This is MAJ.
(In case you don’t speak Rachel Zoe, that’s short for MAJ-OR.)
I finally tried my hand at vegan baking.
HUH? you might say. The girl who was butter for Halloween last year is baking without…butter?
It’s true.
I won’t lie. I was pretty resistant to the idea of vegan baking. Butter and eggs are two of the most important staples in my fridge and it just doesn’t sound right to replace them with oil and water. Even as I was putting the cupcakes into the oven I didn’t consider that they might actually turn out…yummy.
What a revelation. For realz. Vegan cupcakes are YUMMY. They still manage to be light and fluffy without butter or eggs!
And vegan buttercream? Double revelation. I’m still not totally sold on vanilla vegan “butter”cream but chocolate vegan buttercream is some kind of magic trick. The only reason I know it doesn’t contain real butter is I added the ingredients myself. HONESTLY.
I feel like Jasmin when Aladdin sings her “A Whole New World”.
Vegan chocolate cupcakes. Shining, shimmering, splennnndiiiid.
Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes (from the Sweet Little Book of Cupcakes)
(yield: 12 cupcakes)
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- 4 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with 12 cupcake liners.
- Sift together flour, baking soda, sugar, and cocoa powder.
- In a large bowl, beat water, oil, vinegar and vanilla until blended.
- With the mixer on low, slowly add the flour mixture. Blend until smooth.
- Pour the batter equally into the 12 cupcake liners. Bake for 25 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through.
- Allow to cool completely, then frost.
- 1/2 cup vegan butter (I used Earth Balance), at room temperature
- 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
- 2 cups confectioners sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (for vanilla buttercream) OR 1/4 cup cocoa powder (for chocolate buttercream)
- Beat vegan butter and shortening on medium high until smooth.
- In a separate bowl, sift confectioners sugar (and cocoa powder for chocolate buttercream).
- Add the confectioners sugar and vanilla OR cocoa powder and beat on medium high until fully incorporated, 3-4 minutes.
Yummiest treats ever…for realz! For a nursing mommy who can’t have dairy or soy I feel almost human again when I eat them. Problem now is I CAN’T (won’t) share them with anyone. Thanks Miss Melanie!
Love your photos. And they look delicious!
Thank you!
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Where are those sprinkles from?
I believe they’re from the Wegman’s bulk bin.
Woohoo!!
Love your butter costume. I don’t remember that. I guess that means I wasn’t reading your blog a year ago?! Craziness…
Actually, I think I met up with Anna and Mackenzie last…November? And that’s when Anna gave me your blog. And then history began…