Lemon Gem Cupcakes!

Let's dust off some old recipes...

I was asked to bring a (vegan) dessert to a dinner I was invited to.  After mulling a few ideas around in my head, it was suggested that I bring cupcakes.  Great! I haven't made a batch of cupcakes in a while.  I was then suggested:   "How about those lemon cupcakes you made that time..." 

Would you believe the last time I made these was FOUR years ago?!  What a fool I am, because these are one fabulous cupcake.

If you don't have Veganomicon already, you can see the cupcake recipe here, and then run out and buy yourself a copy, because it truly is an amazing cookbook...

Lemon Gem cupcakes truly stand up to their name.  They are sunny, bright, and full of amazing lemony flavor, mostly from the FRESH lemon juice and zest that goes in to the cupcake batter.  I had gotten a nice bottle of pure lemon extract, and I added 1/2 tsp of that too, just for good measure.

This time, I added a splash of vanilla and lemon extracts to the frosting as well, which really added a nice touch ^_^

St. Patrick's Day Birthday Cupcakes

Chocolate Cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World.  Buttercream Frosting from Joy of Vegan Baking, (mainly because I only had 2 cups of powdered sugar on hand, and that is exactly what Colleen's recipe called for).

A note on why these came to be:  My parents' birthdays are both in March.  My dad, Patrick, was born the day before St. Patrick's Day, and my mom, 100% Italian, was born on the day itself.  True irony...

I was lucky enough to find my green sanding sugar from Williams Sonoma burried in a box, so I didn't have to buy the pathetic-looking-excuse for green that Whole Foods had!  It looked more like transparent moss, than green. 

Here is what the Williams Sonoma sugar looks like, beautiful and sparkley!

And then, there are THESE:

I'm not sure how I feel about the green sillicone baking cups: the cupcakes took a good six minutes longer than usual, which does not make me happy...  But, they sure look cute! ^_^

Mint and Chocolate, the Perfect Pair

So, I went a bit overbaord with the Halloween cupcakes, but hey, Halloween's my birthday, so I should go overboard.

This batch was CHOCOLATE!

Here they are naked, fresh from the oven ^.^ I dripped the batter everywhere!!



As always, I used my "go-to" recipe for vegan chocolate cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take over the World.  This recipe is a little different from the golden vanilla in that it uses canola oil for the fat instead of Earth Balance, but believe me, it is equally as yummy.

I did find that many of my friends do not like "chocolate" cupcakes, and much rather prefer the vanilla.  I'm not exactly sure why there's this bias against chocolate cupcakes, but that's ok... more for me!

I thought I'd try something different with the buttercream frosting for these, so I used 1 tsp of vanilla extract and 1/2 tsp of mint:

The result: Chocolate and Minty goodness:





Tomorrow's post will NOT be about cupcakes, I promise! ^_^

Halloween Cupcakes! (Vegan Style)

Trick or Treat!  A few fun sprinkles plus some white and black vegan buttercream make these delicious sweet little treats!

For the cupcakes, I used my go-to recipe from the cookbook: Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World.  As far as I'm concerned, this is the most wonderfully, perfect vanilla cupcake recipe (vegan or NON).  Recipe can be found here, reprinted with permission. Vegan buttercream frosting is a must as well.  My hints for the frosting: Use Earth Balance brand shortning and buttery sticks, and beat in a Kitchen Aid mixer for the full 3 mintues and then 7 minutes!  It's like a cloud :)  Then, go to town with sprinkles!!

The only one of its kind! White buttercream and shiny orange glitter sprinkles!

Frankenstien Style! (black and green ^_^)

All purpose Halloween-y Colors!

And... my FAVORITE:  Black frosting with BONES!!

I made the full batch of buttercream, left half of it white and then added BLACK food coloring paste to the remaining half until it went from a purple-y grey to a nice dark black.  I think I added about three tiny "scoops" of the black gel until it was dark enough.

Do not, I repeat, DO NOT check to see what this food coloring gel "TASTES" like.  A small miscommunication in the kitchen made L's tongue (and saliva) black for a good three hours!! (no pics, sorry)

And... the inspiration for all the fun:

On sale at A.C. Moore!! (thanks Mom!)