Valentine's Cupcakes!

I made these cupcakes yesterday because I wanted something that would be "pink" to go with the spirit of Valentine's Day! Not only are they insanely easy, but they're insanely delicious as well! So, here's my simple recipe for Vegan Strawberry Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting!

Danielle's Strawberry Cupcakes

2/3 Cup Vegan Granulated Sugar
1/3 Cup Sunflower or Canola Oil
1 Tsp. Vanilla Extract
1-1/2 to 1-3/4 Cup pureed strawberries (I thawed frozen strawberries and threw them in the food processor for a bit)
1/2 Tsp. Salt
2 Tsp. Baking Powder
1-1/2 Cups Flour, double sifted

Preheat oven to 325 and line a muffin tin with cupcake liners. In a food processor, combine sugar, oil, vanilla, and strawberries until mixed well. Sift together the remaining ingredients (salt, baking powder, flour) in a large bowl. Combine the wet and dry ingredients and mix until well-combined, but avoid over-mixing so your cupcakes are light and fluffy. Pour batter into cupcake liners. Put in oven for 22-25 minutes, or until you can insert a toothpick in the middle of the cupcakes and remove it clean.

Set aside and allow to cool while preparing the frosting.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

3 Cups Vegan Powdered Sugar
1/4 Cup Vanilla Almond Milk
1/2 Cup Soy Free Earth Balance Margarine
1-1/2 Tsp. Vanilla Extract

Cream margarine, vanilla, and milk together with a small handheld mixer. Slowly mix in powdered sugar until frosting reaches proper consistency.

(For the pink, I added just two drops of red coloring while mixing).

Enjoy!

Huba-Huba Chocolate-Dipped Strawberry Cheesecake

So I've been drooling over an image over at VeganPandaMonium's blog for a while now, and while I had an excellent cheesecake recipe, I couldn't STAND the taste of Toffutti's cream cheese substitute. WELL, my grocery store finally started carrying the NEW cream cheese substitute made by Galaxy Nutritional Foods, so I figured it couldn't possibly be as nasty as Toffutti's, so I finally gave it a chance. Now, the idea for this cheesecake is definitely not original, but I used my cheesecake recipe instead of the one on Veganpandamonium's blog, just because I'm more familiar with the outcome. Just incorporated some of her smooth moves to make it pretty, and I must say this was probably one of the easiest, tastiest desserts ever. Seriously simple, and the Galaxy Cream Cheese substitute is not only amazing, but PERFECT for this recipe!


Huba-Huba Chococlate-Dipped Strawberry Cheesecake

16 ounces, or two tubs of Galaxy Non-Dairy Cream Cheese
1/2 cup agave nectar (or sugar)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 pie-crust (Danielle got lazy and bought a pre-made vegan one this time!)
Strawberries
Vegan Chocolate Chips

Preheat your oven to 350. Put the "cream cheese", agave nectar, lemon juice and vanilla in a blender and blend on low until smooth. Add in the cornstarch and blend until incorporated. Pour mixture into your piecrust, reserving about 1/4 to 1/3 of the batter. Add the cocoa powder to remaining batter and blend until incorporated. Pour into piecrust, and swirl together with a knife. Bake for 40-50 minutes, depending on your oven time, until the top is a golden color. Let sit for about an hour, then put in the refrigerator for a few hours before eating.



While cooling, melt down some chocolate chips in a double boiler (or, place a heat-resistant bowl over the top of a pan of water on medium heat). Slice the stems off your strawberries diagonally, making the heart-shaped top, then slice lengthwise, to get perfect strawberry hearts. Dip half in your melted chocolate and set on wax paper to cool. Add to your cheesecake as a garnish.

Cupcakes, Cupcakes, and More Cupcakes!

I went to visit my mother in Washington, D.C. this weekend. One of my favorite places to stop when I get there is the vegan bakery/cafe Sticky Fingers, which was actually just featured on the Food Network as they blazed through and won the Cupcake Wars, beating out non-vegan cupcake bakers and leaving them in their cruelty-free tracks! Little did I know that, while I was drooling over their counter deciding which cupcakes I wanted to try, my mother was at home, trying her hand for the first time at baking me vegan cupcakes, too! Needless to say, the house was full of these little treats when I got home!

Now, I have to give my mom props, because, for her first attempt at vegan cupcakes, they were probably the tastiest things she's ever made, and that's saying a lot considering my mom has been paid to make people's wedding cakes and other treats ever since I can remember! Amazing, light, fluffy, and oh so decadent, I felt I had to share the recipe she used here.

While at Sticky fingers, I had to try the cupcakes that won her Cupcake Wars, and those were equally as delicious! So, if you're in D.C., be sure to hit up Sticky Fingers! If you're not, then get in that kitchen and start baking this delicious recipe! I promise you won't be disappointed!!!!



The Strawberry Daquiri Cupcake which helped win Cupcake Wars filled with Kiwi....yum!!




Carmelized Banana, Chocolate Seltzer Cupcake, also a Cupcake Wars contender and equally delicious!!





But nothing beats homemade!!!!

