Vanilla Cupcakes from VCTOTW

These were good, but they were more muffin-life, IMO.  The birthday boy LOVED them (he's 5) and had 3 of them at his party and then another one at home!  LOL   That's a win in my book!  

Golden Vanilla Cupcakes

From the book Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero

Ingredients

1 cup soy milk

1 tsp. apple cider vinegar

1¼ cups all-purpose flour

2 Tbsp. cornstarch

¾ tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. salt (increase salt to ½ teaspoon if you're using oil instead of margarine) **(I used oil and did NOT add extra salt and would advise NOT to)

½ cup non-hydrogenated margarine, softened, or ⅓ cup canola oil

¾ cup sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

¼ tsp. almond extract, caramel extract, or more vanilla extract

Steps

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin pan with cupcake liners.

Whisk the soy milk and vinegar in a measuring cup and set aside for a few minutes to get good and curdled.

If using margarine: Sift the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl and mix.

In a separate large bowl, use a handheld mixer at medium speed to cream the margarine and sugar for about 2 minutes until light and fluffy. (Don't beat past 2 minutes.) Beat in the vanilla and other extract, if using, then alternate beating in the soy milk mixture and dry ingredients, stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl a few times.

If using oil: Beat together the soy milk mixture, oil, sugar, vanilla, and other extracts, if using, in a large bowl. Sift in the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and mix until no large lumps remain.

Fill cupcake liners two-thirds of the way and bake for 20 to 22 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack, and let cool completely before frosting.