Foodie Friday - Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes

There is kind of a glut of recipes for vegan chocolate cupcakes. It's like the lawyer of the vegan baked goods world. There might actually be too many.  Still, when you need a lawyer or a cupcake, you usually need one RIGHT AWAY and don't care it's charging you $400 an hour/400 calories a serving. 

But if I'm going to fit in in the vegan world, I know I have to do a few things: avoid animal products; float 2 inches off the ground at all times; and make a good vegan cupcake.

I love baking. I mean, I really love it. But cupcakes have never been my forte. So I turned to my friend Ryan, who you all know and love, because he is our circle's go-to baker for cupcakes and for high end baked delights. He has his own food blog which we are all imploring him to get back to. After begging him and promising not to draw any embarrassing portrait of him, Ryan consented to help me with this week's post - for Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate frosting.

The original recipe is found at this site, but we made several changes. 

But before we could embark on our morning of baking, as every vegan knows, it is important to align your Chakras before you start. If your Chakas are out of balance, your cupcakes will fail and butterflies will die and the Euro will plunge further.

So we aligned our Chakas.

Whew, that feels better.

Ryan is more of a purist than am I when it comes to baking - he sources out the best ingredients,

sifts his dry ingredients, and weighs them rather than just scooping them up slap dash in the measuring cups like I do. 

He even did research to ensure that the icing sugar we were using was vegan. Lantic icing sugar IS vegan. Redpath sugar is NOT vegan. Ryan says, "you're welcome".

UPDATE (SEPT 8, 2012). I HAVE LEARNED THAT REDPATH SUGAR IS VEGAN. LANTIC SUGAR IS ALSO VEGAN, BUT IT'S SISTER COMPANY, ROGER'S SUGAR, USES BONE CHAR IN ITS FILERING PROCESS, SO ROGERS SUGAR = BAD, REDPATH IS GOOD.

Ryan created a pousse cafe of oil milk and sugar

Sam wants cupcakes. Sucks to be Sam. No cupcakes for Sam

 Here is the recipe as adapted by Ryan and Elpoo:


Vegan Deep  Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting

275 g/2 cups all-purpose flour

100 g/3/4 cup natural cocoa powder  (Hershey's)

1-2 Tbsp espresso powder (Ryan suggests the King Arthur Flour brand of espresso powder)

2 teaspoons (10 ml) baking soda

1 teaspoon (5 ml) baking powder

a pinch of salt

450 ml/1 +3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk

2 teaspoons (10 ml) red wine vinegar

320 g/ 1 + 2/3 cups raw sugar, pulsed to make a fine powder (or caster sugar)

320 ml/1 + 1/4 cups oil (we used vegetable oil - next time I'd use sunflower or canola to keep the soy content down)

2 tablespoons (30 ml) vanilla extract (Rebecca's home made!)

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1. Preheat the oven to 325 F. Line 24 muffin tin cups with paper liners.

2. Sift twice, the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a large  bowl. 

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the almond milk, vinegar, sugar, oil and vanilla extract. Pour into the flour mixture and stir until well combined.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared cupcake pans about 1/2 full,  and bake in the preheated oven for 40-55 minutes.

 A wooden skewer inserted in the middle should come out with almost no crumbs attached, and the middle of the cake, when pressed, should spring back slightly instead of sink. Bake for an additional 5-10 minutes if necessary.  

5. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Slide a table knife all around the edge to loosen the cake, then remove from the pan. Transfer to a wire rack to cool for 1 hour

They will be VERY moist. So be careful if you take off the paper wrappers. It's better to leave them on, actually. You could refrigerate the cooled cupcakes for a bit to firm them up before frosting them.

Psychotic weirdo puts cupcakes into oven

Dark dark dark and deleeeeeeeeeshus.

Vegan Chocolate Frosting

1 cup (227 g) Vegan, non-hydrogenated margarine. I used Earth Balance or Becel Vegan margarine.

1 cup (125 g) icing sugar (confectioners’ or powdered)

1 tsp espresso powder

1 1/2 teaspoons  pure vanilla extract 

5 oz (145 g) quality bittersweet, chopped, melted and cooled 

1/4 cup (60 ml) almond  milk

pinch of salt

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1. In a bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, combine the icing sugar and margarine and beat on low speed for about 1 minute.

2. Add vanilla and beat on low until well combined. Add the melted & cooled chocolate and beat on medium speed until smooth (about 2 minutes).

3. Add almond milk and salt, and beat on medium speed for another minute. Do NOT over beat. Keep an eye on it.

adding the cooled chocolate to the sugar and vegan "butter"

The frosting should look creamy and smooth. Decorate with vegan approved silver coloured smartie things.

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Full disclosure time. The first time we made this, the cupcakes turned out great. Super moist and dark, almost black. But the frosting was a disaster.

Ellen is saddened by awful icing. Yes. icing an be awful.

We tried to tart up the awful icing with a silver smartie thingie, but it just looked like a silver smartie on a cow pat.

 Not wanting to waste all the time and ingredients, Ryan whipped up a new batch of vegan frosting when he got home so he could take the cupcakes to a barbecue without losing his King of Cupcakes status.

We couldn't figure out why the icing failed so epically. We may have beaten the margarine and sugar too long. Was it because our Chakas were not really aligned? As a vegan, was I not being strident enough? In the end, we decided that it was most likely because instead of using a good quality chocolate to melt and use in the icing, we just used an old Easter Bunny broken up and melted down. 

not really for baking.

