Chocolate Balsamic Raspberry Cupcake

Last Sunday, I had six missionaries over for dinner, so I broke my vow of no baking just for them. At one point I was baking cupcakes every week and it was getting out of control.

I've been wanting to make these cupcakes for awhile, but I was intimidated by the idea of working with a frosting that would possibly be runny. I hate runny frosting. So I did a little tweaking to her recipe and came up with the perfect frosting! We had some left over and C.B. was disappointed that we didn't have graham crackers to eat it with.

Chocolate Balsamic Raspberry Cupcakes
Adapted from Love and Olive Oil
Makes 12 cupcakes

Ingredients:
1 cup light coconut milk
1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup raspberries,finely mashed
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons almond meal (or finely ground almonds)
1/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
 1/4 teaspoon salt

Frosting:
4 oz raspberries (I used frozen, defrosted)
1 1/2 tablespoons granulates sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line pan with cupcake liners.

Whisk together the coconut milk and vinegar, set aside for 5 minutes. Mix in sugar, oil, raspberries, and vanilla to the coconut milk and vinegar mixture. In a separate bowl, sift together all dry ingredients. Make a well in the center of dry ingredients and pour coconut milk mixture. Stir well.

Pour batter into liners, about 2/3 full. Bake 18-20 minutes. Place on a cooling rack and let cool completely.

In a sauce pan mix the raspberries and sugar. Let sit for 15 minutes, unheated. Add balsamic vinegar to the mixture and turn on the heat to medium. Cook for 15 minutes, roughly mash the raspberries until no large chunks remain. Cool completely.

Cream butter until completely smooth, about 2-3 minutes. Add 1 cup powdered sugar and cocoa powder and beat until combined. Mix in 1/4 cup of the raspberry mixture. Add sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition to achieve proper consistency. If desired, right before adding the last 1/2 cup of sugar, add another 1/4 cup of raspberry mixture. Continue to beat for about 3-5 minutes. Pipe on cooled cupcakes. Top with raspberries or remaining raspberry mixture if desired.