Vegan Crumb Cupcakes

Here is a second vegan option for the Les Figues auction.

My friend Jared assumed the role of my vegan dessert taste tester and helped me decide on this crumb cake for the auction. This decision was made mostly because these cupcakes are almost ridiculously easy to make and really I don't think that it being vegan meant that taste had to be sacrificed. I've done a fair amount of research on vegan desserts and a few years back I was making a lot of vegan desserts with Ener-G Egg Replacers and fancy dairy substitutes but in the end I decided that these ingredients led to inconsistent results. These ingredients were expensive and for the most part I've had the best results with simple, practical replacements like soy milk and Earth Balance. Canola oil is pretty key in vegan desserts, I've realized.

I think I will add either hazelnuts or walnuts to this recipe for the auction.

Please come to the Les Figues auction for these cupcakes plus here are the other things I am making for the event:

1. lemon cupcakes with chamomile honey icing

2. chocolate and matcha cupcakes with bittersweet chocolate ganache

3. vegan crumb cake

4. fig and pear mini galettes

5. lavender chocolate sable cookies with cream cheese filling

6. vanilla sables with sour cherry filling

7. chocolate sables with honey peanut butter filling

I will also be auctioning two items at the event:

1. a basket of 7 homemade farmers market preserves

2. an alchemical baking commission: you dream up any dessert your creativity can conjure and I will design a recipe according you specifications, bake the item for you, and give you a copy of the recipe. The wilder the commission the better. Here are some starter suggestions : lychee cheesecake, strawberry and azuki bean cupcakes, tamarind cheesecake, olive oil raisin pound cake, root beer cake, mochi blondie bars, black sesame brownies, blueberry goat cheese tarts, ginger and strawberry cake, and avocado cake

Les Figues Auction:

September 12th, Saturday

Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions

6522 Hollywood Blvd

Los Angeles, Ca

Buy your tickets and find more info here:

http://www.lesfigues.com/giveafig-2009/

Vegan Apple Rose Tarts

Happy Labor Day! I don't really understand what Labor Day is, but all the same, it's nice to have an excuse to have a bbq with friends. Janice, Jeff, and Jared (oh! i just realized they are all "J" people) invited me over for an afternoon bbq. This was also coincidentally a good opportunity to test out some dessert possibilities for the Les Figues auction this Saturday. Among the multitude of anxieties I am feeling about this event, the vegan portion of the desserts that I am catering is causing me a fair amount stress. Good stress though. I find the experimentation phase of working out recipes pretty exciting, but only when the recipes turn out well.

When baking vegan desserts, my stipulation is that it should be unrecognizably vegan, that it should be plainly good regardless of its non-dairy-ness.

I think this apple rose tart is 75% there. The pate brisee dough was a little too crumbly, maybe. I can work with this. I wanted to try veganizing this recipe because I'm very comfortable making non-vegan apple tarts and it seemed like an easy transition. And because the primary ingredient of this dessert is fruit, it felt a little safer to me.

I have a couple more recipes I want to try before I settle on a decision for the Les Figues Event.

Ingredients:

vegan pate brisee:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup Earth Balance, cubed and chilled

1/2 Vegetable Shortening

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

3 tablespoons ice cold water

apple filling:

4 small apples or 3 large ones (granny smith preferably), cored and thinly sliced

1/4 cup Earth Balance

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup apricot jam

1. Pour the flour onto a clean surface

2. Make a well in the flour and put the vegetable shortening, earth balance, salt, and sugar in the center

3. slowly work the flour into the center of the well until the mixture is crumbly (the dough will not hold together at this point)

4. add the ice cold water, one tablespoon at a time and work the dough until it begins to hold together

5. divide the dough in half, pat into discs and wrap tightly in plastic wrap

6. chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour or you can freeze for up to 3 months

7. roll the dough out to about 1/4 inch thickness and place into either 12-15 tartlet pans or two large tart pans

8. arrange the apple slices in a single direction, going around the tart pan so that it looks like a rose

9. dot the apple slice evenly with Earth balance

10. sprinkle with generous amount of sugar

11. bake at 400 for about 30 minutes or until the apples and crust look golden

12. let the tart cool

13. heat up the apricot jam in a sauce pan at low heat

14. brush the tarts with the jam

Vegan Cookie & Cream Cupcakes For Kristina (+ more nutella banana cupcakes)

yes, i crush oreos with a mortar and pestle

Kristina turns 16 today! Kristina has recently become vegan and can almost never eat the things I bake. I think I want to learn how to bake more vegan things. This is a new challenge to myself.

For the occasion of Kristina's birthday I made vegan cookies & cream cupcakes. I've made these before and the recipe is very dependable. Really, I don't think much is sacrificed here just because there is no dairy. I found this recipe in "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World". The recipe is exceedingly simple.

I also made some more banana nutella cupcakes for my mom because she's become somewhat obsessed with them. She's admitted to eating four in one sitting.

Ingredients:

cupcakes-

1 cup soy milk

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1 cup all purpose flour

1/3 cup cocoa powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

10 vegan chocolate cream-filled cookies, crushed (oreos are now vegan but i think Trader Joes O's are quite good)

Frosting:

3/4 cup nonhydrogenated vegetable shortening

3/4 cup nonhydrogenated margarine

4 cups powdered sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 cup plain soy milk or soy creamer

5 chocolate cream filled cookies, mashed finely

1. preheat oven to 350 and line 12 cupcake tins

2. whisk together soy milk and vinegar in a large mixing bowl and set aside for at least 10 minutes so that the milk can curdle

3. Add the sugar, oil, vanilla extract, almond extract into the soy milk/vinegar mixture and beat with an electric mixer until foamy (about 3-4 minutes)

4. sift together flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda, and baking powder

5. gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and fold until just combined

6. fill the cupcake tins about 3/4 full

7. baking for about 20 minutes-the tops will slightly crack

8. let cool in pan for 10 minutes and then let them cool completely out of the tins

9. frost generously

For Frosting:

1. beat the margarine and shortening together

2. add the powdered sugar in small increments

3. add vanilla and soy milk

4. fold in cookie crumbs