Nekked cupcakes
For my birthday in October my hubby gave me a lot of kitchen equipment and some new cookbooks, all of which were vegan. (YAY!) As part of a bridal shower gift for my sister-in-law we gave her Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World that I flipped through before wrapping it up. Needless to say I wanted to keep it! I have been baking and decorating cakes since I was in middle school, and its a hobby I enjoy quite a bit as long as I don't have to do it too often. (Hey family, do you hear that? I LIKE to do cakes, just not with 2 days notice!!) Birthday cakes are fun to do because they have the most personality, LOTS of color, and perfection is not such a pass or fail thing like professional cake decorating is. Last night I got either an hankering for sugar or my PMS decided that I NEEDED some chocolate (I'm not normally a big chocolate fan, at all) and realized that I hadn't used my new cupcake book! I'm so used to doing full cakes that I honestly don't remember the last time I made cupcakes (my guess is 5-6 years or more). I giggled to myself when I was putting them in the oven, feeling like a goofy teenager again. I make muffins frequently, but I can't recall making cupcakes more than about 7 or so times in my life.
There is no point to cake, and cupcakes even more so. But that's one reason that having cake decorating as a hobby is so fun. It's totally pointless, but it makes everyone so happy (except the two people that I know of who don't like cake). Cakes are fun to make, especially chiffon cakes (half way between regular cake and angel food cake) even though they are very touchy and full of eggs. I really liked how the pictures looked in the Vegan Cupcake book, but I was honestly skeptical about how they would turn out in MY oven and without the eggs, or that the baking soda would stand out too much. It seems the older I get the more sensitive my whole body gets, most especially my stomach.
Well, it was lucky that I took the above pic when I did because two of the chocolate comrades went MIA shortly after. Their ranks were quickly divided and conquered. Only two remaining cupcakes are left to stand watch in the arctic of our freezer. The family thought they were definitely A+
I made the Basic Chocolate Cupcakes with vegan Buttercream Frosting, replacing 1 tsp. of peppermint and 1/2 tsp. vanilla for all the vanilla, and added a drop of red food coloring. Peppermint hard candy was crushed and sprinkled on top. Doing cakes as much as I have I could tell that they were just a little bit 'tougher' than regular cakes made with cake flour (that has some milk something in it) but in reality there was hardly any difference. They did not raise like non-vegan ones do, but to me that's a plus. I'm so tired of the 'McDonald's philosophy' of supersized everything. I really think I'm going to like this book. Next time I will add chopped walnuts and maybe top it with more walnuts and the Brown Rice Caramel Glaze.
There is no point to cake, and cupcakes even more so. But that's one reason that having cake decorating as a hobby is so fun. It's totally pointless, but it makes everyone so happy (except the two people that I know of who don't like cake). Cakes are fun to make, especially chiffon cakes (half way between regular cake and angel food cake) even though they are very touchy and full of eggs. I really liked how the pictures looked in the Vegan Cupcake book, but I was honestly skeptical about how they would turn out in MY oven and without the eggs, or that the baking soda would stand out too much. It seems the older I get the more sensitive my whole body gets, most especially my stomach.
Well, it was lucky that I took the above pic when I did because two of the chocolate comrades went MIA shortly after. Their ranks were quickly divided and conquered. Only two remaining cupcakes are left to stand watch in the arctic of our freezer. The family thought they were definitely A+
I made the Basic Chocolate Cupcakes with vegan Buttercream Frosting, replacing 1 tsp. of peppermint and 1/2 tsp. vanilla for all the vanilla, and added a drop of red food coloring. Peppermint hard candy was crushed and sprinkled on top. Doing cakes as much as I have I could tell that they were just a little bit 'tougher' than regular cakes made with cake flour (that has some milk something in it) but in reality there was hardly any difference. They did not raise like non-vegan ones do, but to me that's a plus. I'm so tired of the 'McDonald's philosophy' of supersized everything. I really think I'm going to like this book. Next time I will add chopped walnuts and maybe top it with more walnuts and the Brown Rice Caramel Glaze.
All dressed up and somewhere to go... my mouth!
Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, Vegan Lunch Box, Veganomicon (Vegancon for short), and The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook are all my new books to play with.
My general thoughts of each-
Vegan Cupcakes: LOTS of possibilities and a very fun book. An easy one to test on my non-vegan family, all I have to say is Cake!
Vegan Lunch Box: Haven't done many from here but most of the recipes have a lack of peppers and onions (great for hubby!) The first 1/3 of the book is just meal plans that I'm honestly not sure how much attention I'll pay to that. The Lentil Rice Balls still need some work (the outsides are dry and stabby and scrape up my mouth) or I'm not doing something right. Hopefully in the next couple of days I'll get around to the Wheat Gluten Pot Roast.
Veganomicon: Wow. There is SO much info in here and the recipies really are great. I adore the Garbazo Cutlets, so yummy and chewy and versitile, we have used black beans and adzuki beans in them with really good results!
The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook: I was very afraid of 'fake' cheese recipes. The first time I tried a homemade vegan cheese sauce (LONG before I got this book) I ended up with B12 sauce with sauteed onions, and it was hardly edible. First thing to keep in mind with this book, Nutritional yeast powder is twice as strong as nutritional yeast flakes! The more I use this book, the more excited I get. The Cheese Please Soup is WONDERFUL even though I had to alter it because of the onions. And last night I made the Parmezano Sprinkles and they are PERFECT. I'll deffinately be stocking up on almonds now! I have been waiting to get some agar-agar powder so I can try the block uncheeses. This is an amazing book.
My general thoughts of each-
Vegan Cupcakes: LOTS of possibilities and a very fun book. An easy one to test on my non-vegan family, all I have to say is Cake!
Vegan Lunch Box: Haven't done many from here but most of the recipes have a lack of peppers and onions (great for hubby!) The first 1/3 of the book is just meal plans that I'm honestly not sure how much attention I'll pay to that. The Lentil Rice Balls still need some work (the outsides are dry and stabby and scrape up my mouth) or I'm not doing something right. Hopefully in the next couple of days I'll get around to the Wheat Gluten Pot Roast.
Veganomicon: Wow. There is SO much info in here and the recipies really are great. I adore the Garbazo Cutlets, so yummy and chewy and versitile, we have used black beans and adzuki beans in them with really good results!
The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook: I was very afraid of 'fake' cheese recipes. The first time I tried a homemade vegan cheese sauce (LONG before I got this book) I ended up with B12 sauce with sauteed onions, and it was hardly edible. First thing to keep in mind with this book, Nutritional yeast powder is twice as strong as nutritional yeast flakes! The more I use this book, the more excited I get. The Cheese Please Soup is WONDERFUL even though I had to alter it because of the onions. And last night I made the Parmezano Sprinkles and they are PERFECT. I'll deffinately be stocking up on almonds now! I have been waiting to get some agar-agar powder so I can try the block uncheeses. This is an amazing book.
