Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcakes

March 7, 2013 9 Comments

With 3 boys in the house, I bake a lot. And cupcakes work well. Portion control, they can serve themselves, and a tidy package all in one. These worked wonderfully because a certain Teen didn’t realize they had fruit in them. Ha. I used my hand made strawberry jam for the filling, it is nearly pure fruit.

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Which speaking of…last fall I wondered if I had made too many jars of jam. Not at all. I am running through it! All my canned fruit is gone and I am nearly out of pickles. This coming summer and fall? I now know how much to can and store away. I have a feeling I’ll be canning 2 times a month at minimun.

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Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcakes

Ingredients:

  • ¾ cup all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup whole wheat pastry flour
  • ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1½ tsp Ener-G egg replacer
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • ¼ tsp fine sea salt
  • 1/3 cup neutral vegetable oil
  • 2/3 cup pure maple syrup, preferably grade B
  • ¼ cup unsweetened almond or coconut milk
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
  • ¼ cup strawberry jam (4 ounce jar), preferably homemade

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°, line a 12 count muffin tin with liners (preferably Stay-Brite or Wilton Color Bright ones).

Whisk the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl.

Beat oil and maple syrup together, for a minute, on medium with a hand mixer. Add in milk and vanilla.

Slowly beat in flour mixture on low, in 3 batches, till smooth. Add in vinegar.

Drop in one Tablespoon batter into each cup, rap on counter gently to settle. (A 1 Tablespoon Disher helps divide evenly.) Drop 1 teaspoon jam on top of each cup, gently spread over batter. Drop the remaining batter 1 Tablespoon on each cup.

Bake for about 20 minutes, until done on top and a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool, then decorate as desired. A topping of additional strawberry jam is tasty.

Makes 12.

Walker checking out the rain, under the roof, while I was taking photos.

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Then later he got a buzz cut ;-) He isn’t quite as bald as this photo makes it look. I swear :-D

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~Sarah

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Cherry Cupcakes and a Birthday Weekend Away

March 4, 2013 5 Comments

This all started with an idea. Why should one celebrate turning 40 with a black cake (or cupcakes)? Why not be happy? Go for bright. Celebrate spring coming! I was a March baby, and as I write this post…it is sunny outside. I am sure it won’t last, but I’ll enjoy the late winter promise of spring.

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I considered dried cherries, then fresh. Finding fresh wasn’t going to be easy or fresh, the produce man asked if frozen would work. Maybe it would….and off home I went. Helped I had a huge bag of frozen cherries waiting for me there.

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Cherry Cupcakes

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup unsweetened cherry juice
  • 1 tsp white vinegar
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar, preferably organic
  • 1/3 cup neutral vegetable oil
  • 2¼ tsp pure almond extract
  • 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 Tbsp cornstarch, preferably organic
  • ¾ tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp fine sea salt
  • 2 cups cherries, pitted, drained and finely chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°, line 18 muffin cups with liners, such as Reynolds Stay-Brite.

Whisk the cherry juice and vinegar together, add to a medium mixing bowl with sugar, oil and almond, whisk until dissolved.

Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a large mixing bowl, pour wet over dry, stir until just mixed, fold in cherries.

Divided equally between lined cups, rap on counter to settle.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool, then frost as desired.

Makes about 18 cupcakes.

Notes: 

If using frozen cherries, thaw, drain and pat dry, then chop.

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Cherry Frosting

Ingredients:

Directions:

Beat the shortening with a stand mixer until light. Add in powered sugar, beating in. Add almond extract and 1 Tablespoon cherry juice at a time, beating in, until spreading constancy is reached (mine took about 1/4 cup juice).

The frosting will be a light pink.

Frost as desired.

Now then…how did I spend my birthday weekend?

In a ton of emails one caught my eye awhile back. It was from Lake Quinault Lodge, which sits on Lake Quinault in Olympic National Forest. I have stayed there several times, it was an email with deals for previous visitors with a winter deal. I nearly deleted it, then I took a look. It was a bargain. Buy one night, get one night free, at a fabulous low price ($79 weekdays, $99 weekends plus taxes).

