Who You Callin' Cupcake - Michelle Garcia [1]
3/4 cups sugar
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup skim milk, divided
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 vanilla beans, scraped (or 1 additional
tablespoon vanilla extract)
HOW TO MAKE IT
1 Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners. 2 In a medium bowl, mix together the sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt. 3 Combine the dry ingredients and the butter in the bowl of a standing mixer and mix on low speed until the butter is completely mixed in and there is a mealy consistency. 4 Add ¼ cup of the milk and mix slowly to make a paste. This will break up any lumps that are trying to form. 5 In a separate medium bowl, combine the eggs with the rest of the milk, the vanilla extract, and the vanilla bean scrapings, and slowly pour the mixture into the batter in the standing mixer. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix on high for about 10 seconds. 6 With an ice cream scoop, fill the cups in the cupcake pan about ¾ full and bake for 10 to 15 minutes. The cupcake tops will just be slightly golden. If you overbake the cupcakes, brush the tops with Simple Syrup (page 44) right when they come out of the oven and they’ll be good to eat that day, but cannot be eaten the next.
YIELD: 12 cupcakes
KEEPS: Three days in the fridge in an airtight container
SIMPLE VEGAN VANILLA CUPCAKES
I was vegan for about eight years, and during this time I had a lot of vegan cupcake mishaps. Some mishaps became awesome recipes, and this is one of them. I cannot stress how important it is to not overmix this batter. Similar to overmixed mashed potatoes, the batter will become like glue and will bake very tough. Just be careful—you’ve been warned. Use this recipe in place of Vanilla Bean Cupcakes anywhere in this book.
2 1/2 tablespoons palm shortening (vegan margarine is
OK, too, but adds too much salt even if you
take the salt out of the recipe)
1/2 cup sugar
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cups vegan milk (soy, rice, hemp, or
almond)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or the
scrapings from 1 vanilla beans
HOW TO MAKE IT
1 Preheat the oven to 325°F and line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners. 2 In a standing mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the shortening with the sugar on medium speed until it’s light and fluffy. 3 In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt. 4 In a separate bowl, mix together the milk, the vanilla extract, and the vanilla bean paste or scrapings. 5 Slowly alternate adding the dry ingredients and the milk mixture to the standing mixer, scraping down the sides of the bowl each time. Mix until just incorporated; do not mix any more than absolutely necessary. 6 With the ice cream scoop, fill the cups in the cupcake pan about ¾ full and bake for about 20 minutes. The middles of the cupcakes will be spongy, but may not spring back when touched.
YIELD: 12 cupcakes
KEEPS: Cannot be stored, must be used at once (really, don’t store this one)
DEVIL’S FOOD CUPCAKES
This vegan chocolate cupcake is hands down the very best recipe we’ve ever made. It’s vegan but doesn’t scream vegan. We’ve done many taste tests with this cupcake up against a non-vegan competitor and it won every single time. We now use it for almost every chocolate cake concoction we make.
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 tablespoons cup canola or sunflower oil
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 cup hot coffee
HOW TO MAKE IT
1 Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners. 2 Place the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl and mix together with a whisk. 3 In a small bowl, combine the oil, vinegar, and vanilla. Slowly pour this mixture into