Red Velvet Whoopie Pies -- NOM NOM NOM!!!
One of my most favorite people on lj and in the whole wide world is blue_fjords. When I think of Blue, I think of Cupcakes. She is a creative person who owns a new cupcake business in the DC area, and I have been lucky enough to benefit from my friendship with her in the form of cupcakes. She makes many different kinds, all based on vegan recipes. Blue makes magic happen with all her different cupcakes but for me, the best one of all--my hands-down favorite--is the Red Velvet Cupcake. She's sent me cupcakes many times, but now with the heat of summer coming, I decided it was time I tried my own hand at making them. Happily, she clued me into her Top Sekhret Recipe of Awesome, and now that I can get the ingredients easily, I decided it was time.
For this adventure, I did make regular cupcakes and mini-cupcakes--which I will freeze individually for snacks (I love frozen cupcakes)--but my main focus was creating Red Velvet Whoopie Pies. I love Whoopie Pies! My daughter works at Starbucks, and they now sell their cute little bite-size deserts, and I do like their little versions but I had this pan that makes muffin-tops so decided to give it a whirl, making them myself, using Blue's recipe.
I am not much into baking, honestly--any cooking, really. But I realized as I was making these, that I was having fun! So I definitely will make them again.
First of all, you have to have the killer vegan Red Velvet recipe. Now, I am not vegan, though I do eat a lot of vegetarian meals. The daughter is a vegetarian, and frankly, meat is expensive! There are a lot of very good recipes out there for vegetarians which rocks. This just happens to be a vegan recipe--no eggs, vegan margarine in the frosting, sugar, vegetable oil...and yes, it is incredible.
Some recipes I've seen utilize beets for the red dye, but I used Adams Best--NOT made of evil little beetles like it used to be. Wild huh.
1. The pan. I bought this from Amazon a few months ago to make low-carb hamburger buns. Never used it for that. But for whoopie pies, decided it was perfect. Amazon has several kinds, including some shaped like hearts. Cute.
2. Soy milk and Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar. I just happened to have some ACV in the house--my daughter used it to get rid of two warts. And it worked. Seriously. Soy milk is a staple in the house--all flavors--so I didn't even have to buy any. Just reached in the fridge. Two cups combined with the ACV to curdle it, made the liquid basis along with some vegetable oil.
And combine it! I love my Blackberry--takes action shots!
3. Earth Balance products are favorites in this house. They have a margarine that is vegan (now in sticks!) that is so good! I love the tub marg on toast. I adore butter, but love this stuff. The 'cream cheese' is made of tofu, and while it is great for cooking, the onion flavor is the only one I like just on bagels. The marg and the cc were set out to get to room temperature--they along with confectioner's sugar made a fabulous frosting (though I have a ton of leftover).
4. Sugar. Now...when I was growing up, we did not use cane sugar, we used beet sugar. Beet sugar is what Nick has in Germany, so when he was here living with me for awhile, sigh, so long ago now, I made sure to have his proper sugar. It is gorgeous, very shiny and crystally, and the taste and texture is so much nicer than cane sugar. The cane sugar companies push that beet sugar is 'bad' but um, no? I love how it cooks, and it makes me think of my mom. So there. 2 cups of this stuff--this is NOT a good dessert for diabetics, can you tell?
5. All the dry ingredients mixed together--sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder and soda, salt.
6. And the wet ingredients! I love the red coloring but be sure and wear old clothes, if you are messy like me. Um, yeah.
7. Isn't it pretty? My son came downstairs to check it out but he refused to pose tasting it. Hmph.
8. Gorgeous color, huh. So rich! LOOKS LIKE BLOOD!!
9. And now, the dry ingredients and wet blood ingredients mix together.
10. Pour artfully into the pan! I know there are tools to do this, but all I had was a spoon. Messy.
11. And cooking in the oven!
12. Making the cream cheese frosting! I thought all the confectioner's sugar would NEVER blend in, but it did. Finally. And I have way too much left over.
13. Ready for frosting!
14. The cupcakes sucked to frost (later, thought about the plastic bag trick), but these were a breeze. Plenty of room for sloppiness.
