Can I substitute vanilla extract for cocoa powder in a cupcake recipe?
I found this recipe online for a chocolate cupcake recipe and I want to make it into a vanilla cupcake recipe. I know what you may be thinking "why doesn't she just find a vanilla cupcake recipe?" This one is vegan and it is the first one that I have seen that is even remotely basic with the ingredients and I am trying to make it as simple as possible for myself. If you could help me that would be lovely.
This is the recipe I am trying to change:
1 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups water
I know this may seem simple but I am not the most experienced baker ever.
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Rather than a substitution what you really need to ask is what changes you need to make if you leave the cocoa powder out. Vanilla extract is a very concentrated liquid and the recipe already calls for 1 teaspoon of it, so adding more vanilla may not even be necessary depending on the result you are trying to get. Maybe an extra 1/2 tsp.
Cocoa powder is dry, leaving it out means you need to reduce the liquid a bit. How much is a good question, I'd take out 2tbsp of water and see if you get a good result.
One thing I'd definitely consider is taking the vinegar out. You need acid to react with the baking soda in order to get a rise, however white vinegar is a very strong flavor which won't work with the vanilla. In fact, I wouldn't use it even if I was making chocolate muffins. I'd substitute 1 and 1/2 tsp of baking powder (it's vegan) for the baking soda and vinegar. Baking powder is a mix of soda (sodium bicarbinate) and cream of tartar, which is a powdered potassium salt derived from wine making byproducts. Cream of tartar will add the acidity without much flavor. It will also give you a more consistent result as vinegars differ in acidity.
I would definitely try that, just by increasing the flour or decreasing the water to 1 cup to compensate for the 1/4 cup of cocoa you're not putting in. I make a recipe very similar to this (1 cup sugar, 1/3 cocoa, 1 cup water, 1/2 cup oil, whatever flour, whatever vinegar, the rest the same) about twice a week, and the cupcakes/muffins come out great. So great my father, who's a baker, kept commenting on how good the chocolate cake was (I used it to make a cake).
The recipe you've found looks like "crazy cake" or "wacky cake" (or "depression cake"), which is a fairly common egg-free cake. I've made it a number of times for a friend with an egg allergy and it's a very good vegan cake.
To make a vanilla version, leave out the cocoa powder and increase the vanilla extract slightly (1.5 teaspoons). There are a wide array of variations on this blog -- chocolate is the "original" (and most common version that I have seen), but vanilla, spice, lemon, and more all seem to be possibilities.
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