Redux: Red Velvet Cupcakes

The first time I posted about Red Velvet Cuppies, I did mini’s and the frosting didn’t turn out as well as could be expected, so the post was lacking in standard Primate verve.. So here’s the redux post. This time I made full-size, since I didn’t have enough liners for minis.. and sometimes it doesn’t hurt to go standard-sizing – I’m just a gnome deep down, and love all things mini or gnome-size. 🙂 But who’s really going to turn down a cupcake, regardless of size.. honestly. This recipe makes 12 regulars, or about 24-32 minis. I old-school frosted with standard vegan Buttercream Frosting. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Red Velvet Cuppies:

1 C hemp or almond milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 C turbinado sugar
1/3 C canola oil
1.5 tsp vanilla extract
1 C oat flour
1/4 C AP flour
1/3 C cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
red food coloring, as needed (or omit for a basic chocolate cupcake)

Buttercream Frosting: [this will make enough for piping the frosting, if frosting old-school style freehand..HALF the recipe]

1 C Earth Balance Vegan Butter, lightly softened
4.5-5 C sifted powdered sugar (I put in 3 C as the original recipe called for, but then added about 1.5-2 C more..didn’t measure it, but added until it was the right consistency)

2 TBSP Coconut Milk Beverage or Almond Milk

1 TBSP vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 12-muffin tin with cupcake liners (or opt for minis). In a large measuring cup, combine milk and apple cider vinegar. Set aside.

2. In a mixing bowl, stir together sugar and oil. Pour into milk mixture. Set aside.

3. In same mixing bowl, sift (or whisk) together flours, cocoa powder, baking soda & powder, and salt. Add liquid mixture. Stir to combine. Add red food coloring to desired color.

4. Allocate around 1/4 C per cupcake for regulars (about 1 TBSP or so for minis). Bake at 350°F for 18-22 minutes for regulars, 12-15 minutes for minis.

5. Let cool while you make the UnButtercream Frosting in a stand mixer. Frost. Enjoy!

Happy Baking!

On this day in History: New Years Eve @ 1323 Menu

//

Read Full Post »

Excellence in Veg Info on the Web Award – VegOnline.org

The Primate has just been informed that we’ve received VegOnline.org’s award for excellence in Vegetarian/Vegan Information and education on the web! THANK YOU VEGONLINE.ORG!!

Vegetarian

Happy Veganism! 🙂

 

Read Full Post »

New and Improved Chocolate Chip Cookies

Readers may be surprised by this, but I find it absolutely impossible to follow a recipe exactly – even ones I’ve developed myself!  I always think, oh, it would be great to add a little of this, or leave out just a little of that.  The downside is that sometimes things are not quite as delicious as they could be, but the upside is that sometimes I improve on things.  So, I was baking my other Chocolate Chip Cookies, which are a bit on the thick side, and wanted them to be a little bit thinner, with tantalizingly crisp edges, and soft gooey middles.  And here it is, my new and improved chocolate chip cookie recipe:

Ingredients:

2 TBS flaxseed meal combined with 1/4 C water, and then microwaved for 30 seconds

1.75 C AP flour

1 stick Earth Balance buttery sticks

1 stick Earth Balance shortening

1 C cane sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla

1 bag chocolate chips

1 C nuts (optional)

Instructions:

1.  Soak the flaxseed meal in warm water for at least 10 minutes.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2.  Cream the Earth Balance sticks with the sugar.

3.  Add vanilla and flaxseed goo.

4.  Add dry ingredients in a few stages, mixing each thoroughly.

5.  Mix in chips and nuts.  Taste test!

6.  Roll spoonfuls of dough into balls.

7.  Bake at 400 degrees for 9-10 minutes.

On this day in History: Roasted Corn Salsa

//

Read Full Post »

Babka

“Cinnamon takes a back seat to no babka. People love cinnamon. It should be on tables at restaurants along with salt and pepper. Anytime anyone says, “Oh this is so good, what’s in it?” The answer invariably comes back, “Cinnamon.” “Cinnamon.” Again and again. Lesser babka?? I think not.” – Jerry Seinfeld

Just like the Black & White cookie – this babka brings “two races of flavor living together side by side in harmony.” Enter the Elaine-loving chocolate babka, and the Jerry-touting greatness  of the “lesser” cinnamon babka in this explosion of dual-babka heaven! Don’t “go in with a lesser babka” – serve an empirically superior combination of cinnamon and chocolate. A perfect babka for dinner parties, breakfast, or lazy afternoons on the couch at teatime.. 🙂

Ingredients

Bread:

2 tbsp  instant yeast

3/4th cup lukewarm almond milk

6 tbsp Earth Balance

6 tbsp  sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

4 TBS plain coconut milk yogurt

3 ½ cup  all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

Filling:

1 ½ cups coarsely grated chocolate chips

1 tsp cinnamon, ground

1/4th cup Earth Balance

Directions:

1.  Whisk the yeast into lukewarm almond milk and set aside.

2.  In a large bowl, or the bowl of a KitchenAid, cream together the sugar and Earth Balance until smooth.  Add the yogurt to the bowl in a couple of additions, mixing constantly for 30 seconds between each addition.  Add the vanilla and mix until light and fluffy.

3.  Add 3 C of the flour and salt and continue to mix until it all comes together.

4.  Now mix in the almond milk + yeast mixture and let it mix until it forms a soft dough.  Add in some or all of the remaining 1/2 C flour as needed for a soft, but not not sticky dough.

5.  Turn out onto a floured surface and knead by hand for another 2-3 minutes. You will have a soft, supple, but not sticky dough.

6.  Let this rise for about 2 hours, or refrigerate overnight, making sure to remove it from the fridge two hours before baking.

7.  For the filling: butter and cinnamon together in a bowl.

8.  Once the dough has risen, roll it out into a sheet with a thickness of 1/8^th to 1/4^thinch. Make sure to keep it dusted well with flour at all times, or else it might stick.

9.  Spread the cinnamon mixture over it, and then spread out the chocolate.

10.  Roll the sheet of dough and then pinch the seams to seal it. Roll it to a length of about 24 inches. Place onto cookie sheet.  Cut the log down the middle lengthwise, making sure to keep the top end attached. Twist over each other to get the braided look.

11.  Let the dough proof for another 1-2 hours.

12.  Preheat the oven to 350F and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Happy Baking!

On this day in History: Chocolate Duo Almond Bark

“Look to the cookie, Elaine..look to the cookie.”

Read Full Post »