Sep 26th 2008 

Mini cupcakes

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Went on a little shopping excursion this weekend and got some new baking supplies. Desperately needed a cooling rack and finally got a mini-cupcake pan that I’m really excited about. I tend to bring my treats in to work with me but often the recipe doesn’t make enough for the the whole office so I have to make two batches, which kind of defeats the point of bringing them into work to get rid of them in the first place.Tested out a bunch of new stuff on Sunday when I made these mini gingerbread cupcakes. I still need practice on my frosting skills for sure but sprinkles help. Everyone seemed to love these even though they were a little crispy on top.

Also made some strawberry filled vanilla cupcakes this morning that I haven’t tried yet…

» food

Sep 22nd 2008 

Fall is near

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Today started with some pumpkin spice cupcakes. These are probably the first cupcakes I ever made, and they’re still one of my favorites. Though I usually just go with the plain white frosting, I had a bit of fun decorating these for a friend’s birthday. Also, learned a lesson today: it is a lot more difficult to transport on a bicycle than you might think.

For dinner tonight I made lentil loaf with mashed potatoes and nutritional yeast gravy. My boyfriend has been working very hard lately so I’ve been trying to make some special dinners in the past week, including penne a la vodka and bubble and squeak. I have to say that the gravy turned out super good. I’ve made lentil loaf before and while this was still really good, I think my lentil cooking skills this time were not quite there. Overall though, delicious dinner, with lots of leftovers. Yum.

Another really exciting thing for me is that I got some yarn that I’ve had my eye on for quite some time now. Turns out to be perfect timing, because it’s just the time of year to really get knitting.

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Sep 14th 2008 

Lemon is great for desserts

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I’ll be honest, I’ve never liked cheesecake. I only started eating cheesecake when I became vegan because it’s one of the most common vegan desserts around oddly enough. So I have grown to like it over the years, but quite often there is something a little off about vegan cheesecake. That is not to say I haven’t had a few that have been quite delicious. In any case, I decided to try my hand at it. I have to say the results were fantastic. I combined a couple recipes I found to come up with a lemon cheesecake that was light and fluffy with just a hint of lemon. I will admit that I used a store-bought crust. Next time I’ll try my own.
I want to be posting a picture of the lemon bars I made this week but they were so good they were eaten immediately. So good. You would have no idea that they were vegan. This is not something I would usually say about my desserts since it makes vegan sound like a bad thing. In this instance though, the crust was just so flakey and the consistency of the lemon filling was just unlike anything I’ve had. Let me just say again…so good. It was possibly the best dessert I’ve made so far.
Instead here is a simple chai tea cupcake. This batch came out okay, but I desperately need a new oven! I’m also not as big a fan of cupcakes that use soy yogurt in the recipe. Perhaps it was just the uneven baking of the cupcakes this time though.

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Aug 19th 2008 

Iron Cupcake:Mango cupcakes with Habanero ice cream

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I was so excited about this contest I can’t even tell you. I bake all the time, but one thing I tend to sit back and just follow recipes. Coming up with the recipe for these cupcakes was a challenge for me in the best of ways.

So for the chili challenge I decided to go with one of the hottest peppers out there: habaneros. I wanted to compliment it with light flavors instead of covering it up. Up until recently, I was not a fan of spicy food, but I’ve become completely addicted. I went with a simple flavorful mango cupcake and topped it off with habanero ice cream and a drizzle of chocolate.

I have to say that these cupcakes were very good and unlike anything I’ve ever had. The mango cupcake was sweet with a little bit of tartness. The ice cream cut down the heat of the habanero which kind of sneaks up on you. It has a warm cinnamon flavor that is almost like an aftertaste to the whole cupcake. The combination of the sweetness of the ice cream and the chocolate and the light fluffy fruitiness of the cupcake was, well, awesome.

Oh yeah, and in case you haven’t read this blog before…it was all vegan.

So here are the recipes:

Mango Cupcakes

8 0z Mango, pureed
1 1/3 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup sugar
1 tsp cornstarch
1/3 cup canola oil
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup soy milk

Preheat oven to 350 and line muffin pan with cupcake liners. Puree the mango (about 1 1/2 fresh mangoes) in a blender or food processor. Add the oil, vinegar, vanilla and soy milk to the mango and blend until mixed. Mix the flour, baking soda, sugar and corn starch in a medium bowl. Add the wet ingredients to dry and stir until just mixed. Pour into cupcake liners and bake for about 24 minutes.

Habanero Ice Cream

2 habanero peppers
2 cups soy creamer
1 3/4 cup vanilla soy milk
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp arrowroot powder

Mix the arrowroot with 1/4 cup of the soy milk to dissolve. Put the remaining soy milk, soy creamer and sugar in a medium sauce pan over medium high heat. Bring to a boil, remove from heat and stir in the soy milk and arrowroot mixture until it thickens a bit. Let the mixture cool completely. Cut the habaneros in half and remove the seeds. Chop the habaneros in a food processor until they are in tiny pieces. Put in the freezer while waiting for the soy milk mixture to cool. Once cool add both to your ice cream maker according the machine directions. Let freeze a bit more in freezer after the ice cream is thickened in the machine.

Note: wash your hands after touching the chopped habaneros!

Chocolate Topping

Ok so I didn’t really measure this part…so bear with me.

about 1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
about 1/4 cup soy milk
about 2 Tbsp sugar

Set up a double boiler and add ingredients. Stir until melted.

To put the cupcakes together, cut a small cone out of the top of each cupcake. Carefully take a tablespoon or melon baller to scoop a bit of the ice cream on top. Making sure the chocolate topping is no longer hot, drizzle a little on top. Dip a small habanero in chocolate for garnish.

All right everyone, don’t forget to vote at no one puts a cupcake in a corner after August 29th

» food

Aug 10th 2008 

happy weekend!

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I love sushi. I really love sushi. I’m so excited because my rice cooker makes awesome rice. I’ve tried making sushi before but it didn’t turn out very well at all. This batch had super yummy avocado. I want to experiment with some other veggies and make something more unexpected. Vegan caterpillar rolls? At least this time I got the rolling part down.

Only think we were missing was the wasabi. 

And for a late night snack (yes I bake cupcakes at 2 in the morning) I made some raspberry cupcakes. These were sooo good. The recipe was very different from most of the cupcakes I’ve made. The batter was much thicker but they still came out surprisingly light. They were just sweet enough with the blended raspberry that they really didn’t need icing. Although maybe a little fruit on top just for looks would be good. 
Also, we went to Madeline’s for the first time. I can’t tell you how amazing their food was. Vegan beignets! Perfect fluffy donuts. Waffles, fried “chicken,” mashed potatoes and gravy. Tofu benedict with mushrooms on hash browns. Everything was delicious and felt great to eat. I can’t wait to go back.  

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