mint chocolate chip cupcakes

My ambivalence about cupcakes is no secret.
On one hand, lets face it, they taste good. In fact, there are very few desserts I do not enjoy. I don't enjoy fruit compote, but I believe one can argue that fruit compote is not dessert at all. Its just mushy fruit. But I digress. Yes the cupcake is good. No one can argue that it is perfectly proportioned. And it is damn cute. But I find myself baffled everytime I drive through Georgetown and see a line down the block for Georgetown cupcakes. Or I walk by Crumbs and see and early morning sugar rush.

For years I have been advocating the ascent of the mighty whoopie pie, which was gaining some traction but seemed to have fizzled as of late. So why the musing on cupcakes you ask? Well my dear friend Megan was having a fundraiser for We Are Family, a great D.C.based food assistance organization, and the theme was cupcakes.

So despite my ambivalence towards this tired pastry, I made some damn good mint chocolate chip cupcakes which I must say, were very festive. The cake was your basic wacky cake recipe which uses vinegar and baking soda as a leavener. The frosting was the basic chocolate butter cream frosting from Joy of Vegan Baking, with peppermint extract, instead of vanilla. Plus I chopped up some vegan chocolate chips and folded them into the frosting, which I think gave it a great texture. Garnish with a candy cane. In the future I will be searching for a different cupcake recipe. The chocolate cake is tasty and moist, but it is very delicate and does not stand up well to the weight of the frosting. However, this go-around was a success, if I do say so myself.