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And pretty much all of the rooms were up for grabbing at the lodge. Being that we are a family of 5, I grabbed the Beverly Suite in the Boathouse, which sits between the lodge and the modern lakeside hotel wing. It is rustic, but large, and more so, the only suite (ie. a bedroom for us!) at the lodge. For 2 nights we payed less than $138 (with taxes included). Considering that this same room can run for $239 to $289 a night, you can see what a bargain it was.

Yes, those mailing lists can be a good thing! The Boathouse is the oldest building of the lodge (built in 1923), the suite is the top story.

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They don’t lie, you do get a 360° view from the suite, with large windows and views of all sides, especially of the lake. The “suite” is a one-bedroom cabin. Very rustic but comfortable, and yes, large. It has a bathroom (with a very tiny shower), hide-a-bed couch, 3 roll-a-way beds, 6 person dining table, a partial kitchen that has a refrigerator, microwave, sink and a hot plate to use, along with dishes and tools. The bedroom has a king bed and love seat. Lots of ceiling fans and huge windows that open. You do have to climb a very narrow indoor staircase (though the landing before you head up is a great storage area for wet gear and getting boots on). The staircase is NOT child friendly, so we blocked off the top with one of the roll-a-way beds. A baby could take a very scary fall, so be wary. We brought his pack and play for safety. It was a great choice otherwise for our large family. Just be wary of the very slanted ceilings in the bathroom. Our poor teen kept knocking his head. Hehe.

At the price we paid, I was happy. No 5-Star, but for the price it was a good deal. (Although I can’t believe people pay $239 and up for the rack rates for this room!! It isn’t worth that….)

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We woke up early on Saturday morning to rain. Gee, no shocker there. It is a rain forest and it is March ;-) It is nice to lay in bed listening to it – and not be in a tent dreading getting out. After wandering around on the covered veranda below – and just enjoying the misty morning, we headed up to the lodge.

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Traveling with three kids isn’t the easiest thing I suppose, I learn new things every time. One is a lot of patience. And not over-planning. I let them wander and have fun. The baby had eyes only for the lanterns, his brother, The Toddler, for bossing around his little brother.

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Which resulted in “B! You get back here!” (B is Alistaire’s nickname) and B running away. It was one of those moments when life is good and all is well.

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After a fun breakfast (yeah, roughing it…maybe not) we set out for a hike. Where upon it dumped as it should in a rain forest. And kept dumping. Our trail eventually ran out, with it under a good foot of water. At least we tried :-D

When Walker was young, I picked up a Deuter Kid Comfort Deluxe Rain Cover to go with our Deuter Kids Comfort III pack. It has been worth the cost, Alistaire was bone dry inside the kid carrier and even took a nap.

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Walker, me and Alistaire on my back -

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I loved the tree. It looks to me like a large tree with legs, sitting down on the nurse logs (which was taller than Walker). Walker loved playing in the creeklet of water. Finally we got so rained out and with the trail under water, we called it a day. We headed back to the lodge, used that handy landing to dry our rain gear and spent the early afternoon in the lodge’s lobby, soaking up the heat from the fireplace, reading, talking and playing. Lots of other folks were doing the same. Add in a warm mocha and it was very relaxing.

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Walker enjoyed finding a tiny rocking chair and a pile of books -

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Late in the afternoon, the weather started clearing. Kirk watched Alistaire while he napped and told us to go hiking. I took Ford and Walker out on a short hike -

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We found a stream to enjoy -

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A set of waterfalls -

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And a bridge that Walker had fun crossing over and over -

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It was an odd hike in that it was sunny and 60° out!

After, we went out for dinner. We ended up having a 2 hour dinner that was so relaxed I wondered who had switched all my kids ;-) The kids all passed out happy.

The clear skies lasted through Sunday morning. One of the prettiest sunrises I have seen over that lake. We got up and had a nice family hike, all of us, before checking out.

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Me, Alistaire on my back, Walker and Ford (Kirk took the photo) -

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It was this small window of perfect weather. As soon as we got done hiking and were finishing loading the van, it started raining.

