Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World (14 page)

2. Add chocolate-covered coffee beans or coffee lentils to the center to decorate if you wish.

THESE MIGHT BE
overshadowed by the more “foofy” cupcakes in the book, but don’t pass them up, they are rich, fragrant, and sophisticated. The sweet apricot preserve filling is baked right into the cake, which is rich and moist with almond goodness. It’s then glazed with apricot and decorated with sliced almonds. Classy.

 

 

INGREDIENTS

1/3 cup canola oil
¾ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup soy yogurt
2/3 cup almond milk, soy milk, or
rice milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons almond extract
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1/3 cup almond meal
1/3 cup apricot preserves

For the glaze:

½ cup apricot preserves
1 tablespoon water
1/3 cup sliced almonds

DIRECTIONS

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

2. In a large bowl, combine oil, sugar, yogurt, almond milk, vanilla, and almond extract.

3. Sift in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix until the batter is smooth. Add the almond meal and mix to combine.

4. Fill each cupcake liner two-thirds full. Using a ½ teaspoon measuring spoon, add apricot preserves to the center of each cupcake. Tap lightly on the preserves to get them mostly level with the cupcake batter.

5. Bake for 24 to 26 minutes. You can’t really do the toothpick test here because there is apricot filling and it won’t come out clean, but gently press the top with your finger, if it springs back it’s done.

6. Transfer to a cooling rack and cool.

TO MAKE THE GLAZE:

1. Place the apricot preserves and 1 tablespoon water in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Bring to a boil, stirring often. Boil for a minute. Turn the heat off and stir the glaze for another 30 seconds or so.

TO ASSEMBLE:

1. Use a pastry brush to apply glaze to the tops of the cupcakes. Sprinkle a single layer of almonds over the tops. Let cool before serving.

WE LOVE TO
bake with beer; it makes us feel tough. We also love crumb cake and chocolate so we figured the combination of both would blow our minds, and obviously it did.

 

 

INGREDIENTS

For the crumb topping:

¼ cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
¼ cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons canola oil

For the cupcakes:

¾ cup soy milk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose
flour
1/3 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup stout
¾ cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting the
finished cupcakes, optional

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and muffin pan with paper liners.

TO MAKE THE CRUMB TOPPING:

1. In a small bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, and sugar. Slowly drizzle the oil in while constantly tossing the flour mixture with a fork. Crumbs will start to form. After all the oil has been added, toss and stir the crumbs with your fingers for about 30 seconds to make as many crumbs as possible. The end result should leave you with mostly big crumbs (almost ¼ inch in diameter) and a little loose flour left over. (If the mixture is getting too clumpy and heavy
before you’ve added all the oil, it’s okay to stop adding it.)

TO MAKE THE CUPCAKES:

1. Whisk together soy milk and vinegar in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt and mix. Add stout, sugar, oil, and vanilla to the soy milk mixture and beat till foamy. Add dry ingredients to wet in two batches and beat for about 2 minutes.

2. Pour batter into liners, filling them three-quarters of the way. Gently sprinkle the tops with crumb topping, being careful that the crumbs don’t sink into the batter but rest on top of it. Bake 20 to 22 minutes. Transfer to cooling racks. Once cooled you can dust the tops with confectioners’ sugar.

WE LOVE THESE
light-textured coconut milk cupcakes with a ribbon of homemade vegan “milk” caramel, a hint of lemon, and a sprinkle of coconut. When eating these we imagine we’re on a tropical island vacation where tanned cabana boys are serving us lusciously Latin and Caribbean-style vegan desserts. Then we wake up to find ourselves roasting to death in our steamy little NYC apartments every summer. While the island breeze might be just a dream, these sublime little cupcakes remain a delicious reality.

The brown rice syrup used in the topping is essential for these and can’t be substituted. It has a consistency and deep caramel flavor similar to dairy-based dulce de leche.

 

 

INGREDIENTS

1¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup oil
½ cup soy milk
½ cup coconut milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
DULCE SIN LECHE TOPPING
(recipe follows)
¼ cup unsweetened shredded coconut

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare
DULCE SIN LECHE
first and set aside to cool.

2. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add sugar and brown sugar and mix. Whisk together the oil, soy milk, coconut milk, lemon zest, and vanilla. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in wet ingredients. Mix until relatively smooth.

3. Fill cupcake liners two-thirds of the way full. Pour 1 teaspoon of
DULCE SIN LECHE
on top of each cupcake, then use a butter knife to stir tops of cupcakes a few times to swirl the sauce. Bake for 22 to 25 minutes. Cool cupcakes for a few minutes and transfer to wire rack until lukewarm.

TO ASSEMBLE:

1. Spoon 2 to 3 teaspoons of
DULCE SIN LECHE
on top of lukewarm cupcakes. Sprinkle tops with shredded coconut for garnish. Topping will be very sticky; allow to sit for an hour and the
DULCE SIN LECHE
will firm up a little. Allow to cool completely before eating.

MAKES 12 CUPCAKES

YUMMY. LEMON. MACADAMIAS.
If you can find vegan white chocolate chips, add half a cupful to make this flavor combo even more intense. We use roasted, lightly salted macadamias because they seem to be the easiest to find, but any macadamias you have will work.

 

 

INGREDIENTS

1/3 cup canola oil
¾ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup soy yogurt
1/3 cup soy milk
¼ cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose
flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1/3 cup roasted macadamia nuts,
ground
½ cup roasted macadamia nuts,
coarsely chopped
LEMON BUTTERCREAM
(recipe follows)

DIRECTIONS

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

2. In a medium bowl, stir together oil, sugar, yogurt, and soy milk. Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla. Mix to combine.

3. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the flour to the liquid mixture in two batches, mixing well after each addition. Add the ground macadamia nuts and beat until well incorporated. Fold in the chopped macadamias.

4. Fill cupcake liners three-quarters of the way full. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, until a toothpick or knife inserted through the center comes out clean.

5. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely before frosting.

MAKES 12 CUPCAKES

THESE GORGEOUS LITTLE
cupcakes are made with matcha green tea powder, a Japanese green tea that’s been steamed and ground to a very fine and silky powder. Nothing else will do. It’s a little pricey, but a little goes a long way in baking and making sweets. Well-stocked Korean, Japanese, or Pan-Asian markets should have it, but make sure to only use varieties that do not have any added sugar. Only pure powdered tea will produce the right flavor and color.

We like to decorate these GREEN TEA CUPCAKES with pink marzipan flowers, bringing to mind the Cherry Blossom Festival at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. These cuties are easy and fun to make, and can be made a day or two before the cupcakes.

 

 

INGREDIENTS

½ cup soy yogurt
cup rice milk
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
cup canola oil
½ teaspoon almond extract
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
3 to 4 teaspoons matcha tea powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup granulated sugar
GREEN TEA GLAZE
(recipe below)
ALMOND FLOWERS
(recipe below)