Hands-Free Cellphone Cupcakes

So, there I was today, driving on the Thruway talking on my phone using the speaker.  I got pulled over!  Apparently in NY you can't even be holding the phone?  Ok, news to me.  I apologized and explained I was not aware of this, but the trooper did not care about this and gave me a ticket anyway.  Craaaaaaaaap....  But that was hardly the worst part!  I got really upset and started crying... like, hysterical 8 months pregnant hormone crying.  I'm not usually this dramatic, but being pregnant I find I have a hard time controlling my emotions - everything's extreme.  So the normal amount of frustration and anger you would imagine from getting a ticket is like multiplied by 10 for me.  I try to control it but that doesn't always work out successfully.  So, there I am, hysterical crying, telling the cop that I'm 8 months pregnant and begging him not to give me a ticket (obviously, didn't work).  Then he just left me there, got into his cop car and drove away!  My distress reached a whole new level and I literally started hyperventilating and having an anxiety attack.  I couldn't breathe and it was 10 minutes before I was even able to call my husband to help me.  My wonderful husband talked to me and was all ready to drive out to get me before I was finally able to calm down.  All in all I was stuck hyperventilating on the side of the NYS Thruway for 30 minutes!  When I FINALLY got home I needed to relax b/c I was still so upset... and angry... like, so angry.  I understand when cops give us tickets they're just doing their jobs. We don't like it, but fine.  But you see that I'm pregnant, (plus I told you I'm pregnant) and you see me hysterical crying.  Don't you think you should wait to make sure I'm ok?  See if I can drive?  Wait until I pull back onto the road?  Just leaving me there is NOT doing your job, in fact its the opposite.  That cop totally sucks and I hope karma comes back and bites him in the ass, hard.  And not b/c he gave me a ticket but b/c not only does his job require him to have a sense of duty to make sure I'm ok, there's this thing called common decency as well; and apparently he didn't have either!  What a jack-wipe.  There, I'm done.  Yeah, so clearly there was only one thing to do to calm down... yes, bake! 

I had some sad looking apricots in the fridge and I knew today was the day I was going to give them new life and turn them into something delicious.  I needed a new start to my day and those apricots needed a second chance.  I also had a sad pluot that I threw in b/c, what the hell.  I love combining fruit with spices and for some reason apricot and cardamom sounded really good to me.  I didn't really overthink it, I just started throwing all the ingredients together.  By the time I was filling those cupcake liners I was (almost) back to my usual self.  Maybe I should have called these Therapy Cupcakes... Anyway, if you need some mental healing, bake these and then name them whatever you want.  Onto the recipes!

Apricot Cardamom Cupcakes with Ginger Cream Cheese Frosting

 

 

For the cupcakes:

3/4 cup soy milk (I use vanilla)
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1 tsp vanilla
1 and 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cardamom
pinch nutmeg (about 1/8 tsp)
3 - 5 apricots (depending on size), peeled and diced - about 1 cup

You know the drill.  Preheat the oven to 350 and line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners.
Mix together the soy milk and vinegar until frothy and set aside.  In a large bowl combine the sugar, oil and vanilla.  Add the soy milk and mix well.  Sift in the dry ingredients and mix until well combined and little to no lumps remain.  Fold in the apricots.  Fill liners 3/4 to almost all of the way full - this will depend on how much apricot is in your batter.  I had mine almost to the top.  As long as they're at least 3/4 filled you will have nice cupcakes.  Bake for 20-22 minutes.  Let cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.

I loved how colorful these were!  Those lovely flecks of pink are from the pluot - I should just say I did that on purpose :)

I didn't overthink the frosting when I was making it either.  Cream cheese frosting was a no-brainer today b/c I'm all out of shortening.  And ginger sounded like it would go well so I went with that.  (btw - I wasn't wrong.. these things are freakin delicious!)

 

For the frosting:

1/2 cup vegan cream cheese (I use Follow Your Heart b/c its GMO free - yay!)
1/4 cup vegan margarine (I use Earth Balance)
2 - 3 cups powdered sugar
1 and 1/2 tsps ginger

In the bowl of a standmixer (or using a handmixer), cream together the cream cheese and margarine.  It helps if these items are not cold when doing this.  But to be honest I pulled mine right out of the fridge today and it worked out fine.  Sift in the powdered sugar testing for sweetness.  You also want to add enough sugar to stiffen your frosting.  Try to find a good balance between sweetness and consistency.  I find when you take the whisk out and the frosting doesn't fall off of it, you're good.  Sift in the ginger and mix well to combine.  Fill your piping bag and frost away.

PS - If you're not pregnant, these therapy cupcakes will work a lot better if you pour yourself a big glass of wine, and then start baking.  Just saying.

Rosh Hashanah Redemption Cupcakes

Last year, when Rosh Hashanah came around, I wanted to do something special involving cupcakes, apples, and vegan honey (aka agave syrup).  No brainer, right?  Who doesn't like themes?  Or excuses to make cupcakes?  But, the execution left a little to be desired.  I tried to bake cupcakes while also cooking a Jewish New Year feast and didn't really have time to do exactly what I wanted.  Also, my basic idea didn't have the adventurous spirit that's so important for cupcake baking.  What was I thinking??  Needless to say, I definitely had something to prove when Rosh Hashanah came around this year.  No doubt I got it right this time - delicious apple, mouth-watering spices, topped off with cinnamon frosting.  Redemption achieved.