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My little hiker, Walker -

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The lake was calm -

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~Sarah

Filed Under: baking, cooking, Dessert, Family, Hiking, Plant Based Diet Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Happy Valentines Day – Red Velvet Cupcakes That I Can Enjoy!

February 14, 2013 4 Comments

A Red Velvet for me? Made the way I can have them? Vegan? Plant-Based? Made with coconut sugar? Oh yes. Vivid red inside? Yes, indeed. That the Teenager asked if he could have more, and not…”What is in them” first. It is a satisfaction when he is gobbling them up and when we can snark a bit on how he is eating vegetables, life is good.
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Every time I am in Costco around Valentines Day they have those awful (and massive) red velvet cakes for sale. Besides being so bad nutritionally, the sheer amount of artificial red dye is simply scary. Long-time readers know the story behind my not consuming them, they were one of the triggers for vertigo migraines. At 7+ years out from having consumed artificial red dyes, I can tell you I don’t miss them. I am even getting to the point where I haven’t bought natural red dyes in quite a while. Mostly because natural dyes are not heat stable, and don’t bake well.

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Truth is, to get flame red cupcakes like you see in the stores, you must use fake dye or use “natural” red dye made from Carmine (what Starbucks used until people got all icked out by it). That is if you want to make a red velvet with cocoa powder…which I have done before Version 1, Version 2 and Version 3. But…overall, the cocoa flavor isn’t pronounced in most of the red velvet cakes, so why even bother? Nerd note: it is the acid and the cocoa powder that originally produced a reddish tint in RV cakes, which often contained buttermilk as well. How they took a left turn to Red #40 Land is beyond me (I love how people got all mad over carmine, but never think of where the artificial red dyes come from – coal-tar and petroleum). So that brings us to the way to get red with no dyes, natural or not. Beets. But not boiled or raw beets, rather, rich deep-roasted beets, caramelized for color and sweetness.

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So when people say “beets are gross”, you have to say…well, at least you know what is in beets. Do you know what is in that grocery store cake? No, you don’t really. Have fun ingesting dinosaur-rich dyes…..yummers.

My recipes come with a gentle warning of course. The typical SAD (Standard American Diet) eater will most likely not be swayed by my cupcakes. Truly, 3 years ago I wouldn’t have been excited I suppose. As we go farther into eating mostly unprocessed and plant-based, I find my taste has changed. When I go into the store and there are samples, most of them don’t taste that great anymore. They taste flat. Or greasy. Or salty. Or all 3 at once. Cakes and cookies especially.

The beets are not over powering, the taste is there, mildly in the background. I won’t fib and claim “You won’t taste it at all!!!!!”, because that is very untrue. And yet, I find I like the flavor – it is sweet, rustic and savory, all at once. You don’t get that jittery feeling after eating one that you do from a slab of Costco cake. More than likely due to the fiber from the beets and flaxseed and that the sugar isn’t the cheapest/whitest. But, to get this shade you need to leave the cocoa out, Bonus is you don’t have to tax your mind with trying to get a chemical reaction between cocoa and acid though. Simpler baking is always nice…..and sweet frosting makes the world go around anyhow!

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Red Velvet Cupcakes

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound beets (weighed without beet tops)
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup white whole wheat flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ¾ tsp fine sea salt
  • 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 cup + 2 Tbsp coconut sugar
  • 3 Tbsp ground flaxseed + 9 Tbsp cool water
  • 2/3 cup virgin coconut oil, melted
  • ¾ tsp pure vanilla extract

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Scrub beets throughly, trimming leaves off and the bottom root. Wrap each beet in foil, placing on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast for about 1½ hours, until fork tender. Remove from oven and let sit wrapped to cool down.

Put on food grade gloves (to avoid hand staining) and remove each beet from the foil. Drain any red beet juice into a small glass bowl from the foil. It is thick, so be patient as it drains – you will use this to tint the frosting. Rub the peels off, then add the beets to a high-speed blender or food processor. Process until smooth, in a Vitamix I used around setting 5 and constantly tamped. Scrape out, measure 1¼ cups and set aside.

