Iron Cupcake Voting underway!

The time has come to go vote for the cranberry cupcakes!
Please go to No One Puts Cupcake in a Corner
and cast your vote for my latest delicious Cupquake creation.
Voting closes at 12 noon, central, on Friday, December 5th.
There are 58 entries, so chances are relatively good this month :)

Thanks!
And Happy Tofurkey Day!
xoxo

The Cake

Finally, I have photos of the birthday cake i made for my little Em. I have decided not to do another one. I think cupcakes are less stressful. But if i do say so myself, it came out great!
See for yourselves...

Most of the fish and some of the seaweed are plastic. However, the flowers, and treasures are all edible - fondant, sugar pearls, rock candy and dragees.
It was a big hit, and I'm happy to say that there was none left over!

My Goodness. My Guinness Gingerbread Cranberry Cpcake.

Here's the latest installment of Iron Cupcake. Challenge ingredient: Cranberry.

This is a Guinness Gingerbread Cranberry Cupcake with cream cheese frosting and fresh cranberry sauce...


* Voting will begin no later than Sunday, November 30 at 8 p.m. at NO ONE PUTS CUPCAKE IN A CORNER and will be open through Friday, December 5 at 12 noon.
* Winner will be posted the night of December 5, before 11:59 p.m.

There are many cool prizes I can win (and maybe even share) if you VOTE for me!

Our November ETSY PRIZE-PACK is from artists:
* LOLLIPOP WORKSHOP
* COOKIE SUNSHINE
* as well as a pair of cupcake earrings from LOTS OF SPRINKLES.
* PLUS, IronCupcake:Earth is excited to welcome back CAKESPY, who is now going to be doing a piece for our winner each month until further notice - sweet!

As an added bonus for November only we have a delicious apron complements of SWEET CUPPIN CAKES BAKERY AND CUPCAKERY SUPPLY.

Last and certainly not least, don’t forget our corporate prize providers: HEAD CHEFS by FIESTA PRODUCTS, HELLO CUPCAKE by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson, JESSIE STEELE APRONS; the CUPCAKE COURIER ; TASTE OF HOME books. Iron Cupcake:Earth is sponsored in part by 1-800-Flowers.

Happy Holidays Everyone!
Cheers!
Nicole

----------------------

Guinness Gingerbread Cuppies with Cranberries and Cream Cheese Frosting
(Concept inspired by Dessert Lounge. I then modified a Gingerbread cupcake recipe from Vegan Cupcakes Take over the World, and made up the rest.)

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
3 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup light molasses (I used blackstrap molasses plus 1 Tbsp brown sugar)
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup soy milk (or silk creamer)
1/4 cup Guinness Stout (or other stout will work fine)
~1 cup coarsely chopped fresh cranberries


Cream Cheese Frosting:
½ cup vegan butter, softened
½ cup vegan cream cheese, softened
4 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cranberry Sauce:
1 cup fresh whole cranberries
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
zest of one orange
juice of one orange


FOR CUPCAKES:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin pan with paper cupcake liners.

Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. Whisk together remaining ingredients in a separate bowl. Stir flour mixture into the wet ingredients just until smooth. Fold in crystallized ginger & cranberries. Fill cupcake liners two-thirds full. Bake for 19-22 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Transfer to a rack and let cool completely before frosting.

FOR FROSTING:
Cream together butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer. Add powdered sugar, ½ cup at a time. Mix until smooth and creamy, adding vanilla. Adjust texture with additional sugar and/or a little soy milk if needed. Keep tightly covered and refrigerated until ready to use.


FOR CRANBERRY SAUCE:
Add water and sugar to sauce pan over medium heat. Heat until boiling, stir. Add cranberries, 10 minutes or so.orange zest and orange juice. Stir occasionally until cranberries pop, and sauce thickens - about

Forever People

Ok, I admit it. I am not a good blogger.
I have not blogged in forever!
Please do note that I have in fact made fancy cupcakes since basil challenge.
They appear in the slideshow to the right - from Flickr.
There were many many spectacular Halloween appearances from Cupquake.
I just didn't blog about them. Sorry.

