Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World (11 page)

Left to right:
Blueberry Lemon Crème Cupcakes, Chocolate Cherry Crème Cupcakes, Strawberry Tallcakes

Brooklyn vs. Boston Cream Pie Cakes

WE’RE NOT TRYING
to start any trouble between Boston and Brooklyn here. Instead one might say we’ve reinvented the classic combination golden cake, vanilla custard, and rich chocolate icing and made it better with a little veganization and in the perfect form of a cupcake.

The Vanilla Vegan Pastry Crème is not as thick as a frosting, so filling these cupcakes might get a little messy. This recipe makes a generous amount of creme, so don’t be stingy when filling those cupcakes. These cupcakes taste best if allowed to chill for at least an hour before serving. The chocolate ganache topping might look a little dull straight out of the cold, so allow cupcakes to sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes to give their surfaces that pretty shine again.

 

 

INGREDIENTS

GOLDEN VANILLA CUPCAKES
(page 33)
RICH CHOCOLATE GANACHE TOPPING
(page 143)

For the Vanilla Vegan Pastry Crème:

½ cup soy milk
½ teaspoon agar powder, or 1½ teaspoons
agar flakes
4 teaspoons arrowroot
6 ounces soft silken tofu (about half
of a Mori-Nu package), gently
pressed to remove excess water
1/3 cup superfine or castor sugar
Pinch salt
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

 

TO MAKE THE VANILLA VEGAN PASTRY CRÈME:

1. Pour 1/3 cup soy milk into a small saucepan; keep the remaining soy milk in the measuring cup. Sprinkle agar powder over the soy milk in the saucepan and cook mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat, and continue to cook for about 4 minutes. The agar will be dissolved when the soy milk appears smooth,
and a spoon dipped into the mixture does not have any undissolved agar flakes or powder flecks sticking to the spoon.

2. Whisk the powdered arrowroot into the remaining soy milk in the measuring cup. Pour the arrowroot mixture into the agar mixture in a steady stream, stirring the whole time. The mixture will cook and get very thick in 1 to 2 minutes, and when done it will resemble a very thick pudding. Remove from heat and set aside. Place it in the refrigerator and allow it to set for at least an hour.

3. Crumble tofu into a blender, add the sugar, salt, and cooked arrowroot mixture. Blend till creamy. Add vanilla extract and blend again. Scrape mixture into a container, cover, and put in refrigerator to chill and firm up, at least an hour.

TO ASSEMBLE:

1. Make a hole in the center of each Golden Vanilla Cupcake by poking with your finger. Very gently press the sides and bottom of the hole to make it a little larger. You’ll want the space to be able to fill in with lots of custard.

2. Fit a pastry bag with a large round or star-tipped nozzle, then fill bag with firmed Vegan Vanilla Pastry Crème. Fill only halfway to make handling the bag easier.

3. Fill each cupcake with pastry crème, trying to get as much filling as possible into the cupcakes. Cupcakes should feel noticeably heavier. Remove any excess crème on top by wiping with a knife or finger. Spread tops of cupcakes with
RICH CHOCOLATE GANACHE TOPPING.
For smoother looking tops, try applying two thin layers of ganache instead of one thick layer to tops of cupcakes. Chill for an hour before serving.

MAKE 12 CUPCAKES

WHERE WOULD WE
be without maple syrup? There would be no happiness or joy, we would be eating a lot of dry pancakes and waffles, and most certainly we wouldn’t be eating these scrumptious cupcakes that strike a perfect balance between sweet, mapley, and nutty. The addition of candied walnuts is extra special, but if you can’t be bothered at least toast them lightly before chopping.

 

 

INGREDIENTS

½ cup soy milk
½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ cup maple syrup
1/3 cup canola oil
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 ¼ teaspoon maple extract
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½
cup
SUGARED WALNUTS
(recipe follows),
finely chopped (measure first,
then chop)
CREAMY MAPLE FROSTING
(recipe follows)

For the Sugared Walnuts:

1 cup walnut halves
1/3 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons maple syrup
Dash salt
Dash ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS

 

TO MAKE THE SUGARED WALNUTS:

1. Preheat the oven to 275°F. Spread the walnuts on a rimmed baking sheet and toast in the oven for 6 to 8 minutes. Open oven and shake the pan after about 4 minutes. Watch carefully so as not to burn! Remove from oven and place in a bowl to cool. Lightly grease a large piece of parchment paper and have
it ready because you will need it at the end of the next step.

2. Pour sugar, maple syrup, and salt into a large, cold, heavy-bottom skillet. Turn heat to medium and stir with a wooden spoon till sugar starts to melt and bubble, about 5 minutes. Continue stirring and cook another 3 to 4 minutes until mixture is thick, amber-brown, and smells like caramel. Remove from heat and quickly stir in the walnuts and cinnamon, stirring to coat each nut. Immediately spread coated walnuts on greased parchment paper, using a spatula to spread out the nuts and avoid forming large clusters. Allow to cool completely on sheet before handling or eating.

TO MAKE CUPCAKES:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners.

2. Whisk together the soy milk and vinegar in a large bowl; set aside and allow to curdle for a few minutes.

3. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg into a separate bowl and mix. Whisk the maple syrup, oil, brown sugar, and vanilla, and maple extract into the soy milk mixture. Form a well in the dry ingredients and pour in wet ingredients, stirring till large lumps are gone; fold in chopped sugared walnuts. Fill cupcake liners two-thirds of the way. Bake 20 to 22 minutes. Transfer to cooling racks to cool completely. Frost with
CREAMY MAPLE FROSTING
and sprinkle with Sugared Walnuts.

THESE ARE SUBLIME
summertime cupcakes, perfect straight out of the fridge and eaten while lounging about poolside, or sitting on your fire escape with your feet dunked in a bowl of cold water. Pineapple makes an appearance in the delicately spiced cake and as the refreshing and luscious topping.