Red Velvet Cupcakes done the Babycakes way

Okay, now who doesn't love red velvet cupcakes?  Who can pass one up?  They are probably my favorite kind of cupcake vegan or not, gluten free or not, I cannot pass one up.  There's just something about the richness of how they taste.  The frosting always pops out more on red velvet cupcakes, in my opinion.  That being said, I used the Babycakes vanilla frosting recipe for these, and you can find that link here.

For these cupcakes you will need to use spelt flour, now spelt is wheat's cousin, so I don't think these are gluten free.  I have heard that people with Celiac's can digest spelt though, depending on how sensitive they are to gluten.  That being said, let's get to the recipe.

Here's what you'll need:

• 1/2 cup rice milk
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 3 1/4 cups whole spelt flour
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2/3 cup coconut oil
• 1 1/4 cups agave nectar
• 2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
• 5 tablespoons natural red food coloring, or as needed to achieve your preferred color
• vanilla frosting (see above link)

First, preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  Line 2 standard 12-cup muffin tins with paper liners.  Pour the rice milk and apple cider into a small bowl, but do not stir, set aside to develop into "buttermilk."

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Add the oil, agave nectar, and vanilla to the dry ingredients and stir to combine.  The batter will be thick.  Using a plastic spatula, add the "buttermilk" and mix just until combined.

Slowly add red food coloring by the tablespoon until the batter is the desired color.  Do not exceed 6 tablespoons.

Pour the batter into the prepared tins.  Bake the cupcakes on the center rack for 24 minutes, rotating the tins 180 degrees after 14 minutes.  The finished cupcakes will bounce back slightly when pressed, and a toothpick inserted in the center will come out clean.

I frosted the cupcakes at my bff's home.

Let the cupcakes stand in the tins for 20 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack and cool completely.  Using a frosting knife, gently spread desired amount of frosting to each cupcake.

You can store these cupcakes in the fridge in an airtight  container for up to 3 days.

Enjoy! 

Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes (Gluten-Free too)

I can't believe my blog is a year old already!  Hopefully I'll get more followers/viewers in this new year of my blog.  I made these cupcakes about two weeks ago when I was craving chocolate, and since the first cupcake batch came out well, I decided to go with my Gluten-Free Cupcakes cookbook by Elana Amsterdam.  They were also sugar free;  they were sweetened with agave nectar.  I like agave a lot, but sometimes when things are sweetened with it, it makes your baked goods extremely moist...a little more than I would like.  That being said, I thought the cupcakes were still very good, and the buttercream turned out really good too.

Here's what you'll need:

• 1 1/2 cups almond flour
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon arrowroot powder
• 1 tablespoon ground chia seeds
• 1 tablespoon flax meal
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons coconut milk
• 1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons agave nectar
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Here's what you'll need for the buttercream:

• 1/2 cup Spectrum all-vegetable shortening
• 1/2 cup Earth Balance Natural Buttery Spread
• Pinch of sea salt
• 3/4 cup agave nectar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line 9 muffin cups with paper liners.  In a large bowl, combine the almond flour, cocoa powder, arrowroot powder, ground chia seeds, flax meal, salt, and baking soda.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the coconut milk, agave nectar, vinegar, and vanilla extract.

Stir the wet ingredients into the almond flour mixture with a large spoon until thoroughly combined.  Scoop 1/4 cup of batter into each prepared muffin cup.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached.  Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 1 hour, then frost and serve.

Now onto the buttercream:

In large bowl, blend together the shortening and buttery spread with a handheld mixer until creamy.  Mix in the salt, agave nectar, and vanilla extract, whipping until smooth.

Refrigerate the frosting for 2 hours, or until firm.  Frost the cupcakes immediately, then place them into the fridge to keep the consistency of the frosting firm until serving.  Enjoy! 

Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Meringue Frosting

Okay, again, it's been too long since I last updated my blog.  A lot has been going on in my life, but I'm not going to bore you with the details.  I'm finished with classes for the summer, well, I have one, it's on-line though.  I don't have a summer job (yet, but I'm hoping somebody will get back to me), so I will probably be updating this blog a lot. 

I made these cupcakes yesterday since I had a lot of strawberries that were probably going to go bad soon, so I wanted to use them for something.  This recipe comes from Gluten-Free Cupcakes by Elana Amsterdam.  It's the first recipe I've made from this book and they turned out great.  The frosting was a little too sweet for my taste, but the cupcakes weren't overly sweet at all, so it was balanced out.  The only bad thing about this recipe was it only makes 8 cupcakes, so if you're making them for an event, you might want to double or triple the recipe, same goes for the frosting.