However, this evening, I have baked up the next Iron Cupcake treat.
Next post will certainly have all the expected info.
Just know, that it involved Beer. Cranberries. Ginger. and cream cheese.
Yum.

Deadline for entries is the 24th (monday).
Voting will begin no later than Sunday, November 30 at 8 p.m. at NO ONE PUTS CUPCAKE IN A CORNER, http://mkecupcakequeen.blogspot.com and will be open through Friday, December 5 at 12 noon.

Also forthcoming, will be photos of my little girl's 5th Birthday cake supreme. Featuring a Mermaid Barbie perched upon a little sandy island floating in a vast blue ocean filled with treasures, and creatures. I hope. Assuming it comes out to be photo-worthy. I'm a little scared.
And I think i plan to stick with cupcakes.
Cakes are highly intimidating.

xoxo

Basil Iron Cupcake Voting now open

Don't forget to go vote for Iron Cupcake: Earth, Basil
before Thursday Oct. 2 at noon CST.

Go to No One Puts Cupcake in a Corner to vote & see all the entries for the Basil challenge.

Thanks!

Pineapple Basil Cupcake

Here is the second installment in the Iron Cupcake: Earth challenge...Basil. This month I am entering a light and delicate lemon infused cupcake filled with fresh pineapple compote laced with basil syrup and topped with vanilla basil frosting. It turned out very well if I do say so myself. The basil is a nice addition to the sweet pineapple filling. It's refreshing even. A nice way to say goodbye to summer, and to use up some of the giant basil plants in the garden!

Voting will begin on Sunday, September 28 at 12 noon CST at NO ONE PUTS CUPCAKE IN A CORNER and will be open through Thursday, October 1 at 12 noon.
The Winner will be posted on that same blog page the night of October 1, before 11:59 p.m.

The prizes are fabulous, as usual...I sure would love this ring by ETSY artist METAL SUGAR.
And the monthly prizes from the corporate sponsors are super too, and include:
The complete line of HEAD  CHEFS from Fiesta Products ; a copy of the new book HELLO, CUPCAKE; a luxury hostess apron from JESSIE STEELE; the next generation of the CUPCAKE COURIER; and a new publication from the library of TASTE OF HOME BOOKS.

* * * * * * * * * *

Lemon Cupcakes
(Slightly tweaked version of Golden Vanilla Cupcake recipe from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World.)

Ingredients:

1 cup soy milk
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
¾ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
⅓ cup canola oil
¾ cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1¼ tsp. lemon extract
zest of one lemon, grated

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin pan with cupcake liners.
2. Whisk the soy milk and vinegar in a measuring cup and set aside for a few minutes to get good and curdled.
3. Sift the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl and mix.
4. In a separate large bowl, use a handheld mixer at medium speed to Beat together the soy milk mixture, oil, sugar, vanilla, and other extracts, if using, in a large bowl.
5. Add dry ingredients to liquid ingredients and mix until no large lumps remain.
6. Stir in lemon zest.
7. Fill cupcake liners two-thirds of the way and bake for 20 to 22 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack, and let cool completely before frosting.


Basil Simple Syrup
Yield
Makes about 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 cup loosely packed fresh basil

Preparation

1. Stir together all 3 ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, and boil 1 minute or until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat, and let stand 30 minutes. Pour liquid through a wire-mesh strainer into an airtight container, discarding basil. Cover and chill 4 hours. Syrup may be stored in refrigerator up to 1 month.
(I learned that you can also make basil martinis and other concoctions with the leftover syrup... Google it!)

Pineapple filling

1/2 c. sugar
2 tbsp. cornstarch
1 tbsp. butter
1 1/2 c. drained, crushed pineapple
4 Tbsp. basil simple syrup
Dash salt
Pinch nutmeg

Combine ingredients, cook stirring constantly until thick and clear. Cool before using.

