Vegan Cupcakes!

Just as vegetarians can get left out with food contributions by carnivores at ‘mixed’ parties, so too do vegans get left out in the dessert department at parties contributed to by vegetarians.  I had a large life-celebrating party last weekend and wanted to make sure that no vegan was left behind, so I made all the cupcakes vegan.  Since I usually work with egg replacer (flax seeds or the oil, baking soda, water concoction), the cupcakes were not too new for me.  The ‘buttercream’ icing, however, was my first but it was easier than I thought it would be.

Icing

• For vanilla: Start with about 3/4C vegan margarine, slowly mixing in icing sugar/powdered sugar until it is sweet enough for your liking, and then mix in about 1/2 a capful of vanilla essence or extract. If you add too much vanilla extract, the icing will not spread well; it will slide apart in clumps!
• For chocolate, add cocoa powder and then carefully add the vanilla.
• Variations: Strawberry flavouring, almond extract, anything to match the cupcakes you’ve created!

Cupcakes

Bake at 350F (177C) for around 40 minutes.

Here are the flavours I’ve made:

• Almond-fruit cupcakes
• 2C water
• 3/4C oil
• 2ts white vinegar
• 1 ts vanilla
• 3 ts almond extract
• 3 1/2 C flour
• 2C sugar
• 1 ts salt
• 2 ts baking soda
• 1/2 – 3/4 mixed, dried fruit.
• Serve with almond flavoured icing, with an almond on top.

Chocolate

• Add aproximately 1/2 C cocoa powder to mix (omitting the almond extract and using the full 4ts of vanilla), adding more if the mixture does not look or taste (the great thing about vegan baking is there are no eggs!) chocolately enough.

Strawberry

• One can of tinned strawberries in juice, with the liquid reserved and the berries as drained as possible.
• 2C juice, or as much juice as found in the tin, topped up by water
• 3/4 C oil
• 2ts white vinegar
• 4 ts vanilla
• 3 1/2 C flour
• 2C sugar
• 1ts salt
• 2ts baking soda
• 1 tin of strawberries, very lightly chopped
• Serve with the basic vanilla icing, but replacing the vanilla extract with strawberry flavouring. If strawberries are in season, and used in the cupcake, garnish with one.

Why not also try fresh berry, apple & cinnamon, or chocolate & nut.