thus the banana as an egg substitute. The tofu mousse frosting is from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, and it is for the adventurous. Daring bakers only.

Black Bean Chocolate Cupcakes
makes 16 cupcakes

1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 banana, mashed

2 tablespoons water

1/6 cup canola oil

one 15.5oz can of black beans, drained, rinsed, and pureed

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line muffin tin with paper liners.

Drain the black beans from the can, rinse well under running water, and puree it in a food processor/blender using approximately 1/4 cup of water. The puree should be very smooth without any lumps. Add the sugar, mashed banana, 2 tablespoons of water, canola oil and vanilla extract. Process/blend it again for another 2-3 minutes. Transfer it to a large bowl.

In a small bowl whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients in 3 parts, mixing well after each addition.

Pour into muffin tin, filling each cup 3/4 full. Bake for approximately 14 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool completely before frosting.

Chocolate Tofu Mousse Frosting
makes enough to frost 30 cupcakes

1 package extra firm tofu, drained of liquid.
1/4 cup soymilk
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (12 oz) package of semisweet chocolate chips

Puree tofu in blender until completely smooth. This step is the most important because if you don't blend enough, you will end up with chunks of tofu in your frosting. These chunks are unappetizing to all but the most intense soy-lovers. Add soymilk, syrup, and vanilla.

In a double broiler, melt chocolate chips. You can use two nesting pots in place of a double broiler with the chocolate chips in the top pan and water in the bottom pan. After the chocolate has melted, cool for 5 minutes and then add to the tofu and blend.

Transfer to an airtight bowl and chill for an hour.

Something else to try with any extra melted chocolate is to draw on a wax paper covered cookie sheet. Place your drawings in the freezer, and when they harden, you can use them as decorations for your cupcakes. Note the beautiful cactus cupcake and the cupcake cupcake below.

Plans to Make Tofu

The Mercury News ran an article yesterday about making tofu. In it, Kuniko Yagi describes making tofu in the oven, the microwave, and a steamer.

Yagi says, "I felt embarrassed I couldn't make [tofu], being Japanese." Leryn and I found this hilarious because being Japanese doesn't automatically dictate that you should be able to make tofu any more than being French means you should be able to make croissants and baguettes.

The Mercury News also provided a recipe for custard-like tofu, which reminded me of my own tofu making ambitions.

Ever since I found these articles on making soymilk and making tofu on the Just Hungry cooking blog, Leryn and I decided to make our own soymilk and tofu out of soybeans that I bought at the local Japanese Supermarket. I also bought a bottle of nigari, the brine based coagulant that is used in making tofu.

I had originally planned to go to Toys R Us and buy an igloo shaped sandcastle mold and drill holes in it to make tofu igloos, but today I had a chance to buy a real tofu mold for $4.00 at Daiso. It seems like a complete rip-off for such a small mold that I could make so easily out of blocks of wood, but convenience won out in the end.

Status of the tofu making project: Mobilizing and in action. More details later.