Chocolate Filled Chocolate Cupcakes

Prepare the cupcakes. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners. Set aside.

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the gluten-free flour, cocoa powder, white sugar, sea salt, baking powder, baking soda, and xanthan gum. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add in the warm coffee, water, Egg Replacer, oil, vanilla extract, and apple cider vinegar. Use an electric hand mixer set on a medium speed setting and beat the ingredients for 2 full minutes until forming a smooth batter. (The batter will look stickier/more gooey than gluten-egg-based batters; this is normal.) Fold in the chocolate chips.

Use a standard-sized ice cream scoop to portion the batter into each of the prepare cupcake liners. Smooth the tops with an off-set spatula and bake from 18-22 minutes or until done. Allow cupcakes to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

Meanwhile, prepare the chocolate filling. Place the coarsely chopped dark chocolate in a medium-sized bowl. Set aside. In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, heat the coconut milk until bubbles just begin to appear around the edges and steam rises from the surface. Pour the hot coconut milk over the chopped chocolate and let stand without stirring for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, stir the chocolate-coconut milk mixture until glossy and smooth (this will take about 2 minutes of gentle stirring). Add the vanilla extract and stir until incorporated. Place plastic wrap directly on the surface of the filling (to prevent a skin from forming) and place in the refrigerator to cool for 2-4 hours, or until chilled.

Prepare the double batch of Vegan Chocolate Frosting according to the recipe . Set aside.

Assemble the cupcakes. Using a sharp paring knife, make a circle in the top of one cupcake, angling the knife downward and inward so that the piece you remove looks like a top. Lift this piece carefully out of the cupcake and set aside (do not discard). Place a dollop of the chocolate filling into the well you've created in the cupcake, then place the top of the cupcake back on top of this filling, pressing down slightly. Do this with all of the remaining cupcakes. Transfer the frosting to an icing bag with the tip of your choice, and pipe the frosting decoratively onto the top of each cupcake. Place the cupcakes in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Serve cold.