Line a 12 count muffin tin with foil liners (such as these and these). Heat oven back to 350°. Soak the flaxseed in the water for at least 10 minutes, whisk until thick.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon together in a small mixing bowl.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk the beets, sugar, flaxseed mix and vanilla until smooth. Add in melted oil and stir quickly to combine. Divide between the liners, filled nearly to the top. A disher or cookie scoop helps, this batter is very thick.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs and the tops are done looking. Let cool, then transfer to a cooling rack. Once cooled, frost as desired.

Makes 12 cupcakes.

Note:

It is important to use roasted and not boiled or packaged cooked beets. The color is deeper, brighter and the sweetness of the beets are brought out. Boiling leeches a lot of the color out – and the flavor is nowhere as nice. As well, for tinting the frosting, you need the thick syrup produced during roasting.

And even if you spend $2 for your fresh beets, you are still quite ahead. A bottle of artificial coloring is more than that, natural dyes run $6 to 15 a bottle – which is used up in one batch!

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Vanilla Pink Cream Frosting

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup Organic Shortening
  • 2 cups powdered sugar, preferably organic
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • Pinch fine sea salt
  • Unsweetened almond or coconut milk
  • Coloring, if desired (see above in cupcakes)

Directions:

Beat the shortening until smooth with a hand mixer, add in sugar, vanilla and salt. Add milk as needed, one Tablespoon at a time, beating in thoroughly, until just spreadable. Dye as desired.

Frosting will be softer at room temperature, but becomes solid when stored chilled. If making in advance, let warm up and beat again before spreading.

To get the spiky look, frost roughly, then spike the frosting with an offset spatula. Clear decorating crystals are pretty sprinkled on as well.

1 batch, will frost heavily 12 or lightly up to 24.

Note:

Freeze-dried beet powder works well as a tint for those times when you don’t want to work hard.

~Sarah

PS: Have a happy Valentines Day! I spent mine in the gym and then had lucnh with Kirk and the two youngest :-)

Filed Under: baking, cooking, Dessert, Plant Based Diet, Vitamix Recipes Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Baby B and His Birthday Cupcakes

February 8, 2013 10 Comments

It is hard for me to wrap it around my head that Alistaire turned a year old today. Everything that went so slowly with my two oldest just seemed to fly with him. Where they walked steady at a normal rate, little man tears around and barely teeters or falls, and has walked since he was 10½ months. I crossed my fingers he would fit in his 1st birthday onesie this morning, it was a tight squeeze ;-) It will be interesting to see his height and weight next week, at his 1 year checkup.

(Where does “B” come from? It was Walker’s name for the Baby, when he came home)

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He was my biggest baby, 10 lb., 7 ounces born at 38 weeks and well over 22″ long. He came out ready to take on the world….or at least it felt like that. He is my little snuggler. If I was given a gift, it was getting a baby that loves me so much.

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After going through a 3-ring circus I got all the boys together and tried to get at least one photo where they all smiled. Oh well. Two out of three is just fine. Hah….

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Alistaire (1), Ford (15), and Walker (almost 3).

Walker decided B needed balloons. Lots of them. We all know who is playing with them, right? Yes.

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Cupcakes? Of course! I took a well-tested and favorite vegan vanilla recipe of mine, and changed it up a bit, decorated in blue for my little man.

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Coconut-Vanilla Cupcakes
Ingredients:

  • 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
  • 1 Tbsp white vinegar
  • 1¾ cups white whole wheat flour
  • 2 Tbsp cornstarch
  • ¾ tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp fine sea salt
  • 1/3 cup virgin coconut oil, melted
  • ¾ cup Coconut Palm Sugar or my favorite, Wholesome Sweeteners
  • 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract

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Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350° and line a 12 cup muffin tin with liners (used Reynolds StayBrite).
Stir the vinegar into the milk, let sit for 5 minutes.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the milk mixture, oil, sugar and vanilla together till smooth. Pour on top of the dry ingredients, whisk till combined.
Divide evenly between the prepared cupcake liners (use a disher for best results).
Bake for 20 minutes or a toothpick comes out clean – be careful they do not over bake.
Let cool for a few minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. Frost when cool.
Makes 12 cupcakes.

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Vanilla Frosting

Ingredients:

Directions:

Beat sugar through salt together with a hand mixer, till smooth. Color as desired.

