Friday was my birthday.
Once again, my better half, Dan, handcrafted a batch of vegan birthday cupcakes for me.
Last year he made me the Lemon Macadamia Nut Cupcakes with Lemon Buttercream Frosting from Vegan Cupcakes Take over the World. They were delicious. Unfortunately, I was the only person who could confirm that Dan can, indeed, bake a fine cupcake. You see, my enthusiasm for my birthday cuppers was such that I ate them all and shared with no one (except Dan, of course). When it’s my birthday, watch out! I show no restraint 🙂
This year I picked out Chockylit’s Cherry-Vanilla Cupcakes. This recipe was more of a challenge of Dan’s baking skills as it required him to do vegan conversions. This just shows how much confidence I had in his baking abilities – I knew he could handle the veganization of a recipe.
From this recipe Dan made me 30 cupcakes (guess how many years young I am!!). He riffed on the recipe by making not one but three different fillings. He made Chockylit’s cherry filling and, using that recipe, he also made strawberry and mango filled cupcakes. All of the cuppers were delicious, but strawberry was most definitely my favorite. Cherry was a close second.
These cupcakes are amazing – quite possibly the best birthday cupcakes I’ve ever sampled. And, this year, there are witnesses – we had plenty of cupcakes to share, however reluctant I was to not eat all thirty myself!
Fruit Filled Vanilla Cupcakes
Please see Chockylit’s original recipe here
Vanilla Cupcakes
Makes 30 cupcakes
2 sticks (1 cup) Earth Balance
1 cup sugar
1 cup vanilla soy yogurt
2 ¾ cups flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1 cup vanilla soy milk
1 tsp vanilla
1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Beat the Earth Balance on high until soft. Add the sugar, and beat on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
3. Add the yogurt and beat until well mixed.
4. Whisk together the flour, baking, soda, and slat in a separate bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and beat until incorporated. Mix in the soy milk and vanilla.
5. Scoop the batter into cupcake liners and fill until 2/3rds full. Bake for 22-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
1 stick (1/2 cup) Earth Balance
½ cup non-hydrogenated shortening
4 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2-3 tbsp vanilla soymilk
1. Beat together the EB and shortening together until light well-mixed. Add the powdered sugar and mix for 3 minutes.
2. Add the vanilla and 2 tbsp soymilk. Mix for another 3-5 minutes. Add more soy milk until you reach desired consistency.
Fruit Filling
1 cup fruit
½ cup water
1 tsp vanilla
½ cup sugar
2 tbsp corn starch
1. Add fruit, water, and vanilla to a pot. Cook for 10 minutes over medium-high heat.
2. Stir the sugar and cornstarch together, and then stir into the fruit.
3. Cook until thick, about 10 minutes, Remove from heat and let cool before filling cupcakes.
To Assemble
1. Cut a cone out of each cupcake. (Insert a sharp knife into the top of the cupcake close to the edge, angling it in toward the center. Run the knife around the cupcake, near the edge, and cut a cone out of the cupcake.) Remove the cone for the cupcake. Cut the excess cake off the cone so that you are left with a “lid” to place back onto the cupper. Feel free to then eat this excess cake so that you can assure for quality … for each cupcake 😉
2. Fill the cuppers with the fruit filling. Place the lids back on the cupcakes.
3. Frost the filled cupcakes.
4. Top each cupcake with a piece of rinsed and patted dry fruit (a cherry, a strawberry, etc.)
Cooking at the Pacific Outpost 