Restaurant Review - Bloom Bake Shop

My very first Bloom Cupcake...an experience I'll never forget!



I do have a lot of recipes to share with you all, but I am still wanting to give shout outs to all the yummy vegan goodies the man and me found around and about Wisconsin this weekend with his mother. One place that we took her to has been a favorite of ours for a few months now since discovering it. A vegan bakery. Need I say more?? Well, I’m gonna, because this place is unlike any vegan bakery I’ve ever been to.


Now, coming from Los Angeles, I was lucky enough to have many vegan options surrounding me daily. From local bakeries that baked up goodies sold at our Whole Foods out there to bakeries like BabyCakes, Sprinkles, and the like…there was definitely no shortage of vegan goodies in Los Angeles. BUT...although tasty…they all felt like they were missing…something.


A year later, we discovered Bloom Bake Shop…right around the corner from where I work. I was told about this new bakery from a co-worker, excited to tell me that although they had non-vegan items, that there were vegan and gluten free features each day as well. Of course, you say cupcake to me, and I’m there. So, I headed on down, and was greeted with the friendliest staff I have ever come across. My first vegan cupcake experience was one of the most ultimate decadence…a vanilla cupcake filled with orange marmalade…topped with a dark chocolate ganache and an orange buttercream frosting flower. I bit in, and went straight to cupcake heaven! THIS cupcake HAD what all the other ones didn’t…a touch of local love.


Bloom Bake Shop is a local, sustainable, fair trade bakery. Most of her ingredients come from right in this area…from the free range hormone-free eggs in her non-vegan products to the peanut butter used in some of her decadent treats all the way to the wind that powers her light fixtures…and what isn’t local is still fair-trade, pesticide and synthetics-free. Every inch of this little bakery is blooming (pun intended…haha) with love, and you can most certainly taste that love when you bite into these delicious, moist, dense vegan cupcakes.


So head on down to Middleton, just minutes from Madison, and pick up a box of cupcakes to share with your family, friends, co-workers…or keep them all for yourself (don’t worry, I won’t judge!). But definitely give this kind local business a try! You will not be disappointed! And the man's mother was in cupcake heaven, so take your out-of-town guests here too!!


The insanely moist and delicious vegan blondie I had this weekend!


The "Be Campy" vegan s'mores cupcake...I've had this one two or three times, and it's always a winner...and pretty, too!

Banana Cupcakes with Peanut Butter "Buttercream" Frosting

Last night was by far, the last reminder that I needed to see that summer is over. We had a windstorm that started around 4:00 and we are still under a warning for it until 7:00 tonight and it’s crazy out there! Between the howling winds and the fireplace crackling, I got the urge to bake sweet delicious treats…although for once in my life I had no desire to eat any! I do bake when I’m bored, and baking is a “comfort” thing for me. Half the time, I don’t even try my sweet treats and end up being the office favorite the next day when I bring in a tray of whatever I created the night before. But I did try one of these last night, because it was my first time trying to make a peanut butter frosting, and let me tell you, the super dense but really moist cake with the fluffy peanut butter frosting was enough to make you melt away on such a bitter, blustery Wisconsin night.


Banana Cupcakes with Whipped Peanut Butter Frosting

Cupcake:

Use the cake recipe I posted here, but only bake for 18-20 minutes.

Frosting:

1 cup creamy peanut butter
½ cup vegan margarine, softened
½ teaspoon vanilla
2-4 tablespoons of soymilk (depending on how thick or creamy you want your frosting)
2 cups vegan powdered sugar

Whisk all ingredients together until smooth and fluffy.

I topped these with one of my favorite Halloween candies, which I nearly flew over the moon for when I saw vegan ones at my local Whole Foods! They were a little pricey, and were homemade by a local candy shop, but they are well worth it!

My New Drug...Cookies and Cream Cake

I am pleased to announce my *favorite* latest addition to the bakery counter at my Whole Foods here in Madison…individual cake slices from the Vegan-World Famous Chicago Diner!! Driving through Chicago a few months ago to visit some family on the east coast, Julian and I made it a point to stop here, because I’d heard so many things about it, and had bought their cookies before from Whole Foods. The Chicago Diner is a 100% meat-free diner located in the Boystown District of Chicago. I can promise that you will not be disappointed with ANYTHING on their menu (I can promise this not only because they are awesome and that’s my opinion, and also because I’m not affiliated with them, so it won’t be on me if you are disappointed…hahaha)!! Anyway, when I was looking at all the pretty cakes that my WF had to offer, I came across their new “Chicago Diner” section in the cold case. I immediately began salivating and just *knew* I *had* to have one…I mean hello?! It’s vegan gourmet cake! How do you pass that stuff up?! I decided on the cookies and cream cake, so that I wouldn’t feel super guilty about eating it. With this flavor, I could give half to Julian and therefore only have to feel half as guilty, hahaha. So, I got home, put it out, and we both sat for a second and just admired the beauty radiating off this little piece of heaven. We put our forks into the soft, delicate cake, closed our eyes, and let the flavors do the talking…it was like having a f*cking gospel choir singing praises to my taste buds, I swear! So…freaking…delicious! If you live near Chicago, or if you live near a Whole Foods that carries their products…definitely give them a shot. Or don’t. I suppose if you don’t want to be addicted to something that is as hard to get off of as heroin, you may want to stay away. But this is good, good stuff ;-)

Kick-Ass Banana Birthday Cake!!

