Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World (8 page)

THE NAME SAYS
it all, a simple but perfect, tender, and all-around wonderful chocolate cupcake. Change the look, flavor, and even nationality (with COCONUT PECAN FUDGE FROSTING, page 147, for GERMAN CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES) by topping with any frosting, glaze, or filling you can imagine. This recipe is the basis for so many great chocolate cupcakes in this book. We’ve been even known to whip up an unadorned batch and serve with a glass of cold soy milk when the need for good, honest chocolate cake arises.

 

INGREDIENTS

1 cup soy milk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
¾ cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract, chocolate
extract, or more vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder, Dutch-processed
or regular
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS

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

2. Whisk together the soy milk and vinegar in a large bowl, and set aside for a few minutes to curdle. Add the sugar, oil, and vanilla extract, and other extract, if using, to the soy milk mixture and beat till foamy. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add in two batches to wet ingredients and beat till no large lumps remain (a few tiny lumps are okay).

3. Pour into liners, filling three-quarters of the way. Bake 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to cooling rack and let cool completely.

Variations

PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE HEAVENCAKES:
Fill with Peanut Buttercream Frosting or Filling (page 151), and top with Rich Chocolate Ganache Topping (page 143). Pipe a cute swirl of remaining frosting on top of glazed cupcakes.

 

PEANUT BUTTER BOMBES:
Double the Peanut Buttercream Filling or Frosting recipe (page 151) and frost into high, rounded domes on top of cupcakes. Chill till very firm, then carefully dribble with RICH
CHOCOLATE GANACHE TOPPING
(page 143). Decorate with chocolate shavings or curls or sprinkles.

 

CHOCOLATE MOCHA CUPCAKES:
Add 2 tablespoons instant espresso or coffee to batter. Frost with
VEGAN FLUFFY BUTTERCREAM FROSTING
(page 142), replacing the soy milk in the frosting recipe with cold, strong coffee. Dust tops lightly with ground cinnamon or nutmeg.

 

GERMAN CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES:
Like the lady said, frost generously with Coconut Pecan Fudge Frosting (page 147).

 

CHOCOLATE ORANGE CUPCAKES:
Add 1½ teaspoons orange extract, or 1 tablespoon finely grated orange peel, or 2 tablespoons finely chopped candied orange peel, to cupcake batter. You can also replace up to ¼ cup of the liquid with orange liqueur in addition to any of the orange-y options. Frost with
ORANGE BUTTERCREAM
(page 145), adding 1 teaspoon orange extract to the buttercream in addition to the vanilla extract. Decorate tops of frosted cakes with a sliver of orange peel or orange candy sprinkles.

Cookies
‘n’
Cream Cupcakes

COOKIES ‘N’ CREAM CUPCAKES (PICTURED ON PAGE 39):
Mix into cupcake batter 1 cup (about 10 cookies; chop first then measure) of coarsely chopped vegan chocolate cream-filled sandwich cookies (like Newman-O’s). Bake as directed. Prepare
VEGAN FLUFFY BUTTERCREAM FROSTING
(page 142), and stir into frosting ½ cup finely mashed sandwich cookie crumbs. Frost cupcakes generously, and top each cupcake with half of a sandwich cookie.

FLAVOR EXTRACTS AND LIQUORS:
Replace almond extract with 1 to 2 teaspoons of coconut, caramel, or raspberry extract. Also try adding up to 1 tablespoon of liquor such as rum, brandy, whiskey, or fruit cognac.

 

CHOCOLATE GINGER:
Sift 2 teaspoons ground ginger into the flour. Fold in
cup chopped crystallized ginger to the batter. Top with
RICH CHOCOLATE GANACHE
(page 143). Place a piece of crystallized ginger in the center of the ganache before it sets.

MAKES 12 CUPCAKES

YOU MIGHT THINK
there’s no way you could possibly get any sexier with all the cupcake baking you’ve been up to by now, but sometimes you just need to fit into that particular pair of pants (or skirt or dress or tube top) that makes you feel sexy ... but you’re not willing to give up cupcakes. Correction, there’s no way in freakin’ hell you’re putting down those cupcakes. Now you don’t have to, thanks to these vanilla-scented gems.

 

 

INGREDIENTS

For the cupcakes:

½ cup vanilla soy yogurt
2/3 cup vanilla or plain soy milk
¼ cup applesauce
3 tablespoons canola oil
¾ cup granulated sugar
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1¼ cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
¾ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt

For the Skinny Confectioners’ Icing:

1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 to 3 teaspoons of soy milk or 1 tablespoon
flavored syrup (like the kind
used for flavoring lattes and Italian
sodas)
½ cup seedless, smooth spreadable
fruit or other preserves
1 cup fresh fruit or berries, washed, patted
dry and thinly sliced if necessary

DIRECTIONS

TO MAKE THE CUPCAKES:

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

2. In a large bowl, whisk together yogurt, soy milk, applesauce, oil, sugar, and vanilla. Sift in flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and mix.

3. Fill cupcake liners three-quarters full. Bake 22 to 24 minutes until a knife or toothpick inserted through the center of one comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

TO MAKE THE ICING:

1. Mix confectioners’ sugar with soy milk or syrup, either with a fork or a small whisk. Mixture will resemble a very thick paste or batter. Carefully dribble in remaining soy milk, one teaspoon at a time, till mixture resembles a thin cake batter, adjusting additional soy milk by either less or more teaspoons till desired consistency is reached. If too watery, add in more confectioners’ sugar by the tablespoon.

TO ASSEMBLE:

1. Spread top of cupcake with a few thin layers of spreadable fruit at room temperature. Neatly and evenly spread the layers for the most attractive appearance. Spoon a small circle of Skinny Confectioners’ Icing on top of jam, decorate with fresh fruit, and carefully drizzle tops of berries with more icing.