Frosting will be stiff, for piping. If desired, add more milk for a creamier frosting.

Pipe frosts 12, spread on, will cover up to 24.

The finishing sugar is via Wilton (the clear is dye free).

Little man enjoying the rare winter sun….

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~Sarah

Filed Under: Baby, baking, children, cooking, Dessert Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Fears, Rain & Cupcakes

December 20, 2012 7 Comments

The past 9 days have been unnerving to say the least. Alistaire fell backwards and smacked his head on my desk leg (the cool design from Costco was apparently not such a great idea, it has “X” legs). After a couple of Dr. visits to watch the lump on his head, and then x-rays on Tuesday (that was very traumatic – he howled and howled and I felt horrible having to hold him down), his pediatrician wasn’t sure. They couldn’t see any fractures and overall the baby was feeling great. After the Dr. had a conference with the specialist in Tacoma they decided to wait. But holy his head looked awful. He had a HUGE lump on the side/back of his head that only stabilized in size today.

Daddy’s hat covers a multitude of lumps!

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Yesterday our Doctor called us and said he had a conference with another colleague, this time at Seattle Children’s Hospital. They recommended we bring him in for more testing, to rule out any internal pressure, under the skull. We took the risk of a CT Scan so we could get a better look.

The good news?

No internal pressure. No fractures. Just one hell of a swelling, which could be seen in the scans. For me, the scans were worth it. It allowed that tight feeling across my body and head to dissipate. To breathe again. To not be hyper-freaked that the swelling would get even bigger.

The downside is it is basically blood. And it is going to take a good amount of time to come down. He might get left with a small reminder of it above his skull, calcified. That’ll be a family lore to tell for years!

The happiness of my week was that. And then he walked last night!! By himself!! Those first steps :-) So happy!

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“Coffee with Momma is the best!”

After so many stressful and sleep-deprived nights, filled with storms of thundering rain and snow, walking out of the hospital this afternoon to clear skies and dry roads was wonderful. And it seemed fitting to come home to what I had baked last night. I have said it before, when I am stressed, creating is an outlet for me. And due to my stress I had forgotten about a bunch of bananas. They were at that stage. The one where if you don’t make banana bread/muffins/cupcakes then the next day your compost bin is burping after eating up $3 of organic vittles (that might be the fat squirrels that chewed a hole into our bin)……So I got busy and made an inspired banana cupcake, moist inside with a snappy frosting on top. And oh yeah, they are vegan friendly to boot. And very toddler n’ teen approved.

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Banana Cupcakes

Ingredients:

  • ¾ cup really ripe banana, measured after mashing (about 2)
  • ¼ cup neutral oil
  • 2/3 cup unsweetened almond milk
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • ½ tsp pure almond extract
  • 1¼ cups white whole wheat flour
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • ½ tsp fine sea salt
  • ¼ tsp baking soda
  • ½ cup walnuts

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°, line a 12 count muffin tin with foil lined papers.

Place walnuts on a small baking sheet, toast in oven for 5 minutes. Remove and let cool a bit, then finely chop in a mini food chopper.

Whisk wet ingredients smooth in a medium bowl.

Whisk dry ingredients together in a large bowl, add in walnuts, then wet ingredients, Stir till just mixed.

Divide evenly between liners, about ¼ cup per liner.

Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean and tops are not damp. Let cool for 10 minutes, transfer to a cooling rack. Once cooled, frost as desired.

Makes 12 cupcakes.

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Maple Cream Frosting

Ingredients:

Directions:

Beat shortening with a hand mixer until smooth. Beat in salt and maple syrup, then add in sugar. Slowly add the milk, as needed, beating till smooth and just spreadable.

Spread on cooled cupcakes as desired. If piping, add a bit more milk.

Decorate as desired. banana chips make a nice edible topper.

~Sarah

PS: Don’t forget to enter for a chance at a copy of Vegan Slow Cooking – 2 more days left!