To fill cupcakes, cut a circular cone shape from the top of the cooled cupcake with a small knife. Excavate a little larger cavity in there for the filling to fit using a small spoon or knife. Pipe the filling into the hole. Cut the point off of the removed cone, and replace the "lid" of the cone on top of the filled cake. Eat the little cone shaped part of the cupcake that you don't need :)


Vanilla Basil Frosting

1/2 cup soy margarine, softened
1/4 cup soy milk
3 cups Powdered Sugar (plus more if needed)
1 t. vanilla
3 Tbsp. Basil simple syrup
6 chopped basil leaves

Using an electric mixer cream together the soy margarine and soy milk. Add half of the sugar, and beat well. Add the remaining ingredients and continue to beat the mixture until light and fluffy. If too runny, add more powdered sugar a teaspoon at a time; and if too thick, add more soy milk one teaspoon at a time.

The Basil that just won't quit

So, Expect to see another very special cupcake here, next week...
Iron Cupcake:Earth -- Challenge ingredient Basil will be posted next week.

Voting will take place beginning Sunday, September 28th at 12noon CST.

I'm pretty excited, as the basil plants in our garden will not stop growing! They are giant, and ready to compete in a delicious cupcake! :)

Rock the Vote!

Please, go vote for my Cupquake entered in the Iron Cupcake: Earth challenge today!

Remember, voting ends Thursday the 4th at noon CST.

Thanks everyone who has already voted!
:)

Iron Cupcake:Earth, Chili Pepper

By now you all know that I have been "working" on my cupcake entry for the Iron Cupcake challenge for the entire month of August. Well, today I'm finally finished with it. It's been a lengthy process filled with deep contemplation, recipe seeking and tweaking, and design planning. I think I did a pretty damn good job on it! I'm not a fan of spicy food, but my husband LOVES hot stuff. So he was my guinea pig yesterday while I baked. I've been giving these to anyone who will dare to eat one, and have received nothing but pleasant surprise and praise by all. I even tried one myself and was very happy with the results. The filling (and frosting) really offset the warm heat of the chilis. Plus it's all gooey and yummy.

So, here it is -- my Chocolate Chipotle del Muertos -- a chocolate chipotle cake filled with lime pudding, topped with lime cream cheese frosting, and of course, a fondant sugar skull and chilis. Because I believe that skulls look good on everything!

Now, onto the serious part... VOTE FOR ME!!!

To vote, go to No One Puts Cupcake in a Corner
Voting will start on August 31st and run through September 4th.

There are cool prizes that have been donated for this competition, and you can help me win them! The winner gets all this:
The complete line of HEAD  CHEFS from Fiesta Products , a copy of the new book HELLO, CUPCAKE, a one-of-a-kind piece of original CAKESPY art by ETSY artist Jessie Oleson; a luxury hostess apron from JESSIE STEELE; the next generation of the CUPCAKE COURIER; and a new publication from the library of TASTE OF HOME BOOKS.

You can view all the entries for Iron Cupcake on the IRONCUPCAKE FLICKR GROUP page.

---

Chocolate Chipotle Cupcake:
(Modified Basic Chocolate Cupcake from VCTOTW)

1 cup soy milk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder, Dutch processed
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 chipotle peppers, seeded and minced (I used chipotles in adobo sauce)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line muffin pan with paper or foil liners.
2. Whisk together soy milk and vinegar in a large bowl, and set aside for a few minutes to curdle. Add the sugar, oil, vanilla extract to the soy milk mixture and beat till foamy. Stir in chipotle peppers. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add in two batches to wet ingredients and beat till no large lumps remain.
3. Pour into liners, filling three quarters of the way. Bake 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to cooling rack and let cool completely.
- - -

Lime Pudding Filling:
1 pkg Mori-Nu silken firm tofu
8 oz soy cream cheese
1/2 cup persian lime juice
2 teaspoon grated lime zest
2 pkgs Mori-Nu Mates vanilla pudding mix
1 tablespoon liquid sweetener (I used maple syrup)


Drain water from the tofu. In a food processor blend tofu and lime juice until creamy and smooth - about a minute or so. Add the rest of the ingredients, and blend again until smooth - for about 3 minutes. Allow to chill 2-3 hours or until firm.

