Pumpkin-Stout Bread (or Cupcakes)

While the desired weather of Autumn may still be of an ebb and flow nature here in Houston, the feeling of soups, roasted vegetables, and spiced baked goods is in full effect. It’s a moon day today, so I get the day off from my Ashtanga yoga practice, my teaching practice, and as much of my work as possible. On moon days, I like to visit with the sprouting fall veggies in the garden, snuggle with Marley, and bake.

On this moon day, I present to you Pumpkin-Stout Muffins. You can also make this in a 9-inch loaf, if that pleases you. I made mini-muffins (just shy of 4 doz minis) for easier sharing at the yoga studio tomorrow, but I think a loaf or full size muffins would behoove the bread or non-frosted teacake experience. Enjoy!

Pumpkin-Stout Bread

Mini cupcake liners [or coconut oil for greasing the pan if making a loaf]

1 3/4 C all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

Pinch ground nutmeg

Pinch ground allspice

3 TBSP vegan butter

1 C pumpkin purée (not pumpkin pie filling)

1 C brown sugar

1 TBSP Ener-G Egg Replacer [Mixed in 4 TBSP warm water]

1 C stout beer*

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line mini muffin pans (or grease 9-inch loaf pan). Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice in a large bowl.

2. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Remove from the heat. Stir in the pumpkin and brown sugar, then stir in the egg replacer mixture. Finally, stir in the stout*. Add the pumpkin mixture to the dry ingredients and stir just until combined. Transfer the batter to the lined mini muffin pan or greased loaf pan.

3. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean, 14 minutes for mini muffins (about 1 hour for loaf). Cool thoroughly before serving.

Leftover pumpkin bread can be wrapped in foil or plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to a few days.

*If choosing not to use beer, any vegan milk will suffice. I suspect black tea or earl grey might also be a nice experience.

Option: Pumpkin-Stout Cupcakes

Add a dollop of cinnamon-ginger frosting (or pumpkin spice frosting, if that tickles your fancy). I made a buttercream frosting with Glenlivet & Pumpkin Pie Spice blend to top these bite-size beauties.

1 C Earth Balance Vegan Butter

2 C sifted powdered sugar

3-4 tsp Glenlivet

2 tsp vanilla extract

2-3 pinches of Pumpkin Pie Spice blend

Read Full Post »

Chocolate Stout Cuppies with Irish Whiskey Buttercream Frosting

The springtime inspires me to get back into baking.. and of course, who doesn’t love St. Patty’s Day?! Ever since I saw this recipe on my Facebook feed, I knew I had to make them. I actually made the cuppies pretty much verbatim, so I’ll simply include a link with the photos.. I did use olive oil in place of canola (didn’t have any canola on hand), but it worked out nicely! Check it out! Super deliciousness awaits you… 🙂 This recipe made about 5 dozen mini cuppies – and I baked at 350°F for 15 minutes.

Chef Chloe’s recipe – NOM NOM!

I did, however, tweak the frosting recipe a bit..so here’s my frosting recipe:

Ingredients:

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)

4 TBSP Irish Whiskey

2 TBSP Coconut Milk Beverage

1 TBSP vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Dump all ingredients into a mixer. Mix until smooth and delicious – adjusting moisture level as needed.
2. Taste for quality control, and frost cooled cuppies.

Happy Baking!

Read Full Post »