Here's what you'll need:

• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1 tablespoon arrowroot powder
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 cup agave nectar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh strawberries

Here's what you'll need for the frosting:

•  1/4 cup agave nectar
• 2 egg whites
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh stawberries

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line 8 muffin cups with paper liners.

In a large bowl, combine the coconut flour, arrowroot, salt, and baking soda.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, agave, and vanilla.

 Blend the wet ingredients into the coconut flour mixture with a handheld mixer until thoroughly combined, then fold in the strawberries.

Scoop a few tablespoons of batter into each prepared muffin cup.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached.  Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 1 hour, then frost and serve.

Now onto the frosting:  In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring the agave to a boil, stirring constantly.  Decrease the heat to low and simmer for 6 to 10 minutes, stirring on occasion, until the agave darkens slightly from its original amber color.  Remove from heat and set aside.

In a deep bowl, whip the egg whites to stiff peaks using a handheld mixer.  Stop whipping as soon as the egg whites are stiff.

Could have been stiffer.

Drizzle the warm agave very slowly into the egg whites, while whipping with a handheld mixer, to keep the peaks stiff.  Allow to cool to room temperature, then fold the strawberries into the meringue.  Use right away.

Enjoy!

Vanilla Cupcakes (the Babycakes way)

 Hey everybody!  So this past weekend was a friend's birthday and we all went to a local place in Nyack, NY called Casa Del Sol, it's a great restaurant.  It's becoming a favorite of mine, but I think my first favorite is Temptations Cafe in Nyack, NY.  Anyway, it was Michele's birthday and I was going to bake her an apple upside down cake, because I have all these apples, but I didn't give myself enough time to do all the prep work.  So I decided to make her cupcakes instead.  While I was on a gluten-free-vegan diet (it was extremely short lived...lol!) I bought this baking book called Babycakes: Vegan, (Mostly) Gluten-Free, and (Mostly) Sugar-Free Recipes from New York's Most Talked-About Bakery by Erin McKenna.  Babycakes is an actual bakery in NYC which first opened in 2005 in the Lower East Side.  The author is the chef and owner of the bakery and has received the Best Cupcake award in 2006 from New York magazine.  The cookbook is full of gluten-free vegan cookies, muffins, scones, cakes, and cupcakes.  I've only made cookies and cupcakes from the book so far.  I've made the double chocolate chip cookies, chocolate chip cookies, and the red velvet cupcakes with the vanilla frosting.

I've made the red velvet cupcakes this past winter for my friends, and Michele was  impressed (mostly because they didn't have any sugar and they were vegan while still having a good taste), and I think her boyfriend even more impressed (he being a vegetarian and all).  So I decided to make her cupcakes for her birthday, but decided to try out the vanilla ones instead.

One thing the author says in the recipe book is to measure EVERYTHING out in dry cups, no pyrex liquid ones, just dry cups.  You'll get a more accurate amount and better taste to your cupcakes.  

Here's what you'll need (you might have to go to a specialty health food store for a lot of the ingredients):

2 Cups Garbanzo-Fava Bean Flour
1 Cup Potato Starch
1/2 Cup Arrowroot*
1 Tbsp. plus 1 1/2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp. Baking Soda
1 Tsp. Xanthan Gum
2 Tsp. Salt
2/3 Cup Coconut Oil
1 1/3 Cups Agave Nectar (light, not dark)
3/4 Cup Unsweetened Homemade Apple Sauce or store bought
3 Tbsp. Pure Vanilla Extract
Grated Zest of 1 Lemon
1 Cup Hot Water

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  Line two standard 12-cup muffin tins with paper liners.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, potato starch, arrowroot, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, and salt.  Add the oil (make sure it's melted),  agave nectar, applesauce, vanilla, and lemon zest to the dry ingredients and combine.  Stir in the hot water and mix until the batter is smooth.

Pour 1/3 cup batter into each prepared cup, almost filling it.  Bake the cupcakes on the center rack for 22 minutes, rotating the tins 180 degrees after 15 minutes.

The finished cupcakes will be golden brown and will bounce bake when pressure is applied gently to the center.

Let the cupcakes stand in the tins for 20 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack and cool completely.  Using a frosting knife, gently spread 1 tablespoon vanilla frosting over each cupcake.  Store the cupcakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Now, what you'll need for the vanilla frosting (once again, measure in dry cups only):

1 1/2 Cups Unsweetened Soy or Rice Milk
3/4 Cup Dry Soy or Rice Milk Powder
1 Tbsp. Coconut Flour
1/4 Cup Agave Nectar (light, not dark)
1 Tbsp. Pure Vanilla Extract
1 1/2 Cups Coconut Oil (melted)
2 Tbsp. Fresh Lemon Juice

In a blender or a food processor, combine the soy milk, soy powder, coconut flour, agave nectar, and vanilla. Blend the ingredients for 2 minutes.  With the machine running, slowly add the oil and lemon juice, alternating between the two until both are fully incorporated.  Pour the mixture into an airtight container and refridgerate for 6 hours or for up to 1 month.