Look how happy this vegan cake made him!!!
So Friday marked the 26 anniversary of the birth of the most amazing man in my life! And the way I see it, there’s no better way to celebrate something like that than eating delicious foods! Now, I know some of you were followers of my old baking blog, and I know I haven’t really updated as many of my treats as I wanted to by now (the whole “losing weight” thing makes it hard to have baked goods in the house too often!) but I took one of Julian’s favorite cake recipes of mine, and worked my magic in turning it vegan. To my surprise (to his, also!), the cake turned out BETTER than my non-vegan original recipe! Not only was this probably the easiest cake I’ve ever made, but it was so delicious. I didn’t tell his parents that it was vegan until the end, and they honestly couldn’t believe it one bit. It was so moist and literally melted in your mouth. It was also my first time experimenting with Tofutti vegan cream cheese (I’ve used their sour cream product before) and I must say, it made an excellent base for the cream cheese frosting! So, if you have a birthday to plan, or if you just feel like baking something sweet, delicious, and cruelty-free, I give you:

Go Bananas! Vegan Banana Birthday Cake

•2 cups flour (I use whole grain, but use whatever you care to)
•1 1/2 tsp baking soda
•1/2 tsp salt
•1 cup sugar of your choice (I use Sugar in the Raw)
•1/4 cup oil
•4 ripe bananas, mashed
•1/4 cup water
•1 tsp vanilla
2 tblsp cinnamon

Preparation:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9-inch round baking pan.
In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt and sugar.
Put water, bananas, vanilla, and oil into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Pour in bowl with dry ingredients and stir until mixed well.
Bake for 30-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

And for my new take on Amazing Cream Cheese Frosting:
•1/4 cup Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Spread, softened
•1/4 cup Tofutti Vegan Cream Cheese, softened
•2 cups vegan confectioner’s sugar, sifted
•1 teaspoon vanilla
Mix all ingredients until smooth and creamy. Makes enough to frost one cake.

Yummmmmmmm.....


I promise you, this is so simple you’ll be amazed! And, you’ll want to make this every day…it’s just that good! And honestly, look at those ingredients…it’s not even *that* bad for you!! Make it without the frosting, and it’s still super delicious and even more on the healthy side. I really hope/know you’ll all enjoy this so much!


I dare you to only have once slice!

Beans and Birthday Cake!!

Happy Birthday to Me! Happy Birthday to Me! Happy Birthday to Meeee, Happy Birthday to Me!!

Okay, I had to do it! I’ve been feeling the love all day, so I had to give a little to myself! Yes, today is my birthday. I am trying not to celebrate my birthday so much as I am trying to celebrate the One Year Anniversary of my 25th Birthday, so I’m going to leave it at that!

Anyway, I’ve got an amazing recipe that I threw together yesterday that is probably now one of my most favorite meals! The best part…it’s probably also the EASIEST meal I have ever put together! Seriously, I threw it all in the crock pot before work, and when I came home I had some seriously delicious food waiting for me! If you like spice, and if you like good ole’ Creole food, than you’ll love these…


Spicy Red Beans and Rice with “Bacon”

2 cups of red beans, soaked overnight
4.5 cups of V8 plain vegetable juice
1.5 cups water
½ pack of Lighlife vegan bacon, torn into small chunks
2 cups of brown rice
3 Tablespoons of Garlic Powder
3 Tablespoons of Onion Powder
5 Tablespoons of Crushed Red Pepper (or less if you don’t like it spicy)

Combine rinsed beans, V8, water, garlic powder, onion powder and crushed red pepper in the crock pot. Set on “low” setting and let cook 6-8 hours.
When there is about 30 minutes remaining, mix in your veggie bacon.

Cook rice accordingly at this time as well (I use a rice cooker, but if you use the stovetop, cook according to directions).


Can you believe how simple this is?! Seriously, you don’t have to do ANYTHING and it is absolutely delicious!!! I couldn’t get enough of this, and this makes a very large portion as well, which is great, because I can’t wait to have leftovers for lunch today!

So there you have it. The world’s easiest and tastiest vegan recipe for red beans and rice! Although I felt kind of guilty just posting that, especially with it being my birthday and all! This is the first year in a long time that I didn’t bake myself a cake, but I just didn’t seem to have the time. But I couldn’t be without something sweet last night, so I hit up the local grocery store to see what kind of goodies they had. And this is what I came up with:

Super Delicious Chocolate Strawberry Marshmallow Creme Birthday Cake

Basically, its Amy’s Organic Chocolate Cake, which is found in the frozen food section (it is seriously the most moist, rich and delicious cake I’ve ever had!), some vegan marshmallow crème (found in the organic section of my grocer), and some strawberries! Pop it in the toaster oven for a few minutes and experience pure *vegan* heaven!!

(I apologize for the poor photo quality. I have misplaced my camera so these pics were taken on my phone.)