Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes

I feel like we are always in a season of TREATS. It's like there's always a reason to celebrate something and treats are always a MUST.  I have a long list of favorites and go-to recipes when these occasions arise but when I needed a dairy free recipe last month for a preschool birthday celebration, I was up for the challenge.

This is a first for me- these cupcakes are completely vegan! We aren't going vegan in this house but I've never made a vegan dessert before and this recipe is too good not to share. 
I made this recipe for Will's class to accommodate some allergies and will definitely keep this recipe as my go to next time I need something allergy friendly! 

The key to the frosting is letting the dairy free butter come to room temperature. DO NOT MELT IT. I have a little trick of microwaving dairy butter in 5 second increments to get it to room temperature quickly, but do not do this with the vegan butter. It melts quickly and then your frosting will be toast. Trust me when I say to take the time and let it come to room temperature on it's own. Your frosting will be creamy and dreamy- pinky swear! 

The texture of the cake is rich and dense and since the amount of vanilla in the recipe is on the larger side, the flavor is super vanilla-y! Classic vanilla cupcakes with a vegan twist- you won't even miss the dairy 

P.S. Don't skimp on the sprinkles! (to keep these 100% vegan, make sure you are using sprinkles that don't contain dairy- check the ingredients list)

Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes
recipe adapted from Babble

Makes 10-12 cupcakes

1 cup Flour
2 tsp. baking powder
pinch salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup flavorless oil (I used canola- grapeseed or safflower would work, too)
3/4 cup non-dairy milk (I used Ripple plant based milk)
1 Tbsp. vanilla 
1/2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar

Preheat oven to 365 degrees. Line a cupcake tin with 10-12 liners. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine flour, baking powder, salt and sugar and mix until combined. Add remaining ingredients (oil, non dairy milk, vanilla and apple cider vinegar) and beat on medium speed until no clumps remain. 

Fill the cupcake liners with batter 3/4 to the top. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick/cake tester comes out clean. The cupcakes should bounce back slightly when pressed. 

Let cool completely before frosting.

Vegan Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup vegan butter, room temperature (I used Earth's Balance brand)
2 tsp. vanilla 

in the bowl of an electric mixer using a paddle attachment, beat butter until soft and fluffy, 2-3 minutes, scraping down the sides as needed. Turn speed down to low and slowly add the powdered sugar. Turn the speed up to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, another 2-3 minutes. If the mixture seems too wet, add in a little more powdered sugar as needed. Transfer frosting to piping bag and frost!

Butter Cupcakes + Salted Caramel Buttercream

Moving on from the healthiest pizza recipe I've ever posted to these morsels of heaven. Because, balance, right!? And HELLO! Sprinkles and unicorns.

You just cannot beat a good cupcake. With the perfect cake base and a delicious frosting topper, it's the perfect hand held dessert. It's taken me a long time to get my proportions right, but I have finally learned how to properly fill each liner so that each cupcake comes out the same. 3/4 of the way full works every sing time. 

These cupcakes are a little bit of magic and so much more. My family has been making this cake recipe for awhile now and last week I halved the batter to make a batch of cupcakes for a birthday celebration. The salted caramel buttercream is everything. 

Use your patience when making this frosting, but know that the end result will be worth it. It's taken me a few times to get it right! Don't give up. And if you want to make the full cake, you can find the recipe HERE. It's perfection.

Butter Cake Cupcakes + Salted Caramel Buttercream 

recipe adapted from Add a Pinch (makes 10-12 cupcakes)

BUTTER CAKE

1.5 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

pinch of salt

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 eggs, room temperature

1/2 cup buttermilk, room temperature

2 tsp. vanilla

SALTED CARAMEL BUTTERCREAM

Stage 1:

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup Crisco vegetable shortening

1/4 cup butter

1/2 tsp. baking soda

Stage 2:

1/4 cup butter, room temperature

1/4 tsp. sea salt

1 cup confectioner's sugar, plus more if needed

CUPCAKES

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare cupcake tin with liners.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl and whisk. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter until fluffy, then add sugar. Cream together for about 8 minutes, scraping the sides down occasionally. Add eggs, one at a time and cream after each one. 

Add flour mixture and buttermilk, alternately, beginning and ending with the flour. Combine each addition of flour then turn the mixer on high to incorporate air into the batter. 

Add vanilla and mix well. Turn the mixer on high one last time for about 10 seconds to lighten the batter. 

Using an ice cream or batter scoop, fill each cupcake liner about 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. 

