Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World (3 page)

GRANULATED SUGAR:
Most of our cupcake recipes use sugar, mostly because the flavor, consistency, low cost, and ease of use can’t be beat when it comes to baking cupcakes. Where we say “sugar” we mean ordinary granulated sugar or evaporated cane juice interchangeably. In fact, any dry sweetener will do. We know, some of you might be thinking, “But I thought this was a health food baking book!” Well, sometimes it is, but when it
comes down to it, this is a book about decadent dessert, which shouldn’t be every meal of the day. Just every other day. Luckily, in this day and age we have lots of great options for organic, vegan (no animal bone char used in the processing) natural sugar.

 

CONFECTIONERS’ SUGAR, OR POWDERED SUGAR
as it’s known in some circles, is essential for making fluffy buttercream frosting. Rejoice in knowing that there are many great organic and vegan varieties of powdered sugar hitting the shelves every day. You can make your own by whirring granulated sugar in a food processor or blender till powdery. If you’re going to use it to make frosting, we recommend adding teaspoon of cornstarch per cup of granulated sugar, as it will help thicken the final consistency ofthe frosting or icing.

 

SUPERFINE OR CASTOR SUGAR
is just granulated sugar with a smaller grain that dissolves faster. Make it yourself like powdered sugar; just don’t blend it as much.

 

BROWN SUGAR
is just granulated sugar with a little molasses blended in. We like to use it in our autumny and outdoorsy recipes.

 

MAPLE SYRUP
works great in baking. Reduce the amount of other liquids in a recipe accordingly if maple syrup is substituted for granulated sugar. We don’t rely much on it for sweetening our cupcakes because it’s expensive, yet it does make an appearance in a few recipes and toppings for its special flavor and texture.

RICE SYRUP
is a tasty, natural sweetener made from brown rice. It has all kinds of health benefits that are too boring to mention here. All you need to know is that it tastes good. It can be difficult to bake with, so it’s featured primarily in caramel-like toppings for cupcakes.

 

AGAVE NECTAR
is a magical liquid sweetener made from the cactuslike plant that’s also used to make tequila. With the consistency of honey, more sweetness than sugar, and a hint of buttery flavor, it can be substituted for sugar in recipes, with adjustments made to other liquids in the recipe. Generally, ¾ cup of agave nectar equals one cup of sugar in sweetness, along with reducing the total liquid by one-third to account for the additional liquid content from the nectar. Agave is also very expensive and therefore the natural sweetener of millionaires, so we don’t use it very often in baking. Instead we feature it in some sublime toppings and frosting where its flavor and texture really shine. We prefer the taste of light agave nectar although light and dark can be used interchangeably.

CANOLA OIL:
Canola is the fat of choice in our baking. It’s healthy, cheap, and the neutral flavor works with any kind of cupcake you can imagine. Do your best to use organic canola oil to ensure that it is free of GMOs
¹
Sunflower, safflower or vegetable oil will make a good substitute if canola isn’t available, but stay away from strongly flavored oils like peanut or olive.

 

MARGARINE:
When used in frostings, margarine gives a nice, buttery flavor and a good mouthfeel. We don’t bake with it too often because if overcreamed with the sugar, it can lead to sinking cupcakes. But every once in a while we break out the Old Marge for some totally faux buttery, tender cupcakes. And, of course, we only endorse trans-fat free, dairy-free varieties because we want you to live a long, healthy life abundant with cupcake making.

SHORTENING:
Today’s shortening ain’t your mother’s shortening. Now it’s possible to get all-natural, nonhydrogenated, and even organic vegetable shortenings, some in convenient stick form that’s easy to measure and use. We use it primarily in vegan buttercream frostings when a less obtrusive fla vorthan margarine is desired. It also makes frosting very stable at warmer temperatures and that is ideal for piping out decorations. However, we don’t love shortening for baking cupcakes as it can make the finished cake oily, heavy, or bland.

 

COCONUT OIL, NON-HYDROGENATED AND REFINED:
It’s not as bad for you as you think! Long-suffering coconut oil is making a comeback in a big way after a few decades of bad press. As long as it’s of the nonhydrogenated variety (found in natural food stores) it’s a healthy fat in small amounts. We recommend using refined oil since the unrefined has a very strong coconut taste and aroma, which is fine if all you ever intend to bake is coconut cupcakes with coconut frosting.

Plain old
SOY MILK
plays a big role in these cupcakes, providingthe main source of liquid. Buttermilk—which provides leavening properties and a tender crumb in non-vegan cakes—is easily done up vegan style by whisking soy milk with a little vinegar and allowing to curdle for a minute or two (see Apple Cider Vinegar). Most of our recipes were developed with soy milk, but rice milk can be substituted too.
RICE MILK
won’t curdle quite like soy milk but will get the job done, plus it has a milder flavor and can create lighter-textured cupcakes.

