Sunday, March 15, 2009

Surprise Spring Cupcakes

I had forgotten how much I miss cooking vegan. I fell out of that circle of friends a while back, but recently I've met a few people with very specialized dietary restrictions. When I worked in a restaurant, it always annoyed me that everyone had some special allergy and had to ask a million questions before they could order. But when I can cook something because I want to, and not because have to (i.e.- DEATH ALLERGY), it's really enjoyable.
So, today my good friend Jenny and I are hosting a Spring potluck and I decided to make some cupcakes. But not just any cupcakes. Vegan, sugar-free cupcakes.

Here's how I made them:

For cupcakes:
2/3 C. soymilk
1/2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1/3 C. vegetable oil
1&1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1&1/3 C. all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2/3 C. agave nectar/syrup

For icing/mousse:
1 large avocado
1 tbsp. (or more depending on taste, color, texture) cocoa powder
agave nectar to taste

Heat oven to 325F.
Mix soymilk and vinegar and let sit for a few minutes while it curdles.
Beat in wet ingredients.
Sift in dry ingredients.
Mix until smooth.
Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full of batter.
Bake 20 min. or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Let them cool for at least 1 hour.

For the Icing/Mousse:
use an electric mixer to beat avocado, cocoa, and agave nectar smooth.
As you can see in the photo, some little pieces of avocado wouldn't beat smooth, so it had some green flecks. Depending on your equipment, this might not happen.

To decorate the cupcakes, I put a pinch of bee pollen (not necessarily vegan, I know) in the center and made flower petals with almond slivers. Cute! (And yes, they taste good!!)

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

why isnt agave sugar considered sugar...i mean chemically whats the deal.....if you are sensitive to sugar or a diabetic is agave nectar a sugar substitute?

Bullet said...

agave nectar is a sugar substitute and is fine for diabetics to use.

Anonymous said...

after some research i have determined agave nectar is not a sugar substitute...it is sugar.

http://www.living-foods.com/articles/agave.html

Caro. said...

Oh my god. I have been looking for a great recipe for cupcakes that use soymilk and these look and sound delicious. thank you so much!