I need help from you bakers!
I have a recipe for cupcakes (I guess they are vanilla?). I'd like to add cocoa to make them chocolate, but I'm not sure what I need to remove/add to make it work, or even how much cocoa I should use. Here's the recipe:
1 cup milk
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups white flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
Makes 6 cupcakes.
pear / 1718 posts
I'm not an expert, but I would substitute some of the flour for cocoa powder . . . 3-4 TB of cocoa powder (removing equal amounts of flour), depending on how choclate-y you like your cupcakes.
wonderful pomelo / 30692 posts
@pwnstar: Thanks! Maybe I'll just have to make an experimental batch ahead of time. I wasn't sure if I would need to add any sugar or liquid to compensate for the bitter/dry nature of cocoa. I'm usually a very strict recipe follower, haha.
pear / 1718 posts
@Adira: I think you will only need additioal liquid if you add the cocoa powder without decreasing any of the other dry ingredients. Otherwise, the ratio of wet to dry ingredients is the same (so you shouldn't have a moisture problem). I don't know for sure about the sweetness, but the wet ingredients should negate/minimize any bitterness from the cocoa powder.
pear / 1718 posts
You've inspired me to try! My LO will be stoked to make cupcakes tonight! Does the recipe makes 6 large cupcakes or 6 regular ones? (or is it halved?)
pomelo / 5573 posts
Is there a reason you want to use this specific recipe instead of just looking for a chocolate cupcake recipe? I don't think 3-4 tbsp. of cocoa is going to be enough for you - I make a chocolate mug cake that uses 2 tbsp. and that's for one mug. I googled chocolate cupcake recipes and found two with similar quantities of flour to your recipe - 1 called for a 1/2 cup of cocoa, the other for 3/4.
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
I'd begin with 1/4 cup cocoa powder and then adjust the flour to 1 cup. I have a recipe (for a pound cake) that I do that to and when I want to change it up.
Also, have you checked out a recipe for wacky cake or depression cake? There's one that uses cocoa and it's seriously like Hostess cupcakes, and it's VEGAN!
wonderful pomelo / 30692 posts
@pwnstar: I believe it makes 6 regular sized cupcakes. If it doesn't, let me know! 
@erinbaderin: Yes, unfortunately I need to stick as close to this recipe as possible. If for Xander's Baked Milk Challenge next week and this is the recipe they gave me. I asked if I could add cocoa to make it chocolate and they said I could, but I don't want to stray too far from this recipe, haha! I actually looked up another recipe I chocolate cake recipe I like and it calls for 3/4 cup cocoa, but that's also for 24 cupcakes. That recipe uses four times as much sugar as this one, but a similar amount of flour, so I have no idea.
wonderful pomelo / 30692 posts
@looch: Okay, 1/4 cup cocoa and 1 cup flour sounds manageable (and easy). And then keep sugar at 1/2 cup?
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
@Adira: Yep, I don't adjust the sugar in my cake recipe.
And now I see why you need this recipe, but I just looked up the wacky cake and it's a lot less cocoa then 1/4 cup, but I still think it's going to be fine.
hostess / papaya / 10540 posts
What if you stuck to this recipe and dressed it up with chocolate frosting or adding Oreo crumbs to the batter?
pomegranate / 3706 posts
Why not just use a chocolate cake recipe? I have the BEST chocolate cake recipe I always use for cupcakes-- let me know if you want it!
wonderful pomelo / 30692 posts
@Boogs: I don't think I'm supposed to put frosting on them, though in general, that's a good idea!
@erinpye: It's for a Baked Milk Challenge, so I think I'm supposed to stick as closely to this recipe as possible. I'm guessing so they know exactly how much milk is in it.
wonderful cherry / 21504 posts
@Adira: I really can't help with how to make it chocolate, but I just wanted to say I hope it goes well! I'm sure it would make your, and Xander's, life so much easier if he can have baked milk! My friends daughter was mspi but now can eat all regular baked goods and it's been life changing for them both.
wonderful pomelo / 30692 posts
@MoonMoon: I think I'm going to experiment this weekend. His challenge is on Monday!!
@Foodnerd81: Thank you!! It will definitely make life so much easier if he can have baked milk. Then I wouldn't have to worry about cookies or crackers or breads at daycare or anywhere else. I really think he's probably going to pass because he's been accidentally given things with milk baked in before and was fine, but we'll find out on Monday!
honeydew / 7917 posts
@Adira: best of luck! We had a baked milk challenge a year and a half ago, which LO passed. He still has issues and quite bothered by baked milk, but he doesn't break out in hives, which is an improvement. He didn't pass his recent milk challenge with 1/8 tsp of ice cream though. 
wonderful pomelo / 30692 posts
@yin: Thank you! What is your LO's issue with baked milk? That sucks that he didn't pass his milk challenge though. We're definitely not there yet, but really hoping we pass the baked challenge as a step in the right direction.