*I used Corn Starch instead because I didn't want to have to send out my husband to get one more item esp. after he had just come back from grocery shopping.  The cupcakes turned out fine with the Corn Starch.

Enjoy! 

Banana Cupcakes with Lemon Icing

I know I haven't posted in a bit but I was away on vacation, so here's a recipe I tried right before I left.  I wanted to impress my mother-in-law, I hope I succeeded since these cupcakes/muffins were yummy.  Thanks again to Chloe Coscarelli for another delicious recipe from her book.  The only problem I had was with the icing, it turned out to be more of a glaze, but then again, I might have put too much liquid in it. 

For the Banana Cupcakes:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 cup mashed bananas, from approximately 2 very ripe bananas mashed on a plate using the back of a fork
1 cup canned coconut milk, mixed well before measuring
1/2 cup canola oil
2 teaspoons white or apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

For the Lemon Icing:
1 cup powdered sugar
3 to 4 teaspoons lemon juice (I used 4)
1 tablespoon water
1/4 to 1 teaspoon lemon zest (I think I used closer to 1 rather than 1/4, I like lemony flavor)


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line 2 12-cup cupcake pans with 18 cupcake liners.

Mash the two bananas with the back of a fork.

In a large bowl, whisk together bananas, coconut milk, oil, vinegar, and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger.

Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and whisk until just combined.  Do not over mix.

Fill the cupcake liners about two-thirds full with batter.  Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean with a few crumbs clinging to it.  Cool the cupcakes completely before frosting.

To make the icing or glaze, whisk the powdered sugar, lemon juice, water, and zest in a small bowl until smooth.

Spread a thin layer of Lemon Icing over each Banana Cupcake, and enjoy!

Yummy!

Ginger Nutmeg Spice Cupcakes

Have you ever watched Food Network's Cupcake Wars?  Well, this is where this recipe came from.  A vegan chef named Chloe Coscarelli was the first vegan chef to ever win a show on the Food Network.  I never saw her episode, but when I saw her cookbook at Barnes & Nobles with the words, "Winner of Food Network's Cupcake Wars," I had to have it.  The book Chloe's Kitchen has more than just dessert recipes in it.  I've made her mac & cheese, a pasta salad, and the barley casserole I've blogged about before, to name a few.  This recipe is her award winning recipe, and they've been a hit each time I've made them for friends and family.

What you'll need for the cupcakes:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup canned coconut milk, mixed well before measuring
1/2 cup canola oil
2 teaspoons white or apple-cider vinegar (I prefer the apple-cider one)
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

What you'll need for the Vanilla Bean Butter Cream Frosting:
1 cup non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening
3 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
seeds of 1 vanilla bean or 2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract (I've used both in this recipe and I couldn't taste much of a difference.)
2 to 5 tablespoons soy, almond, or rice milk (I prefer almond milk.)

What you'll need for the Date Caramel:
6 medjool dates
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons water
1/4 ground cinnamon

I apologize ahead of time if my pictures are a little dark.  The lighting in my kitchen isn't good without the sunlight.  I also take all the pictures with my iPad.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line 2 12-cup cupcake pans with 18 cupcake liners.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon.

In a separate bowl, whisk together pumpkin, coconut milk, oil, vinegar, and vanilla.

Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and whisk until just combined.  Don't over mix.

Fill the cupcake liners about two-thirds full with batter.

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean with a few crumbs clinging to it.  Cool the cupcakes completely before frosting.


Using a handheld or stand mixer (I love my Kitcheaid), beat shortening until smooth.  With the mixer running on low, add powdered sugar, vanilla extract, vanilla bean seeds, and 1 tablespoon non-dairy milk at a time, as needed, until frosting reaches a spreadable consistency.

You may not need to use all of the non-dairy milk.  Beat on high for 2 more minutes until light and fluffy.

Place dates in a small saucepan with water to cover, and bring to a gentle boil.  Let the dates boil gently for 10 minutes.  Drain and rince with cold water until cool to the touch.  Peel the dates with your fingers and discard the skin.  Remove the pits and coarsely chop the dates.  Place in a blender;  add maple syrup, water, and cinnamon.  Blend until smooth.  Refrigerate until chilled.

I didn't make the date caramel for this blog, but I've made it in the past.  The dates are very sticky, and they will stick to your hands.  You can serve these cupcakes with or without the caramel and they'll taste just as yummy.  The caramel adds an extra sweetness.

Spread a thin layer of the Vanilla Bean Butter Cream on the Spice Cupcakes and drizzle with the Date Caramel.

Enjoy!