Apple Spice Cupcakes with Cinnamon Frosting

 

For the cupcakes:

3/4 cup soymilk (I use vanilla)
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup canola oil
3/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp blackstrap molasses
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 and 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp nutmeg
pinch cardamom
1 apple, grated (about 1 cup)

Preheat the oven to 350°.  Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners.  
In a small bowl, whisk together the soy milk and vinegar until frothy and set aside.  In the meantime, gather your ingredients.  In a large bowl, mix together the oil, sugar, molasses and vanilla.  Add the soymilk and mix well.  Sift in all the dry ingredients and mix until just moistened.  Add in the apple and mix until everything is well combined.  Fill cupcake liners 3/4 of the way full, or almost to the top and bake 18-20 minutes until slightly golden on the edges.  Cool for 5 minutes in their tins and then move to a cooling rack to cool completely.  

For the frosting:

3/4 cup non-hydrogenated shortening
2 - 3 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 - 3 Tbsp soy milk (again, vanilla)
2 and 1/2 tsp cinnamon

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the shortening so its not a clump like what came out of your measuring cup.  Sift in the sugar, tasting for sweetness.  Add soy milk if the frosting gets too thick.  Add in the vanilla and sift in the cinnamon, mix until all well combined and the frosting is nice and fluffy and delicious.  Top the cupcakes.  Get excited!

To garnish:

1 apple, sliced
1 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp brown sugar

Mix the apple with the lemon juice and let sit for a few minutes.  Pour off any extra lemon juice, add in the brown sugar and mix to coat.  Let sit another few minutes, then top each cupcake with a yummy apple slice.  

Smile - these cupcakes are amazeballs and now you have 12 of your very own!  

Happy Vegan MoFo and Happy New Year!

It's here!

Woohoo!  So exciting - there are so many awesomely talented and creative vegans out there, you should see what everyone's posting!  Yes, I am drooling just thinking about it.  Check out the full list of posters at veganmofo.com.  

This year, in a moment of unbridled confidence I decided to throw my humble little cupcake blog into the mix.  I am certainly not as established or talented as many of the other bloggers, but I love cupcakes and baking and I just can't help myself!  So, here we go!  I have been baking my 7-months pregnant and now not so little butt off, so get ready for a month of jam-packed (pun intended), lip-smacking goodness!

Guess what other time of year it is!  Its Rosh Hashanah time!  Yes, the Jewish New Year is here again.  This year, I have decided to improve on the apple cupcakes that I made last year (stay tuned) AND I am trying something new - with pomegranate!  In case you are not aware, there are a number of different foods that are traditionally eaten on Rosh Hashanah for different symbolic reasons.  Pomegranates are a popular Rosh Hashanah food, they are eaten so that our good deeds in the coming year will be as plentiful as the seeds in the pomegranate.  Yeah, I don't know if you've noticed, but pomegranates have a lot of seeds.  So, onto the cupcakes!

Pay It Forward Cupcakes

Pomegranate-Orange Cupcakes with Pomegranate Frosting

I feel like a freaking girl scout for coming up with this goody-two-shoes cupcake name, but it is the New Year so I should be on my best behavior.  Plus, veganism is all about compassion, so have some for me, this pregnancy has turned my brain into (vegan) jello!  Plus, one bite of these cupcakes and you won't give a crap what they're called as long as you can call for more!  

For the cupcakes:

3/4 cup soymilk (I use vanilla)
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup canola oil
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup pomegranate juice
2 tsp vanilla
1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp orange zest

Preheat the oven to 350°.  Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners. 
In a large bowl, whisk together the soy milk and vinegar until frothy.  Set aside while you gather the rest of your ingredients.  Add in the oil, sugar, pomegranate juice and vanilla and mix until well combined.  Sift in the dry ingredients.  Mix until just combined.  Add the orange zest.  Mix well until there are no lumps.  Fill liners 3/4 of the way full, or kinda almost to the top - just use all of your batter, its fine.  Bake for 18-20 minutes until the edges are a little golden/brown. Let cool for 5 minutes then move to a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting:

1/2 cup pomegranate juice
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup non-hydrogenated shortening
2-3 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract


In a small saucepan, combine the pom juice and sugar and heat over medium heat until boiling.  Continue to simmer about 15 min until the sugar is dissolved the the juice is reduced.  Let cool (just throw it in the fridge until its at least room temp).  In the bowl of a stand-mixer, cream the shortening so it gets nice and smooth.  Sift in the sugar about 1 cup at a time, mixing in between to combine until the frosting is nice and thick.  Keep a spatula handy to scrape down the sides of the bowl.  Add in the vanilla.  Add the pomegranate juice a little at a time until the desired consistency is reached.  Mix until well combined.  Taste, adjust sugar if necessary.  To be honest, I didn't really measure the sugar, I never do.  I just sift it in until it looks and tastes right.  So you can keep alternating a little juice and then sugar until the frosting tastes and looks how you want.  I like mine pink and with plenty of that pom tang.  Now, fill your piping bag and frost those bad boys up!


If you have some fresh pomegranate seeds, they would make a lovely garnish for the tops of these cupcakes.  Plus, they would be helpful if you're sharing so people won't see the pink frosting and think its raspberry.


Last: Eat the cupcakes and think about all the good deeds you are going to do this year.  I've already done mine by sharing this recipe with you. BAM!