Vegan Cupcake World Domination!

I finally got my hands on a copy of Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. I’ve been looking for vegan frosting ideas that I could use and I got a lot of reccomendations for this book. I was just interested in the “Frostins and Fillins” chapter at first, but after looking and drooling over the other recipes in the book, I knew I had to try some of the cupcake recipes too. I thought, “Hmmm, gluten-free, sugar-free and vegan cupcakes? I’m ready to take over the world!!! Mwahhhhaahhaaa!”

I tried the chocolate orange variation of the “Simple Agave Cupcakes” with the orange variation of the “Super Natural Agave Icing”. The cupcakes themselves were stellar. I ate half of them without icing. In the book, it says that the icing “isn’t psychic and can’t read your mind”, but according to my hand blender, it has a life of it’s own! I used tapioca starch instead of the arrowroot called for in the icing, not realizing that tapioca has much stronger thickening power. As result, my icing would climb up my beaters like the blob! Gummed up my machine! It tasted great, and was still spreadable, but could have been a movie double. My lesson: Lessen the amount of tapioca starch when subbing for arrowroot.

That’s just what I did when I made the Vegan Pastry Creme for the “Brooklyn versus Boston” cupcakes. The only problem was that I didn’t put in enough tapioca starch. I had to reheat and add more for it to become the consistency that I needed. These cupcakes take alot of prep, but the end result was so worth it! This one is one of my favorites!

I tried a lemon version of the Golden Vanilla cupcakes and used a vegan Lemon Mousse recipe (not in the book) that I tweaked for the topping. I loved it! It was so light and tangy! It’s a perfect ending to any spicy meal.

I used my Ultimate Sweetening Blend as the sugar sub for the cupcakes that didn’t use agave. I found that it browns my baked goods very nicely, but you will need to bake your treats a few minutes longer. You will also need to let your goods cool before handling them. The blend makes treats more tender, and subject to crumbling if you are impatient. The tenderness is true for baked goods made with gluten free flours, but things may be different with wheat flours.

My apologizes for not being able to post the recipes, but I believe this book would be a worthy addition to your cookbook library. Being on a special diet can take the fun out of eating pretty quickly, and sometimes we need a break from such a strict regimen. With some substitutions, it’s easy to have fun treat….and take over the world.