PB&J (again) and Sweet&Salty Cupcakes

I got requests for the PB&J cupcakes again from a few people. They seem to be a favorite. I also made Sweet&Salty which is a basic chocolate cupcake (sweet) with peanut butter (salty) and caramel frosting, then drizzled with caramel sauce and garnished with a chocolate dipped pretzel stick. Here are the recipes:

PB&J Cupcakes:
1 cup soy milk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350. I usually put 2 tbsp of batter in each cupcake cup. bake for 18-20 minutes, take out and let cool. Take a piping bag with a small to medium sized tip. Put jelly of your choice onto piping bag (I used grape). Stick the tip into top of the cupcake and squeeze jelly into, just use your best judgment and decide when to stop. Repeat this for each cupcake.

Peanut Butter Frosting:

1/2 cup earth balance
1/2 cup shortening
3 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup soy milk
1/4 cup creamy or chunky peanut butter


Sweet&Salty Cupcake:

1 cup soy milk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Caramel Sauce:

note: I got this recipe from the back of my confectioners sugar bag

3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/3 cup butter
1/4 cup milk
dash of salt
1-1/2 cups powdered Sugar

Directions:

In a small heavy saucepan, combine the brown sugar, butter, milk and salt. Cook and stir over low heat until sugar is dissolved.
Increase heat to medium and boil sauce for 3-6 minutes.
Set aside to cool.

Peanut Butter Caramel Frosting:

1/2 cup earth balance
1/2 cup shortening
4 cups confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup soy milk
1/4 cup creamy or chunky peanut butter
1/4 cup caramel sauce

to garnish, i just drizzled the sauce over the frosting and added a chocolate dipped pretzel stick.

Happy Baking!

Cinnamon&Sugar and Banana Cupcakes

Alright, so I haven't updated this in a while. I have another post to make after this one. I've been pretty busy lately and pretty much forgot that I have this blog. I'll try to keep it up on the top of my "things to do" list from now on. About two weeks ago i baked some peppermint patty cupcakes along with brownies, strawberry oatmeal bars, and chocolate chip cookies. I took pictures of them, and went to go update my blog and realized that I was stupid enough to not put my sim card into my camera before I took the pictures. I'll bake them all again sometime soon. Anyways, these are cinnamon&sugar and banana cupcakes. I'm still having a hard time with banana frosting (or frosting that contains fruit in general). So besides that, no complaints! Here are the recipes:

Banana Cupcakes:

1 cup soy milk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons of pure banana extract (the good stuff might be difficult to find)
2 brown mushed/pureed up bananas

bake for 18-20 minutes at 350, take out and set to cool

Banana Frosting:

(I wouldn't follow this recipe, or if you do, try to find a way to strain the bananas in a cheese cloth or something before adding them to the frosting)

1/2 cup earth balance
1/2 cup shortening
3 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup soy milk
2 tbsp pure banana extract
1 mushed up/pureed brown banana

I decorated the tops by thinly slicing a banana and then dipping the sides in cinnamon and sugar!


Cinnamon&Sugar Cupcakes:

1 cup soy milk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tbsp + 1 tsp of ground cinnamon

Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes. Take out, set to cool

I lightly frosted these with vegan cream cheese frosting and then dipped them in cinnamon and sugar.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1/4 cup earth balance
1/4 cup vegan cream cheese
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Happy Baking!

French Toast and Honey Cupcakes (For those vegans who eat honey!)

I finished these about 10 minutes ago. I'm really happy with the outcome of both. I usually don't eat any of the cupcakes I bake, because they really aren't the best things for you..but I tried a bite of each one this time and they came out delicious. I'd say the French Toast cupcake wins. Here are the recipes!

French Toast Cupcake:

1 cup soy milk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup all purpose flour
2 tbsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup maple syrup
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Cinnamon Brown Sugar Filling:

1/4 cup Earth Balance
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp brown sugar
2 tbsp maple syrup

Whip together

I always put 2 tbsp of cupcake batter in each paper, so for this I put 1 tbsp, then put a tsp of the cinnamon filling in the middle, and then put the second tbsp on top of that so it baked in the center.

Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes. Take out, set to cool

When I took the cupcakes out, they seemed kind of messy because of the butter in the filling, but once they cooled, it set and came out how i wanted it to.

Maple Cinnamon Butter Cream Frosting:

1/2 cup earth balance
1/2 cup shortening
3 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup soy milk
3 tbsp ground cinnamon
a little less than 1/4 cup maple syrup

I decorated the tops with powdered sugar

Honey Cupcake:

1 cup soy milk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup of honey

Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes. Take out, set to cool

Honey Butter Cream Frosting:

1/2 cup earth balance
1/2 cup shortening
3 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup soy milk
1/4 cup of honey


Happy Baking!

Chocolate Chip Cookie and Blueberry Lemon Creme Cupcakes

I'll start off by saying that the Chocolate Chip Cookie cupcake didn't come out like i hoped it would. I got the idea from a website for a Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough cupcake, and this was my attempt at that. The problem was that the cookie baked all the way through. They still came out fine though. The Blueberry Lemon Creme cupcakes came out great. I got the idea from VCTOTW, but I didn't use their recipe.