15. AND FINALLY! The final product!!! Gorgeous vegan Red Velvet Whoopie Pies!!
16. Sorry, Maddox, these are not for you.
However, don't feel too sorry for the boy. I was sitting in here working on my post, when he came in and I heard a rustle rustle rustle, looked down and there he was, with an empty cupcake wrapper between his paws. Someone had counter-surfed and helped himself to one. Brat.
For this adventure, I did make regular cupcakes and mini-cupcakes--which I will freeze individually for snacks (I love frozen cupcakes)--but my main focus was creating Red Velvet Whoopie Pies. I love Whoopie Pies! My daughter works at Starbucks, and they now sell their cute little bite-size deserts, and I do like their little versions but I had this pan that makes muffin-tops so decided to give it a whirl, making them myself, using Blue's recipe.
I am not much into baking, honestly--any cooking, really. But I realized as I was making these, that I was having fun! So I definitely will make them again.
First of all, you have to have the killer vegan Red Velvet recipe. Now, I am not vegan, though I do eat a lot of vegetarian meals. The daughter is a vegetarian, and frankly, meat is expensive! There are a lot of very good recipes out there for vegetarians which rocks. This just happens to be a vegan recipe--no eggs, vegan margarine in the frosting, sugar, vegetable oil...and yes, it is incredible.
Some recipes I've seen utilize beets for the red dye, but I used Adams Best--NOT made of evil little beetles like it used to be. Wild huh.
1. The pan. I bought this from Amazon a few months ago to make low-carb hamburger buns. Never used it for that. But for whoopie pies, decided it was perfect. Amazon has several kinds, including some shaped like hearts. Cute.
2. Soy milk and Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar. I just happened to have some ACV in the house--my daughter used it to get rid of two warts. And it worked. Seriously. Soy milk is a staple in the house--all flavors--so I didn't even have to buy any. Just reached in the fridge. Two cups combined with the ACV to curdle it, made the liquid basis along with some vegetable oil.
And combine it! I love my Blackberry--takes action shots!
3. Earth Balance products are favorites in this house. They have a margarine that is vegan (now in sticks!) that is so good! I love the tub marg on toast. I adore butter, but love this stuff. The 'cream cheese' is made of tofu, and while it is great for cooking, the onion flavor is the only one I like just on bagels. The marg and the cc were set out to get to room temperature--they along with confectioner's sugar made a fabulous frosting (though I have a ton of leftover).
4. Sugar. Now...when I was growing up, we did not use cane sugar, we used beet sugar. Beet sugar is what Nick has in Germany, so when he was here living with me for awhile, sigh, so long ago now, I made sure to have his proper sugar. It is gorgeous, very shiny and crystally, and the taste and texture is so much nicer than cane sugar. The cane sugar companies push that beet sugar is 'bad' but um, no? I love how it cooks, and it makes me think of my mom. So there. 2 cups of this stuff--this is NOT a good dessert for diabetics, can you tell?
5. All the dry ingredients mixed together--sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder and soda, salt.
6. And the wet ingredients! I love the red coloring but be sure and wear old clothes, if you are messy like me. Um, yeah.
7. Isn't it pretty? My son came downstairs to check it out but he refused to pose tasting it. Hmph.
8. Gorgeous color, huh. So rich! LOOKS LIKE BLOOD!!
9. And now, the dry ingredients and wet blood ingredients mix together.
10. Pour artfully into the pan! I know there are tools to do this, but all I had was a spoon. Messy.
11. And cooking in the oven!
12. Making the cream cheese frosting! I thought all the confectioner's sugar would NEVER blend in, but it did. Finally. And I have way too much left over.
13. Ready for frosting!
14. The cupcakes sucked to frost (later, thought about the plastic bag trick), but these were a breeze. Plenty of room for sloppiness.
15. AND FINALLY! The final product!!! Gorgeous vegan Red Velvet Whoopie Pies!!
16. Sorry, Maddox, these are not for you.
However, don't feel too sorry for the boy. I was sitting in here working on my post, when he came in and I heard a rustle rustle rustle, looked down and there he was, with an empty cupcake wrapper between his paws. Someone had counter-surfed and helped himself to one. Brat.