Filed Under: Baby, baking, cooking, Dessert, Family Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

“Oh Wow” Vegan Banana Muffins

December 9, 2012 27 Comments

Props to Somer for her vegan-no-fat-added-banana-muffin recipe, that I adapted. The recipe sounded intriguing - and easy – and more so I had 3 bananas that had seen better days (the kind made for this recipe…) Result? 12 very moist and tasty muffins – that if one put frosting on, they’d pass for a cupcake…just saying…..and they get even better tasting if you store them in the ‘frig. Somehow they get all dense and moist!

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Vegan Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ingredients:

  • 3 large very ripe bananas
  • ½ cup unsweetened coconut milk + 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • ½ cup dark brown sugar, packed
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1½ cups whole wheat pastry flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • ½ tsp fine sea salt
  • ½ cup mini semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips, or chopped up regular ones

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Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 12 count muffin tin with specialty liners, such as Reynolds® StayBrite® or Wilton® ColorCups (Why? They release baked goods like no other liners do, due to their inner foil lining and being heavy-duty. Regular paper ones do not work well with low-fat muffins!!) or spritz a non-stick pan with a neutral vegetable oil.

Add the bananas through vanilla to a powerful blender, such as a Vitamix, process on medium speed until smooth, tamping as needed.

Whisk the dry ingredients together  add in the wet and stir till just mixed  Stir in the chocolate chips. Divide equally between the liners (they will be mostly full), rap sheet to settle. Bake for about 20 minutes, until golden on top and a toothpick comes out clean.

Let cool for 10 minutes, transfer to a cooling rack.

Makes 12 muffins. For storing, keep covered in the refrigerator.

~Sarah

Filed Under: baking, cooking, Dessert, Plant Based Diet, Vitamix Recipes Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Vegan Cupcakes: Double ‘Nog Cakes

November 30, 2012 5 Comments

Further inspired by my love of So Delicious Coconut Nog, I came up a cupcake and frosting recipes featuring its deliciousness. Are these health food? Duh, no. They are cupcakes, people! Although the cakes themselves are reasonable enough and I made them with white whole wheat flour. If you haven’t found a love of whole wheat yet, all-purpose flour is fine. Or go for a combo!

They did make a little someone very happy. All I can figure out is my two youngest have no immunity built up. I took them to the gym daycare this week and within hours they were not feeling well. Walker spent most of Wed. and Thursday snoring on the couch, burning up an icky fever. (He had on a puffy vest under his heavy coat)

Today he feels great and happily is enjoying his ‘yum-yum‘. Alistaire is feeling better as well, but has an icky cough – so much I took them in to the Doctor, to make sure it wasn’t Whooping Cough. For now it is a virus, the one that has hit hard all over. Hence, I was feeling majorly sorry for myself and for them. So cupcakes seemed necessary. My Mom used to make us goodies when we felt bad ya know!

Double ‘Nog Cupcakes

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups white whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour
  • ¾ cup Coconut Palm Sugar
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp fine sea salt
  • 1 cup Coconut Nog, room temperature
  • ¼ cup organic virgin coconut oil, melted
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp white vinegar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°, line a 12 count muffin tin with liners (I have become a huge fan of Reynolds® StayBrite. They are heavy weight and peel right off cupcakes! While more expensive than regular liners, I feel they are worth it, look for them in the baking aisle.)

Whisk the dry together in a large mixing bowl. Whisk the nog and oil together, add in vanilla and vinegar, stir into dry till just mixed (it will be a thick batter). Evenly divide between tins. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean Let cool for 5 minutes, transfer to a cooling rack. Once cool, frost as desired.

Makes 12 cupcakes

‘Nog Frosting

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound powdered sugar, preferably organic
  • 1/3 cup organic virgin coconut oil, solid (room temperature)
  • 4 to 6 Tbsp Coconut Nog
  • ¼ tsp fine sea salt

Directions:

With a hand mixer, beat the oil and salt together, slowly add the powdered sugar in, till fully mixed (it will be stiff) Add in 4 Tablespoons Nog, beat in. Add more as needed, to achieve spreading texture. You will want it to be still a bit stiff, it softens as it warms up.

Once cupcakes are cool, frost as desired. Refrigerate cupcakes uncovered to set, store loosely wrapped in the refrigerator.

