100 Things: Creating a Cupcake (#1)
Welcome to the first installment of my 100 Food Experiences! Today, I'm talking cupcakes. Specifically, creating a recipe for Blueberry Vanilla Cupcakes.
I'm gonna eat the whole damn thing!
When creating a recipe, it's a good idea to have something to use as a basis. I went with the Banana Split Cupcake recipe from "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World" by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero, and made several omissions and additions.
Definitely one of my all-time favorite foods, yum!
INGREDIENTS
1 c. fresh blueberries
4 Tbsp. vanilla soy yogurt
2 1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. sugar
2/3 c. canola oil
1 1/3 c. vanilla soy milk
1 tsp. vanilla
3 tsp. blueberry extract
1 Tbsp. all-natural blue food color
Wash and drain the blueberries, puree in a blender w/ the yogurt. They'll turn purple and kind of jell together while you're getting the other stuff together. In a big bowl, sift together the flour, soda, powder, salt and sugar. OPTIONAL: add 1/2 tsp. of cinnamon here to give your cupcakes a more muffin-y taste. In a smaller, separate bowl, whisk together the blueberry mixture, oil, milk, food color and extracts. You'll have to whisk hard to break up the blueberry/yogurt mixture -- you can put in less yogurt, but I like the consistency of the finished product w/ this amount. YMMV. [SIDE NOTE: all-natural blue food coloring is expensive (I use India Tree), but your cupcakes will be more gray than blue w/out it. You can either use the fake stuff or sacrifice aesthetics -- after all, the cupcake will be in a liner w/ frosting on top, so the actual color isn't of the utmost importance.] Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into it. Gently fold together, try not to over mix. A few little lumps are okay. I make 18 cupcakes with this recipe, but I fill my liners a little high. You could make more. At any rate, line your cupcake trays, pour in the batter (I use a soup ladle to get a consistent amount w/ minimum mess), and bake at 350 for about 18 minutes. Check them at the 15 minute mark and go from there.
VANILLA BUTTERCREAM FROSTING
1/2 c. shortening, softened
1/2 c. margarine, softened
3 1/2 c. confectioner's sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 c. vanilla soy milk
Beat the shortening and margarine together (to soften, I just take the sticks out of the fridge when I start making the cupcakes). Beat in the sugar. [SIDE NOTE: if you're using organic confectioner's sugar, it's probably fairly clumpy and will need to be sifted. This is b/c the organic stuff is powdered w/ tapioca starch and the regular brands are powdered w/ cornstarch (probably more cornstarch used than tapioca in the organic variety). Some people are allergic to corn products; keep in mind if you're making these for allergy-prone peeps. I'll admit to liking the non-organic better b/c it's so much more powdery! I've made frosting w/ British confectioner's sugar before, too, and it was clumpy as all get-out -- I'm not sure if b/c of the climate I was in or if my Brit friends just have to put up w/ clumpy confectioner's sugar on a regular basis. If you do, sifting is your friend. No one likes lumpy frosting!] Back to the frosting. Add the extract and milk and beat for a few minutes until it looks fluffy and delicious and all shiny.
Spread or pipe frosting on cooled cupcakes, decorate with additional blueberries. Enjoy!
Nom, nom, nom! See how blue they are?
Hope I didn't bore anyone silly! In case you were wondering what the difference is between cupcakes and muffins, since I said you could add cinnamon... it's mainly in the consistency. Muffins may have more oil and a lot less sugar. The batter is more stiff or clumpy (so the cinnamon just impacts the taste, not the consistency). These particular cupcakes have a much thicker batter than typical cupcakes b/c of the yogurt I added, but usually, you can pour cupcake batter and plop muffin batter. If you buy a muffin in the store and it has a cake-like consistency, you've bought a muffin made w/ more milk and sugar. I prefer cupcakes. :) Bake and enjoy!
I'm gonna eat the whole damn thing!
When creating a recipe, it's a good idea to have something to use as a basis. I went with the Banana Split Cupcake recipe from "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World" by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero, and made several omissions and additions.
Definitely one of my all-time favorite foods, yum!
INGREDIENTS
1 c. fresh blueberries
4 Tbsp. vanilla soy yogurt
2 1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. sugar
2/3 c. canola oil
1 1/3 c. vanilla soy milk
1 tsp. vanilla
3 tsp. blueberry extract
1 Tbsp. all-natural blue food color
Wash and drain the blueberries, puree in a blender w/ the yogurt. They'll turn purple and kind of jell together while you're getting the other stuff together. In a big bowl, sift together the flour, soda, powder, salt and sugar. OPTIONAL: add 1/2 tsp. of cinnamon here to give your cupcakes a more muffin-y taste. In a smaller, separate bowl, whisk together the blueberry mixture, oil, milk, food color and extracts. You'll have to whisk hard to break up the blueberry/yogurt mixture -- you can put in less yogurt, but I like the consistency of the finished product w/ this amount. YMMV. [SIDE NOTE: all-natural blue food coloring is expensive (I use India Tree), but your cupcakes will be more gray than blue w/out it. You can either use the fake stuff or sacrifice aesthetics -- after all, the cupcake will be in a liner w/ frosting on top, so the actual color isn't of the utmost importance.] Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into it. Gently fold together, try not to over mix. A few little lumps are okay. I make 18 cupcakes with this recipe, but I fill my liners a little high. You could make more. At any rate, line your cupcake trays, pour in the batter (I use a soup ladle to get a consistent amount w/ minimum mess), and bake at 350 for about 18 minutes. Check them at the 15 minute mark and go from there.
VANILLA BUTTERCREAM FROSTING
1/2 c. shortening, softened
1/2 c. margarine, softened
3 1/2 c. confectioner's sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 c. vanilla soy milk
Beat the shortening and margarine together (to soften, I just take the sticks out of the fridge when I start making the cupcakes). Beat in the sugar. [SIDE NOTE: if you're using organic confectioner's sugar, it's probably fairly clumpy and will need to be sifted. This is b/c the organic stuff is powdered w/ tapioca starch and the regular brands are powdered w/ cornstarch (probably more cornstarch used than tapioca in the organic variety). Some people are allergic to corn products; keep in mind if you're making these for allergy-prone peeps. I'll admit to liking the non-organic better b/c it's so much more powdery! I've made frosting w/ British confectioner's sugar before, too, and it was clumpy as all get-out -- I'm not sure if b/c of the climate I was in or if my Brit friends just have to put up w/ clumpy confectioner's sugar on a regular basis. If you do, sifting is your friend. No one likes lumpy frosting!] Back to the frosting. Add the extract and milk and beat for a few minutes until it looks fluffy and delicious and all shiny.
Spread or pipe frosting on cooled cupcakes, decorate with additional blueberries. Enjoy!
Nom, nom, nom! See how blue they are?
Hope I didn't bore anyone silly! In case you were wondering what the difference is between cupcakes and muffins, since I said you could add cinnamon... it's mainly in the consistency. Muffins may have more oil and a lot less sugar. The batter is more stiff or clumpy (so the cinnamon just impacts the taste, not the consistency). These particular cupcakes have a much thicker batter than typical cupcakes b/c of the yogurt I added, but usually, you can pour cupcake batter and plop muffin batter. If you buy a muffin in the store and it has a cake-like consistency, you've bought a muffin made w/ more milk and sugar. I prefer cupcakes. :) Bake and enjoy!