DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350°F and line cupcake pan with liners.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, rice milk, vanilla, oil, and almond extract, beating well to blend in yogurt. Sift in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, matcha powder, salt, and sugar. If using rice flour it will be a little lumpy. Beat a little longer to break up any large lumps. Fill liners two-thirds full and bake 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted through the center of one
comes out clean. Cool on racks before topping with glaze.
TO ASSEMBLE:
1. . Use a tablespoon to pour
GREEN TEA GLAZE
into the center of each cupcake. Spread out a bit with the back of the spoon but it’s nice if you can see the green edges of the cupcake. Gently press petals together to form flowers; then gently set flowers into wet glaze on cupcakes. Garnish centers with a silver ball (dip one side of ball into wet glaze first to secure on flower). Let glaze set before serving.
Green Tea Cupcakes with Green Tea Glaze and Almond Flowers
GREEN TEA GLAZE
2 tablespoons margarine
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/8 to ¼ teaspoon matcha tea
powder
1 to 2 tablespoons rice milk
¼ teaspoon almond extract
Drop of vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS
1. With a fork, beat margarine to fluff, then mix in confectioners’ sugar and matcha to form a crumbly mixture. Slowly beat in 1 tablespoon rice milk, almond extract, and vanilla. If icing is too thickto spread, pour in additional rice milk a teaspoon at a time and mix till desired consistency is reached.
ALMOND FLOWERS MAKES 12 TO 16 FLOWERS, DEPENDING ON FONDANT CUTTER SIZE, OR SIZE YOU WANT TO MAKE THEM
Confectioners’ sugar
¼ cup marzipan (comes in tube, usually
in the baking aisle. Check
ingredients to make sure it’s vegan
and does not contain egg whites)
Very small drop red food coloring,
liquid or paste
Dragées (tiny silver or gold sugar
balls.)
DIRECTIONS
1. Keep a small bowl of confectioners’ sugar handy near your workspace. Knead marzipan with a drop of red food coloring; if it gets too sticky, dip fingers in a little powdered sugar. When color is incorporated, dust a smooth surface with a little confectioners’ sugar. Pat out dough to a thin even round, and cut out small flour shapes or just form individual petals and press together into flower shapes (we usually make them this way). We like to use a toothpick to press little accent lines onto the petals.
ORANGE PUDDING CUPCAKES
with Chocolate Ganache
MAKES 12 CUPCAKES
CITRUS LOVERS WILL
be thrilled to pieces over this luscious cake. We cannot resist the chocolate-orange combo, but you can also make a CREAMSICLE CUPCAKE by using ORANGE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING (page 145), or you can skip the filling and add cup of chocolate chips instead.
Prepare the pudding two hours before you make the cupcakes. You can even make it a day ahead, but you will need to stir the pudding before piping it into the cake. Prepare the ganache right before assembling the cupcakes; it needs to be warm and melty.
INGREDIENTS
For the orange pudding filling:
¾ cup plain soy milk
½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
3 tablespoons tapioca flour, cornstarch,
or arrowroot
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated
sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon turmeric for color, optional
1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
For the cupcakes:
cup canola oil
¾ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup plain soy milk or rice milk
½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest
For the topping:
cup orange marmalade
RICH CHOCOLATE GANACHE TOPPING
(page 143)
DIRECTIONS
TO MAKE THE PUDDING:
1. Whisk together the soy milk, orange juice, tapioca flour, sugar, vanilla, and turmeric, if using, in a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan.
Cook over medium heat for about 2 minutes until the mixture is warm and steamy, whisking occasionally. When the mixture is warm, you will need to reduce the heat to low and stir continuously for 5 minutes, as the mixture thickens. Use a fork at this point instead of a whisk because the pudding will be too thick for one. When mixture is sufficiently thick and puddinglike, turn the heat off and fold in the orange zest, mixing for another minute.
2. Transfer pudding to a bowl and let cool off the stove for 10 minutes (until it stops steaming). Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour. It will continue to thicken as it cools.
TO MAKE THE CUPCAKES:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners.
2. In a large bowl, combine the oil, sugar, milk, juice, and vanilla, plus 1 tablespoon of the flour (this will help to emulsify the liquid ingredients), and mix until combined.
3. In a separate bowl sift together remaining flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in three batches, mixing well after each addition, until smooth. Fold in the orange zest and mix to distribute.
4. Fill each cupcake liner two-thirds of the way. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes ; the tops should spring back when touched.
5. Cool completely before filling with pudding.
TO ASSEMBLE:
1. You will need
cup orange marmalade that has been stirred with a fork for a spreadable consistency.