Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World (16 page)

2. Fit a pastry bag with a wide piping tip (the widest you can find; if you have trouble piping the pudding through, try cutting the tip). Fill the bag with pudding (depending on the size of the bag you are using you may not be able to get all of the pudding in—just use common sense).

3. Use a finger to poke holes in the top of each cupcake. Fill each cupcake with as much pudding as you can. Use your finger or a knife to remove any excess pudding from the tops of the cupcakes.

4. Place about a teaspoon of marmalade on top of each cupcake. Spread the marmalade into a thin layer.

5. Spoon about 1 tablespoon of RICH
CHOCOLATE GANACHE TOPPING
onto each cupcake. Use the back of a spoon or a palette knife and gently spread the ganache over the marmalade (try not to get the two mixed up—though no big deal if you do, just try your best.)

6. Place the cupcakes in the fridge to set the ganache. An easy way to do this is put them all on a cutting board and place the whole thing on a shelf.

7. If you feel inspired, decorate by placing candied orange peels in the still wet ganache before placing in the fridge. Alternatively, place a thin slice of orange (without the peel) in the soft ganache.

OUR FAVORITE WARM
and toasty drink made into a cupcake-able form. These have a subtle, crunchy top and a very moist interior with a delicate crumb thanks to the addition of coconut milk. The corn flour and almonds give it an interesting texture that’s a lot like the drink (Mexican hot chocolate has little pleasantly gritty bits in it), and just a little bit of cayenne gives it a spicy kick. Go ahead and make them more spicy, or leave it out altogether and keep them gringo ... either way they’re great.

We like to top these with a simple sifting of confectioners’ sugar, cinnamon, and cocoa, but these also are great with CHOCOLATE MOUSSE TOPPING (page 155) or spread with RICH CHOCOLATE GANACHE
TOPPING
(page 143).

 

 

INGREDIENTS

1 cup coconut milk
1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds
¾ cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons corn flour
¼ cup almond meal
½ cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch ground cayenne pepper (up to
1/8 teaspoon)
1 cup granulated sugar
cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract

For topping:

½ cup confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS

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

2. Whisk together coconut milk and flaxseeds and allow to sit for 10 minutes.

3. In another bowl, sift together all-purpose flour, corn flour, almond meal, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and cayenne.

4. Whisk sugar, oil, vanilla, and almond extract into coconut milk mixture. Gently add wet ingredients to dry. Fill cupcake liners three-quarters of the way. Bake for 22 to 25 minutes until a knife or toothpick inserted through the center of one comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

TO ASSEMBLE:

1. Sift a layer of confectioners’ sugar onto the tops of the cooled cakes. Then sift on cocoa (looks best if you concentrate the cocoa toward the center of the cake), then lastly sift on a layer of cinnamon.

Variations:

Top with
CHOCOLATE MOUSSE TOPPING
(page 155) and add to the mousse 1 teaspoon almond extract and ¼ teaspoon cinnamon. Don’t pile too much mousse on these cupcakes as the tops are rather delicate and could cave in a little. But then again, chocolate mousse is worth a little cave-in every now and then.

Coconut Lime Cupcakes

THESE ARE SWEET,
tangy, and tropical. It doesn’t hurt that they look downright adorable with relatively small effort.

 

 

INGREDIENTS

1/3 cup coconut oil
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 cup coconut milk
¼ cup soy milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon coconut extract
1 tablespoon lightly packed finely grated
lime zest
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup unsweetened coconut
LIME BUTTERCREAM ICING
(recipe below)
1½ cups unsweetened flaked coconut
Thinly sliced limes, cut in half and then
cut up to the peel

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a cupcake pan with liners.

2. Melt the coconut oil in a small saucepan over very low heat. Once melted, turn the heat off but leave it in the pan on the stove so that it stays warm and does not solidify.

3. In a medium bowl, mix together the melted coconut oil and sugar. Add the coconut milk, soy milk, vanilla, coconut extract, and lime zest. Mix to combine.

4. Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix until smooth. Add the coconut and mix to incorporate.

5. Bake for 23 to 25 minutes, until the cupcake top springs back when
touched and a toothpick inserted through the center comes out clean.

6. Cool completely before icing.

TO ASSEMBLE:

1. Heap the frosting onto the cupcakes. Place the flaked coconut on a pie plate. Gently roll the cupcakes, sides first, in the coconut. Place decorative lime slices on top. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

WE LOVE DRINKING
spiced chai tea with steamed soy milk, but holding a steaming hot latte isn’t always the most convenient thing when you need to drive or walk somewhere fast. Plus, you’d have a hard time bringing a dozen of them anywhere. So we give you a light, moist, spicy little vegan cupcake that’s just as sublime as the drink. These are rather innocent as cupcakes go, topped with sugar and spices and made with slightly less oil than most cupcakes.

 

 

INGREDIENTS

1 cup soy milk or rice milk
4 black tea bags or 2 tablespoons loose
black tea
¼ cup canola oil
½ cup vanilla or plain soy yogurt
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
cups all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
Pinch to 1/8 teaspoon ground white or
black pepper

For topping:

½ cup confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg or ground
mace

DIRECTIONS

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

2. Heat soy milk in a small saucepan over medium till almost boiling. Add tea bags, cover, and remove from heat. Let sit for 10 minutes. When ready, dunk teabags a few times in soy milk and squeeze
gently to extract any soy milk before removing. Discard tea bags. Measure the soy milk and tea mixture and add more soy milk if it is less than 1 cup.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together oil, yogurt, sugar, vanilla, and tea mixture until all yogurt lumps disappear. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, cloves, and pepper into wet ingredients. Mix until large lumps disappear; some small lumps are okay. Fill tins full and bake about 20 to 22 minutes until a sharp knife inserted comes out clean.

4. Make sure cupcakes are completely cool before adding topping, or sugar will melt and not look pretty and powdery.

TO ASSEMBLE:

1. If desired, prepare a stencil (see page 27) and use the decorating technique described to make pretty designs on the top of cupcakes. Or you can just go ahead and sprinkle it on anarchy-style. Either way, sift confectioners’ sugar over cooled cakes first. Then mix together cocoa, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a small bowl. Sift mixture onto each cupcake with or without stencil. Enjoy but don’t wear black when eating these babies!