Oh Beautiful, in Cupcake Size

A cupcake is the perfect way to pursue your own bit of happiness, and these two patriotic treats hold that truth to be self-evident. Save the plastic picks and the foil streamers for aisle 2--these cupcakes stand proud in the colors of our flag: red, white and blue. 

Unbelievably moist (seriously, don't you just want to take a bite out of that picture?) Vegan Red Velvet with All-American buttercream piped high and finished with sparkling white drageés. I love this red velvet recipe: just a hint of cocoa rouge and a deep brick red hue compliment the moist, decadent crumb. 

It would be un-American not to take advantage of the summer's best crop: juicy fat blueberries and bright red raspberries bursting with sweetness.  This is a vegan golden vanilla cake studded with fresh blueberries and red raspberries, topped off cream cheese buttercream and two fresh berries.  

This is an example of our 'low-top' cupcake frosting: a pretty swirl of in a more modest portion. Most all of Sugar Song's cupcakes have a choice of regular or 'low-top' frosting, depending on how you define cupcake happiness. Likewise, many of your favorite recipes can be made all vegan, or to just accommodate an allergy such as to eggs, dairy, or nuts. That's the treat of working with a custom baker: you get exactly what you want! 

Golden Vanilla Cupcakes with Strawberries

A big Costco box of strawberries and a new cookbook were the inspiration behind these sassy strawberry treats.

Whenever I get a new cookbook for cakes I like to start with the first recipe that the author kicks off with. I think of it as a first date: I'm getting a feel for her recipes and seeing if we have a future together. My newest cookbook is Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World in an ongoing search to bake sans eggs and nuts so that my youngest can enjoy my work free of allergens. I'm not sure how the rest of my relationship will go, but I am definitely looking forward to our second date, er, recipe.

These are the Golden Vanilla Cupcakes, listed as a basic, go-to cake. Unlike me, I played by the book and didn't include dairy in the recipe (like I am ought to do because milk and butter aren't a problem for us and it just seems wrong not to). Soy milk, vinegar, oil, sugar, flour...pretty much everything but the eggs. The cakes were fragrant and had a moist although a bit corse crumb. I decided to take them a step beyond basic and fill them with fresh chopped strawberries macerated in maple syrup and honey. 

To do this, I cored out a cone with a small knife and pressed in about a tablespoon of the syrupy strawberries, then pressed the lid back on.  I finished the cakes off with a modest swirl of cream cheese buttercream frosting. This was not a vegan version, rather a batch I had in the deep freeze that seemed perfect for this 'on a whim' project. I don't know if it would be as delicious, but with vegan cream cheese and shortening I think a similar frosting could be made. A sliced strawberry and a sprinkle of gold sanding sugar finished the decor and hinted at the golden fruit hidden inside. 

This "Best Ever" Chocolate Cupcake has a Dirty Secret

I'll admit it. When it comes to baked goods, I'm a classist. If it isn't made with butter, eggs, and sugar--it just doesn't qualify as a decedent treat. I have even openly laughed in coffee shops that feature "vegan" baked goods. Isn't vegan supposed to equal some lofty dietary goal?  And when chocolate calls me to be indulge, I'll go with the devil and brush that angel right off my shoulder. 

So in that sense, this cupcake changed my life. 

Moist but not sticky. Dense but still tender. Dark as the new moon in a deep chocolate dream. And {gulp} it is completely vegan.  This cupcake rockets to the front of my recipe box as the 'go to' for chocolate cupcakes (maybe even layer cake, once I test it out in regular pans) even when I don't have dietary restrictions to work with. The recipe is also the perfect size for one, 12-spot pan of cupcakes--which is really all you need.  The frosting recipe I chose is not vegan, though I suppose vegan substitutes could be made (not believing lightening strikes twice in the same place, I went traditional). 

Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes 

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup white sugar

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

1tsp white vinegar

1 cup water

In a mixer bowl combine all dry ingredients with whisk to throughly blend. Add oil, vanilla, vinegar, and water and mix to combine. Blend on medium speed apprx. 2 minutes. Fill 12 cupcake liners in pan and bake for apprx 15 minutes. 

Not Vegan Chocolate Pan Frosting 

1 cup white sugar 

5 Tbs butter

1/3 cup milk

2 Tbs corn syrup

1 cup chocolate chips

1 tsp vanilla

In a medium saucepan combine sugar, butter, milk and corn syrup and bring to rolling boil. Boil for one minute then remove from heat and add chocolate and vanilla. Stir to melt and combine. Frosting will set quickly, so have cooled cupcakes and any deco sugars at the ready. As frosting cools it will begin to set and get a glossy finish, so you will have to work quickly.  Scoop warm frosting by the heaping tablespoon onto cupcake then swirl to evenly distribute. Finish with sanding sugar or dragées.