 

COCONUT MILK AND NUT MILKS:
Coconut milk makes for exceptionally moist and fla vorful cupcakes. We use regular and reduced-fat coconut milk interchangeably, so you can choose your battle. Almond and hazelnut milks work well in cupcakes that contain those respective nuts.

 

SOY AND RICE YOGURT:
We adore soy yogurt in baking and it helps make some really light, fluffy, and moist cupcakes. Rice yogurt will pretty much do the same thing. We alternate between using plain and vanilla soy yogurts as the mood strikes us.

You’ll probably wonder why we put this in everything (see Soy Milk: something about curdles). Along with that stuff, vinegar helps the cupcakes rise and promotes a tender crumb. Use regular old white vinegar or brown rice vinegar if apple cider vinegar isn’t available.

Get yourself a great big bottle of the best vanilla extract you can afford. Since vegan cupcakes don’t have all the pesky butter and eggs that can overpower the flavor of baked goods, you’ll be able to really taste the vanilla and other extracts you add. Avoid artificial flavors, particularly non-fruit ones like vanilla, chocolate, or coffee, since science can’t solve every problem. In addition to vanilla, get a good-sized bottle of almond extract, as almond complements chocolate and other flavors so perfectly, you’ll want to use it a lot. It’s possible to get so many other great flavor extracts: strawberry, caramel (check ingredients for vegan-ness), coffee, banana, and more. Some organic brands are even sweetened with precious agave. Collect a bunch and soon you’ll be known as “That Magical Extract Lady (or Man)” and the local children will follow you wherever you go.

We use any brand of baking powder that is aluminum-free. As for baking soda, we make sure not to use the same box that absorbs the odors in the fridge.

We sometimes call for Dutch-processed cocoa powder. It is lower in acidity than normal cocoa powder and has a more intense taste. Often you will hear that you need to adjust the amount of baking soda and baking powder in your recipes depending on the kind of cocoa powderyou use, and it is scientifically correct, but God’s honest truth is you can substitute one for the other in our recipes without making any other adjustments and your cupcakes will be none the wiser.

For adding a gelatinlike stability, firmness, and thickening to fillings, we use agar agar, a natural seaweed used in many Asian cuisines. It can be found in natural food, gourmet, and Asian groceries. We use either flake or powder form, dissolved in a liquid and heated to form a gel (it also comes in bar form, but it’s annoying to measure and use for the purpose of cupcakes). The trick to using agar is allowing the agar mixture to come to a full boil in order to dissolve completely in the liquid, otherwise the mixture won’t firm up properly. Powdered agar is eas ierto use as it dissolves in less than a minute; flakes need to soak in liquid priorto cooking, to be boiled for minutes longer and stirred to make sure all the flakes are dissolved.

 

Agar can also be incorporated into batters; boil it to dissolve with soy milk or juice before adding to other ingredients. It gives cupcakes a moist, soft crumb and shiny tops.

You’ll see frequent use of starches like arrowroot powder and cornstarch. We could tell you how arrowroot comes from the root of a tropical vine, but do you really need to know that? What should interest you instead is that arrowroot is an excellent thickener that, when cooked, makes crystal clear sauces and creamy, custardlike fillings without the annoying addition of eggs. It needs to be mixed with a cold liquid before heating, and when it is fully cooked it will turn from a cloudy liquid to clear and thicken very quickly, so be sure to stir constantly!

 

Cornstarch does pretty much the same thing and can be interchanged with arrowroot in most recipes, but it doesn’t cook up as fine or clear in a sauce. We like to sift a little cornstarch, too, into some cupcake batters to create soft, tender and extra “cakey” cupcakes.

 

Tapioca is another starch made from a tropical root and is used much like arrowroot. It has even more super gelling properties than other starches, so a little goes a long way.

We tried to be as practical as possible in most of our ingredient lists but sometimes buying online from exotic and enchanting lands (like Newark) might be necessary for a recipe or two. If you can’t find an ingredient at your local natural food market, the Internet is here to help.

 

Bob’s Red Mill

www.bobsredmill.com
You can usually find Bob’s flours, sugars, and flaxseeds in a health food store (and increasingly, in many supermarkets) but he also makes himself available to you online. Bob has everything a baker desires, and he’s cute, too.

 

Food Fight! Vegan Grocery

www.foodfightgrocery.com
Get your Suzanne’s Ricemellow Creme, cute candies for decorating, vegan whipped cream that actually tastes good, and vegan sprinkles.

 

Economy Candy

www.economycandy.com
This is where we get our chocolate lentils (they are sort of like that other chocolate candy with a colorful candy shell). Economy doesn’t list product ingredients on their Web site but they have confirmed that they are vegan; if you don’t believe me, then e-mail them.