SALTED CARAMEL BUTTERCREAM

Add all ingredients from stage one to a 3-4 quart pot. Stir with a wooden spoon over medium heat. 

Using a candy thermometer, cook to a softball stage (235-245 degrees). I have found that the closer to 235 the better. 

Remove from heat and pour into the bowl of a stand mixer to let cool. To quicken the cooling process, beat it with the whisk attachment for a few minutes. 

Once the caramel has cooled, add the butter and salt from the second stage of the recipe and and whip. Add the confectioner's sugar in 1/4 cup increments, whipping after each one. Since you will be frosting cupcakes, you may need to add more to get the frosting to stiffen and hold its shape. 

Transfer frosting to a piping bag and frost. Top with sprinkles, lots of sprinkles. 

Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes {Chocolate Guiness Cupcake with Baileys Buttercream and a Whiskey Ganache Center}

Cupcakes are always appropriate. There is something about a personal size cake that makes you feel happy. Bad day? Eat a cupcake. Someone's birthday and you can't be there to celebrate in person? Eat a cupcake. Bachelor finale? Eat a cupcake. They are the perfect celebration dessert and make for a fun display at parties. Add a little alcohol and you've just scored big. 

Here's a booze-y cupcake recipe for your St. Patrick's Day. Three layers deep, these rich little cakes feature Guiness, Jameson and Baileys. The Irish tri-fecta. A chocolate Guiness cupcake is filled with a whiskey ganache and topped with a gigantic swirl of Bailey's Irish Cream Buttercream. What more could a leprechaun want? I may have missed the St. Patrick's Day bar crawl downtown Charlotte, but baking with alcohol, which resulted in Guiness for breakfast, is the next best thing. 

Happy St. Paddy's Day!

Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes 

recipe from The Brown Eyed Baker

Cupcakes:
1 cup Guiness Stout
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1.5 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
2 eggs
2/3 cup sour cream

Whiskey Ganache Filling:
8 oz. bittersweet baking chocolate
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 Tbsp. butter, room temperature
2 tsp. Irish Whiskey (I used Jameson)

Baileys Buttercream:
2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
5 cups powdered sugar
6 Tbsp. Bailey's Irish Cream

To make the cupcakes; preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 cupcake cups with liners. Bring the Guiness and butter to a simmer in a heavy, medium saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk mixture until smooth. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in a large bowl to combine. Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sour cream on medium speed until well combined. Add the Guiness- chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and beat just to combine. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture and beat briefly. Using a rubber spatula, fold the batter until completely combined. Divide the batter among the cupcake liners, filling about 2/3 of the way full. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center, 17-19 minutes. Cool the cupcakes on a rack.

To make the whiskey ganache filling; finely chop the chocolate and transfer it to a heat proof bowl. Heat the cream until simmering and pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for one minute and then, using a rubber spatula, stir from the center outward until just combined. Add the butter and whiskey and stir until just combined. Let the ganache cool until thick, but still soft enough to be piped.

To fill the cupcakes; using the bottom of a large decorating tip, cut the centers of the cooled cupcakes, going about two thirds of the way down. Transfer the ganache to a piping bag with a large tip and fill the holes of the cupcakes all the way to the top. 

To make the Baileys Buttercream; Using the whisk attachment of a stand mixer, whip the butter on medium- high speed for 5 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally. Reduce the speed to medium- low and gradually add the powdered sugar until incorporated. Add the Baileys, and increase the speed to medium high and whip for another 2-3 minutes, until it is light and fluffy. 

Using a decorating tip, frost the cupcakes and top with sprinkles for extra luck!

Rainbow Cupcakes with Marshmallow Buttercream

I don't think I have ever mentioned this on the blog, but aside from my lovies I have another "little sister". Late last fall, Mark and I decided to both become volunteers with Big Brothers Big Sisters. It's been a wonderful experience so far and I would highly recommend it to anyone. If you want to give back, but are struggling to figure out how, I would love to talk to you more about this fantastic organization. I got paired with the sweetest 10 year old girl and we have play dates about twice a month. It's been so much fun to make memories and provide a constant presence in this little girl's life that she will hopefully look back on in the future and smile. If just one action or one thing I say makes a positive impact on her, I will have made a difference.