What were we thinking? How could I use an innocent chocolate bunny in this, this what was supposed to be VEGAN! I'll never harm another animal shaped food again. Serves me right. I have been chastised. 

Now I have to go and put tiny razor cuts in my leg and sit in a bath tub full of vinegar. Because that's what vegans do when they know they've been bad. 


Anyhooo, have a good weekend. Save the bunnies.

These cupcakes are so good - before he ate this cupcake, Peter had brown eyes.

People of the Dog Park

Sam, our 8 month old black Labrador Retriever, is doing very well. 

He’s a good dog, and a mellow puppy, as it turns out. Gracie is still not thrilled with him and barks a lot about it. 

I have a kerchief AND a bow!

Maybe she needs her own blog where she can vent about things that bug her. Maybe I’ll set it up for her. It could be called “Everything is Awful and I have to Scream Contstantly. Give Me a Cookie. Um... No, Put Peanut Butter On It First”. 

Ah poor Gracie. I complain about her a lot, but she’s just doing what Shelites do: be awful. I do love her, in my fashion. She’s getting on and is a bit stiff legged, so she doesn’t get a second long walk in the afternoons as does our heavy duty digbat, Sam. Our blessed dog walker Nina, owner of Boardwalkers, takes the dogs in the morning so I can get things done, but the afternoon shift is mine.

I take Sam down to the beach and although standing in cold sand/snow while ice pellets blast horizontally into your face sounds glamourous, it’s not quite as awesome as it sounds.

Off Leash Dog Area. Super cold and icy blasty.

Luckily, there are sometimes people there that help you pass the time, and they have dogs that help Sam burn off steam and kibble. Everyone is cold and some of them have to pee and some of them have busy busy lives. But they are all there because they are doing right by their dogs, and giving them a chance to have unfettered play time, a luxury, I know, for many.

There are, of course, going to be a few people who are just a pain in the ass. Either their dogs are precious prima donnas who will turn to dust if Sam so much touches them with his paw, while others seem to think it’s “just playing around” when their dog is drawing blood from Sam’s ear. And not in a good way, I mean. People are people. I get it.  But dogs are neither fragile lilies or armored tanks: Unless they are.

Did I see that outfit at Anthropologie? 

And then there are the folks who really want to give you helpful advice on how to raise your dog. This can be a good thing or a super annoying thing, and it depends entirely on how it is delivered. People who talk like they are experts on all dogs - well, unless they are Caesar Milan, I roll my eyes in their general direction. Helpful tips are great. Know it alls are tedious. 

For the most part, people are pretty friendly, understanding and casual. I like that. And I’ve met some people who I look forward to seeing, even though, to be honest, I have no idea what their names might be. Our conversations are usually pretty basic: dogs, the weather, other people’s dogs. But sometimes you just spill your guts. You have NO idea why you just told a basically complete stranger your deepest feelings on a subject, but you feel better afterward. It’s the same with bartenders, hairdressers and the internet. Some people/venues are just beacons calling to hear your dirt.

I’ve been on both receiving and emitting (emoting) sides of the “dog park feelings purge”. Maybe it’s a false trust nurtured by the consistency of seeing someone every day: they’re always there for you. Maybe it’s the anonymity that conveys a sense of safety. Or maybe you’re just so damned cold that all the blood has left the discretion part of your brain in an attempt to keep your hands warm, and you just can’t stop talking.

I’ve met some good friends through walking Gracie: Sarah and her dog, Emma, being the prime example. 

Emma. Part Shepherd, part pretty.

And Robert and his dog Rufus. We miss you Rufus!

 Met Robert in the dog park the day that I’d asked my then boyfriend to move out. Robert gave me some boxes to help get the ball rolling. I would be married to Robert now if I hadn’t met Brian two years later. Plus, Robert likes guys and stuff. 

Another gal I got to know through walking Gracie was Liana, who I don’t see since I moved out of my condo. Her dog, Tatchi, was the only dog Gracie would ever play with.

Yes, there was a time when Gracie would actually play.

There are many other nice folks. I guess having a dog is kinda like carrying a sign that says:

It’s hard to be anti social with a Labrador Retriever at your side.

When I go down to the off leash dog park with Sam in the afternoons there are a few people I glom onto. Sam plays well with their dogs. 

Sam, Rosie and Ruckus. Up to NO good.

Sam and Yetta the Dane.

And they are good company. There’s Andrew and Wendy the dog walkers from Paws In Motion. Good, good people. Don’t know their last names. Always happy to see them. Sam loves their boxer client, Bully.

Bully and Sam

 A little too much, maybe?

 There’s the girl who’s dog is named Baylin or something like that. She’s very sweet. 

Bailen

The guy who lived in Sweden for 3 years who is a great story teller and you just KNOW he’s only telling you the least shameful stuff. The socially adept teacher with the dog named Peaches, who can make conversation with ease, with anyone (I love people like this). The portrait artist who, like me, prefers cats (www/philipdandurand.com). 

The people of the dog park makes tolerable standing in gale force winds while your dog grinds sand and mud into his fur. So People Of The Dog Park, I salute you. Thanks for letting my dog drag your dog around by the face. I really appreciate it.