It’s not quite summer, despite what all those girls traipsing around the city in short shorts think. Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice out, but keep your pasty legs at home for now. Anyway, I celebrated this ‘nice’ weather and Easter with some Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes. I don’t celebrate Easter, per se, except the commercialized part of it that requires eating sweets. Worst part… no more Mini Eggs on a vegan diet! F my life. Just kidding… these cupcakes got me through. I didn’t eat them all to myself, only 2. The rest were shared with family after Easter dinner.
It’s a perfectly moist vanilla bean cupcake with creamy orange frosting. The sprinkling of glistening sanding sugar on top is almost reminiscent of ice crystals on a real Orange Creamsicle, isn’t it! I’m a nerd.
Vanilla Bean Cupcake (Makes 12)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup almond meal
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup soy milk
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup oil
1/2 vanilla bean (seeds only)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Combine apple cider vinegar and soy milk together and set aside for 5 minutes to curdle. In another bowl sift together flour, almond meal, baking powder, soda and salt. Whisk sugar, oil (I used canola this time, but vegetable or coconut would work too), vanilla bean and extract into the curdled soy milk mixture. Add wet to dry ingredients and mix until just combined (don’t over mix). Pour into cupcake liners and bake at 350 F for 20-25 minutes.
Orange Frosting
1/2 cup Tofutti vegan cream cheese
1/4 cup Earth Balance
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 orange (juice and zest)
4-5 cups powdered sugar
I actually used an orange I had left from The Orange Experiment that had been boiled 3 times. I think this might have made the orange flavor sweeter than if you just used a fresh orange. But don’t worry too much about that. Beat together Tofutti, Earth Balance, vanilla extract, orange juice and zest until fluffy. Continue adding sifted powdered sugar and beating with a mixer until the desired consistency is achieved for frosting your cupcakes.
These seriously taste like Orange Creamsicles… and thus got me in the summer spirit without donning short shorts!
[...] Down on the Upside 4 06 2010 This was one of those baking episodes I anticipated would be a wasteful disaster. With my luck, upside down cupcakes were gonna stick to the pan like mad! Luckily, I was wrong. They turned out beautifully. It all started with half a bag of cherries being left in the fridge for too long. They were a day away from being no good, so I saved them from a rotten death and turned them into pretty Upside Down Cherry Vanilla Almond Cakes. You could make this even easier and use a box cake mix, but I followed my Vanilla Bean Cupcake recipe. [...]
[...] This was one of those baking episodes I anticipated would be a wasteful disaster. With my luck, upside down cupcakes were gonna stick to the pan like mad! Luckily, I was wrong. They turned out beautifully. It all started with half a bag of cherries being left in the fridge for too long. They were a day away from being no good, so I saved them from a rotten death and turned them into pretty Upside Down Cherry Vanilla Almond Cakes. You could make this even easier and use a box cake mix, but I followed my Vanilla Bean Cupcake recipe. [...]