~Sarah

Filed Under: baking, cooking, Dessert, Plant Based Diet Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Book Review – Hello Cupcake!

August 29, 2012 1 Comment

I love cupcakes, but not buying them. The obsession of fancy cupcakes the past 4-5 years has been ridiculous price-wise. I am not sure how anyone can justify spending $3 to 5 for a single cupcake. Even our local farmers market has a stand devoted to them. I do love making cupcakes and I especially love pretty cookbooks full of new ideas. Hello Cupcake! is a new book, just released. Unlike many of the cupcake books, it is a lush book with matte pages, rather than traditional glossy pages/photos. That is a bonus as the recipes are easier to read. The book feels like you are reading a personal scrapbook of writings/recipes/photos. It is charming. From Apple Pie Cupcakes to Whoopie Pies of many variations to Rhubarb Cheesecake Cupcakes, it has a vast assortment of ideas (49 + many frosting recipes). You will be inspired and want to start baking right away. For me this is a keeper, not a book I pass on to friends after reviewing.

One thing to mention is the book is not an “American” cookbook. Measurements are given in weights and the metric system. If anything this gives more accurate measures and is quite easy if you have a simple digital kitchen scale. She also gives American ounce measurements as well. My digital scale does grams so it wasn’t hard. Don’t be afraid of using a scale! And I loved learning new terms like a “Punnet” which in the US is a half-pint of berries usually.

The recipe I made is full of ground pistachios, leaving the cupcakes a pale speckled green. Smothered in a rich chocolate-cream cheese-coffee frosting. Heavenly for a birthday celebrated this week in our house. Not too sweet, the frosting’s sweetness is leveled out by the cake. The best way to eat was to cut in quarters, eating a sliver of cake enrobed in frosting.

And yeah….these were not “healthy” nor vegan. They were full octane treats. It was a birthday and I knew he wanted the “real” thing.

PS: I found the cupcake liners from Wilton in a well stocked kitchen department. The ColorCups are foil-lined and sturdy. They come in very pretty designs. Amazon also carries them - Wilton ColorCups Black Circle Dots Standard Baking Cups, 36 Count.

Nutty Pistachio Cupcakes (From page 72)

Ingredients:

  • 3 large eggs
  • 7 ounces granulated sugar (200 g)
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 7 ounces shelled pistachios (200 g)
  • 5 ounces all-purpose flour (150 g)
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1¾ ounces butter (50 g)
  • 1¾ milk (50 ml)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 345°, line a 12 count muffin tin with liners.

Whisk the eggs, sugar and vanilla until white and really fluffy.

Grind the pistachios in a mini food chopper.

Mix the nuts, flour and baking powder and fold into the eggs.

Melt the butter and mix it with the milk and fold it into the rest of the ingredients.

Divide the batter between the cups. Bake for about 20 minutes. Test with a toothpick for being done. Let cool for a few minutes, transfer to a cooling rack.

Makes 12 cakes.

Note:

The recipe had left out vanilla in the ingredient list but called for it in the directions. I looked at many of the recipes and took a guess that it would have been about a teaspoon – like many of the other recipes did. Taste wise that was right on.

Frosting

Ingredients:

  • 3½ ounces Nutella® or Belmandel (best choice!) (100 g)
  • 14 ounces powdered sugar (400 g)
  • 4 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 5 ounces cream cheese
  • 1 Tbsp cold coffee

Directions:

Beat the ingredients together until smooth using a hand mixer.

Spread as desired on cooled cupcakes. To make a spiked look, frost as usual using a small offset spatula, then tap and spike with it.

Frosts 12 cupcakes heavily.

Note:

Nutella® is easy to find and is common in many countries. My husband lived in Germany when younger and has opened my eyes to other brands over the years. Last time he was there, about 2 or so years ago, he brought back some Belmandel. If you have a Big Lots store nearby, check the food section, they often have multiple brands, all imported of almond or hazel nut cocoa spreads. As well Trader Joe’s is carrying an almond chocolate spread – it is sweeter though to my taste buds.

 

~Sarah

FTC Disclaimer – We received an advance copy for potential review.

Filed Under: baking, Book Reviews, Cookbooks, cooking, Dessert Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,
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