I have to admit, it's fun having a 10 year old around. I am always looking for excuses to act like a kid so having an accomplice is a win in my book! We sing Justin Bieber at the top of our lungs in the car and don't care if we are putting on a show for our neighboring drivers at stoplights. Sometimes we do homework, but mostly we play. Our time together is supposed to be fun and spent doing something we can enjoy together. Like making friendship bracelets or Watching Glee in 3-D.

And making rainbow cupcakes.

Vanilla Rainbow Cupcakes with Marshmallow Almond Buttercream Frosting

cupcakes adapted from Baking Bites, frosting adapted from Baked Bree

Cupcakes:

1 cup all purpose flour (I used pastry flour)

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1/2 cup canola (or vegetable) oil

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

food coloring (red, yellow, green & blue)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 10 cups of a muffin tin with paper liners. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix together sugar, eggs, oil, buttermilk and vanilla. Pour in dry ingredients and mix until completely combined.

Divide cupcake batter into 5 bowls. Each bowl should have about 1/3 cup of batter. Using about 1/2 tsp. of food coloring, color each bowl, making red, orange, yellow, green and blue batter. Add more coloring for brighter, richer color.

Start with the blue batter, and add a small spoonful (a little over a teaspoon) to each cup. Continue with the rest of the colors in this order; green, yellow, orange red. Spoon each color on top of the other. Do not try to spread the layers, just let them be where they drop.

Bake for 15 minutes or until a cake tester or toothpick comes out dry. Allow cupcakes to cool before frosting.

NOTE: this recipe makes 10 cupcakes. We doubled it, making 22 cupcakes.

Frosting:

1 cup room temperature butter

7 ounces marshmallow fluff

1 tsp. almond extract

Cream the butter until it's light and fluffy. Add the marshmallow fluff and almond extract. Whip for two minutes.

Half Baked Co.

In my world, there is always room for dessert. This is both a good and a bad thing. But when I can indulge without feeling guilty, it's a winning combination in my book!

A few months ago, a high school friend and I reconnected. I had no idea that Carolyn had been reading my little blog all the while I had spent internet surfing moments drooling over the cupcakes and sweet treats she was posting from her California based bakery on Facebook. Cupcakes, cake balls, cupcakes on a stick, cruffles (delicious cake truffles and some of the most darling cakes I have ever seen. It was after a trip to the kitchen to curb my sweet tooth that when I sat down to finish reading, I happily found out that everything was baked using healthy baking substitutes!

After many months of drooling every time I saw a post from Half Baked Co., a lovely little package appeared at my doorstep and I was able to sample the goods. I am big on presentation and packaging and my package from Half Baked was as sweet as can be. Wrapped in hot pink tissue, each treat was tucked in carefully and tied with a coordinating pink bow. Everything was just darling! Since the cupcakes only ship locally, my box was filled with tiny treats. All of them were absolutely decadent and delicious down to the last bite. These treats are not your average healthy, cardboard consistency type items pretending to take the place of dessert. They are the real deal and after they're happily in your belly, you only have half of the guilt!

I sampled the following Half Baked Co. creations:

Triple Chocolate marshmallow on a stick

Strawberry marshmallow on a stick

Death by Chocolate cupcake on a stick

Pink Velvet cupcake on a stick

Thin Mint Oreo pop

Peanut Butter Oreo pop

Chocolate Cherry Cruffle (my absolute FAVORITE!! I'm still thinking about it)

To read more about Half Baked Co., visit their website at www.halfbaked.co, or by clicking the image on my right hand side bar. Better yet, treat yourself and just order some goodies, and tell Carolynn that I sent you. Don't forget to include a Chocolate Cherry Cruffle in your order. Better yet, order several, because one won't be enough.

Half Baked really is twice as good! Happy Weekend to all!

La Bella Tortina

..."The Pretty Cupcake"

My quaint Ballantyne kitchen has turned into a Cupcakery as my adorable roommate Ashley has become quite the cupcake princess. I think it is safe to say that she needs to start a business of her own. These little creations are all so unique and each day she spends cupcaking turns up a more delightful surprise than the last! There isn't anything that she can't create and they are delicious, too! Each design is meticulously made with love and are almost too beautiful to eat! Here are some of my favorites. (Of course I am partial to the giant princess cupcake that Ashley made especially for my birthday!) The fondant princess on the top makes the whole cake!

The little cakes are as tasty as they look and make the perfect addition to any birthday party, holiday festivites or just a Sunday afternoon dessert! Everyone is always looking for more creative ways to enjoy their favorite foods which is why the cupcake has taken over the world of desserts! Ashley is taking orders now...

Peace Love & Cupcakes!