Vegan Cupcakes on a Rainy Afternoon

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I have no plans for the day, I’m home alone, and the rain is pouring down like there’s no tomorrow.  How can I possibly salvage such a gloomy afternoon?  How about scrapbooking (yea, I’m that cool), and munching on some home-made VEGAN CUPCAKES!?!?!?! Now I know you’re probably thinking, “hold the phone…vegans eat cupcakes? How’s that possible?” Well, friends, I’m happy to tell you not only do vegan cupcakes exist, they are also among the finest delicacies the world has ever known.  Today I decided to go with classic chocolate cupcakes and blackberry-tinted buttercream icing. Delicious! But before I share today’s cupcake-o-licous adventure, I’d like to offer  you a glimpse at my introduction to vegan baking…

My foray into veganism began with desserts…not lettuce, or tofu-dogs, or tabouli, but gooey, sweet, succulent, chocolate-filled baked goods. I owe my “conversion,” as it were, at least in part to a lovely vegan named Kara who was part of my MA cohort back at good ol’ Queen’s University.  At the time I was but a curious vegetarian, interested in the mysterious world of veganism, but unsure of how to take the first step. Whenever we had a social event, coffee hour, or random food-centered gathering, Kara brought home-baked vegan treats to share with the world. Her baking wasn’t as good as regular, non-vegan stuff…it was better.  Cookies, brownies, muffins – all mind-blowingly fresh, moist, and delectable.  When I finally took my first steps toward veganism, I did it with Kara’s baked goods in mind.  The first vegan cookbook I bought was Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar.  The second was Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. A few batches of cookies and a dozen or so cupcakes was all that it took to prove to myself (and my steak-loving husband) that I was finally ready to dive in, and the rest, as they say, is history. (That’ll be my last awful cliché for this post. I promise.)

Now, back to the cupcakes.  When it comes to making vegan cupcakes, the big question is: how do you make cupcakes without any eggs? It’s really just a matter of science.  In most traditional cupcake recipes eggs act as a leavening agent (basically, they make the cupcakes light and fluffy).  They also act as binders and emulsifiers, which kinda help hold the cupcakes together.  When you understand the purpose of eggs in a recipe, you simply need to find a substitute with similar properties.  In the case of vegan cupcake recipes, eggs are often substituted with a tsp or so of mild vinegar stirred into a cup of soymilk. Vegetable oil is also often a key ingredient in vegan baking, but I’m not a scientist, so I don’t really know what it does.

Of course, a cupcake isn’t a cupcake unless it’s slathered in frosting.  My friends are often impressed when they find out that I make my own buttercream frosting.  I’m quite sure why, since icing isn’t all that difficult to make.  All you do is throw some margarine, shortening, and icing sugar (read: fat and sugar) in a mixer with a dash of vanilla and almond milk.  What I’m really proud of is making my own all-natural food colouring.  I have no idea what they put in store-bought food colouring to make it look the way it does, but the alarming vibrancy of the colours makes me a little suspicious.  I’m probably just paranoid, but just to be on the safe side I’ve been experimenting with creating plant-based dyes of various colours. Since I’m feeling generous, I’ll share the highly specialized technique that I used today to dye today’s batch of icing light purple.  Pay close attention…

Step One: Squeeze some blackberry juice into the icing and stir it around.

Step Two: There is no step two. It’s just that easy.

Blackberry juice works well because the colour is so concentrated.  Just a few drops colours the icing without changing the flavour. I've also tried cranberries, blueberries, and raspberries in various combinations. The result is always glorious.  Once the icing is coloured, all that's left to do is swirl in on to the top of your cupcakes, and enjoy!

Well, I think I've rambled on enough for one afternoon. Time to go eat some cupcakes.

Bye for now,

<3 Dana