Blueberry Lemon Creme Cupcake:

1 cup soy milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 fresh squeezed lemon juice
zest from 1 lemon
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

Bake at 350, for 18-20 minutes. Take out and set to cool.

Blueberry filling:

I got this recipe from here: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Blueberry-Sauce/Detail.aspx

Only I changed it up a little bit to fit the recipe better. I would also recommend making this sauce a day or two before you plan on baking these cupcakes, so the flavors settle in.

2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
zest from 1 lemon
3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup cold water
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

(the directions are on the website)
After letting it sit in the fridge for a day or two, cut a small hole in the tops of the cupcakes in a cone shape, fill with 1 teaspoon of the blueberry filling, and put the tops of the cupcakes back on.

Blueberry Lemon Butter cream Frosting:

1/2 cup earth balance
1/2 cup shortening
3 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup soy milk
1/4 cup blueberry sauce
zest from 1 lemon

(If the frosting isn't thick enough, just add more confectioners' sugar)

Then i garnished the cupcakes with 3 fresh blueberry!

Tip: To get more juice out of the lemons, put them in the microwave for a few seconds!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Cupcake:

1 cup soy milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

Chocolate Chip Cookie Center:

2 cups unbleached flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
vegan chocolate
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup water

Scoop up cookie dough with a tablespoon and roll into ball. Place directly on top of the cupcake batter once it is evenly put into the cupcake papers.

Bake cupcakes for 20-23 minutes, set out to cool.

Simple Vanilla Butter Cream Frosting:

1/2 cup earth balance
1/2 cup shortening
3 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup soy milk

Then I decorated the tops with melted chocolate

Happy Baking!

Strawberry Shortcake And Elvis Cupcakes (hold the bacon)

I was trying to figure out new flavors to make today. I remembered that Tuesday, Rachael (B9) mentioned something about strawberry shortcake. I thought it was a great idea and then my friend Klint said i should make a peanut butter banana cupcake. Both sounded delicious so i came up with a recipe for both. I had a problem with the frosting because the butter was too soft when i made it, so it was a little melty and went everywhere. It ended up being fine because they tasted great. I would try to find a way to make the peanut butter stand out a bit more in the Elvis cupcakes. Maybe put some chopped peanuts? I'll play around with it a bit. Here are the recipes!:


Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes:

1 cup soy milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 cup flour
2/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup of strawberry sauce (sliced up strawberries add a few tbsp of sugar, a few tbsp of water, set aside in room temperature for 60 minutes until the strawberries let go of juices, then smoosh witha fork)

just use the chunked strawberries from the sauce to add to the batter, if you use the strawberry sauce and strawberries, use less soy milk

I only used 2/4 cup sugar instead of my usual 3/4 cup because the
strawberries give off a lot of sweetness in the strawberry sauce that is
added to the batter.

Preheat oven to 350 bake for 18-20 minutes, take out set to cool

Once cooled, spread a thin layer of strawberry jam, preserve, or jelly
over the top of entire cupcake

Frost cupcake with plain whipped vanilla frosting
garnish with a fresh strawberry!


Elvis Cupcake (hold the bacon!):

1 cup soy milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 cup flour
2/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
And then add a big glob of peanut butter of your choice. I used creamy and probably put 1/4th to 1/3rd of a cup in.


Banana Buttercream Frosting:

1/2 cup earth balance
1/2 cup shortening
3 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup soy milk
2 bruised bananas (the more bruised up they are, the better!)

If your bananas are new and yellow, throw them in a brown lunch bag for a day for two. They should brown up more quickly than they would if they were just out on your counter.

P.S. Make sure you smoosh up the bananas before you add them to your frosting! You also want to make sure there are no chunks and that they are nicely blended up.

I decorated the tops with a banana chip!

Happy Baking!

B9 friends

I've been interning at B9 twice a week for about a year and have bringing in cupcakes and baked goods close to every week since the fall. I rarely eat the things i bake because I don't have much of a sweet tooth, but I love to bake so I bake and bring everything into Bridge Nine. They are my baking guinea pigs! So Chris wrote up a blog entry about my baking and such which I thought was awesome so I'm posting it on here. Thanks Chris!

S'mores And Coffee Cupcakes!

I just made these today! S'mores and Coffee/Espresso cupcakes. They both came out great and look cute too. They were also pretty easy to make.

Vegan S'mores Cupcakes:
1 cup soy milk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup of graham cracker crumbs (I used cinnamon&sugar grahams)

Preheat oven to 350 bake 18-20 minutes. Take out, let cool
I just used a basic vanilla frosting to top these, then garnished with some chocolate shavings, more graham cracker crumbs, and a medium chunk of graham!


Vegan Coffee/Espresso Cupcake:
1 cup soy milk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2-3 tablespoons of instant ground coffee

Preheat oven to 350 bake for 18-20 minutes. Take out, let cool.

Coffee Frosting:
1/2 cup earth balance
1/2 cup shortening
3 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup soy milk
3 tablespoons of very very strong coffee

For the coffee to put in the frosting, i put 3 tablespoons of instant ground coffee and added 5 tablespoons of hot water. If the frosting isn't stiff enough, just keep adding confectioners' sugar until you're happy with the consistency.

I also garnished the tops with a dark chocolate covered espresso bean!