honeydew / 7917 posts
@Adira: His mouth gets itchy and uncomfortable when he eats something with baked milk. Sometimes he gets a stomachache.
wonderful pomelo / 30692 posts
@yin: Thanks for sharing. Did he experience any of that at his baked milk challenge and they still passed him?
honeydew / 7917 posts
@Adira: oddly enough he didn't experience it at his baked milk challenge. He also recently passed an egg challenge, and he was perfectly fine. At home he can't eat more than a few bites of straight up egg without feeling uncomfortable. He is perfectly fine with egg noodles though. Sometimes redness around his mouth.
wonderful pomelo / 30692 posts
@yin: That's interesting he didn't experience it during his baked challenge! That's got to be really rough that your kids have so many allergies, but at least they are starting to outgrow some of them. 
wonderful pomelo / 30692 posts
Thanks everyone for your help! I ended up not changing the recipe because I'm a wuss, but I really should've because Xander did NOT want to eat it! Ooops.
@MoonMoon: @yin: He passed!!
pomegranate / 3393 posts
@Adira: awesome! I know that'll make things a little easier for you guys!
honeydew / 7917 posts
@Adira: Such great news!! So happy for him and all of the new foods he can eat.
wonderful pomelo / 30692 posts
@yin: Thank you! Although I had no idea how restrictive his diet still would be!! Was it like that for you? The instructions we were given were basically that he can have home baked items as long as a serving contains less than 1/6 cup of milk. And he can have store-bought baked products as long as milk isn't one of the first two ingredients. And he still can't have things like frosting, pancakes, chocolate chips!
wonderful pomelo / 30692 posts
@yin: Not sure if you'll have the answer for this or not, but now that Xander's passed the Baked Milk Challenge, I'm trying to update his lunch menu with what he can actually eat now. Do you think he can have a "milk biscuit"? I've looked up recipes and I think a serving probably has less than 1/6 cup milk/butter, but I just wasn't sure if it would be cooked long enough... I assume so? What do you think?
honeydew / 7917 posts
@Adira: I'm probably not the best person to ask since I'm horrible at exposing LO to baked milk. Since he still reacts a little, I don't try too hard, although I really should.
I would try to make some biscuits at home and see how he reacts. If it calls for a lot of milk, maybe use half cow's milk and half hemp milk. Adjust a little at a time to increase tolerance. I found goldfish to be a good intro to milk. Get the original flavor (blue). Milk is one of the last ingredients. My LO eats shrimp chips (it's an Asian snack), and milk is also the last ingredient. That's my limited personal experience. I really need to up my game here, especially since I stopped buying goldfish a while ago. 
wonderful pomelo / 30692 posts
@yin: haha, thanks! Unfortunately, I'm just trying to figure out what Xander can have at his daycare. I got a copy of their menu and tomorrow with lunch, they are serving Milk Biscuits. I have no idea how they are made!
Interesting about the goldfish. They serve goldfish at his daycare for snack too, but I don't know which ones, and some of the goldfish lists cheese as the second ingredient! Maybe I should ask them to show it to me so I can decide if he can actually have it or not.
honeydew / 7917 posts
@Adira: I wouldn't trust daycare food just yet. Their goldfish is probably the regular cheddar one (orange). That's what they serve for snack at my LO's school.
eggplant / 11716 posts
@Adira: did the doctor mean Xander can't have frosting/pancakes/chocolate chips if it's in a restaurant and you don't know the ingredients?
wonderful pomelo / 30692 posts
@yin: That's what I'm thinking too. When your LO passed the baked milk challenge, could he eat stuff like casserole that has baked cheese? Or is that still off limits? (I did e-mail our allergist to ask, but haven't heard back yet)
wonderful pomelo / 30692 posts
@Anagram: Yeah, if it contains milk, he can't have it in those forms.
eggplant / 11716 posts
@Adira: oh gotcha. But you can still give all store frosting-in-a-can type things since those are dairy free.
We still avoid most dairy for my LO so I'm following along. We never even had allergy testing, since it's an intolerance, but she still gets rashes around her mouth and eczema flare ups when she eats dairy, so I'm wondering if I should request an actual allergy test. She's never had a serious reaction though, so I've been working on the assumption that it's an intolerance that she is taking a looooong time to grow out of? (she's 2.5 now).
honeydew / 7917 posts
@Adira: No casseroles unfortunately. Just limited to baked milk and not cheese.
wonderful pomelo / 30692 posts
@Anagram: Yep, anything dairy-free, he can have! Just when I don't know, I assume it has dairy.
The fact that your LO gets a rash and eczema actually might indicate she has an allergy. An intolerance usually just affects the digestive system - so might give her a stomach ache, make her gassy, cause diarrhea, etc. Hives are actually a very common reaction with a dairy allergy. You should get her tested! Also, depending on how allergic she is, it's not uncommon that she hasn't outgrown it yet at 2.5. Our allergist gave us a best-case scenario of outgrowing it fully by 5 (though some kids do outgrow their allergy earlier, of course).
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