- - -

Lime Cream Cheese Frosting:

8 tablespoons margarine, softened
8 ounces Tofutti Cream Cheese
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 teaspoon lime zest
4 to 5 cups confectioners sugar

Cream together butter, cream cheese, lime juice and zest with an electric mixer. Add 4 cups confectioners sugar one cup at a time and continue beating. If frosting is too thin add more confectioners sugar, one tablespoon at a time until proper consistency is reached.

Peanut buttery Goodness

Peanut buttery Goodness
Originally uploaded by nicoleisvegan

I made a quick batch of vanilla cupcakes yesterday for Raise Studio's PR firm to sample. They looked boring with just the ganache on them, so this morning before our noon meeting (and cupcake hand-off time), i whipped up some peanut butter frosting from VCTOTW and piped it on there. I hadn't made it before, and wow! is it yummy. I even was kind enough to save a beater for Em to enjoy when she got home from school. (She promptly asked for another beater to lick).
Anyhow, I only made a dozen, so kevin & i didn't get to sample them. I'll need to make this again, or at least the peanut butter frosting!

Oh, and I should have my Iron Cupcake:Earth (chili peppers) entry up within a couple days. I just haven't had the time to make them yet! Voting will start on August 31st at 12 noon CST and close on September 4th at noon CST. Voting takes place at http://mkecupcakequeen.blogspot.com NO ONE PUTS CUPCAKE IN A CORNER.

Cheers!

Again with the lavender...

lavender4
Originally uploaded by nicoleisvegan

This time around they were even better. I think i'll add this one to my repertoire. They were so good in fact, that the birthday girl ate many more than she ought to have. (you know i love you r.)
The photographs are better this time as well - the first ones (below) were somewhat of a rush job : )

Lavender Cupcake

This is my latest obsession.
I was determined to make a cupcake using lavender buds. I have to admit that at first i didn't even know where to acquire lavender for cooking! But alas, the farmers market carries culinary lavender - and it was cheap, too!

Next issue: I wasn't sure how to get the lavender in there. But the expansive knowledge base that is the internet was a real help! I simmered a few tablespoons of the buds in soy milk (thanks to The Cupcake Underground for the idea)- which is part of the chocolate cupcake recipe I used from VCTOTW. It gave it just enough flavor to be noticeable, but not bitter. My house smelled fantastic while they baked!
I made lemon cream cheese frosting and grated a lavender chocolate bar on top.

The ones I shared with others for a friend's birthday had little purple sage flowers and sprigs of lavender leaves on top, but we didn't have time to take pictures :(

Everyone really liked them. I must say they are pretty grown up though. Not sure how kids other than mine would like them.

I made more today, which will be photograph-able tomorrow, once frosted. I think they might be even better than the first batch!

Iron Cupcake Ingredient Announced!

Well, it's official, the challenge ingredient for the Iron Cupcake: Earth competition this month is Chili Pepper. Kevin will love this - all that taste testing he'll get to do. Emily, I'm guessing will not be as happy, as she likes to lick the spatula and beaters : (
I'm already beginning my research and brainstorming...luckily I have a full 4 weeks to work on it.
How fun!

Iron Cupcake: Earth

I'm excited to say that I've been invited to participate in a cupcake challenge called Iron Cupcake: Earth! You can read about it here: http://ironcupcake.blogspot.com/



So be sure to check back here during August to see how my recipe is progressing.
I just hope the challenge ingredient is vegan so I can play too!

I'm on Cupcakestakethecake Blog!

Check it out!
The cupcake bloggers, Cupcakes Take The Cake, have put up a spotlight on my Flickr.com cupcake photos! And they know a lot about cupcakes...go see it:

http://cupcakestakethecake.blogspot.com/2008/07/spotlight-on-flickr-user-nicoleisvegan.html

Sorry I haven't posted in so long here. All this social networking is taking a lot out of me...

Cheers!

More Cupcakes!

Sunday, April 13th It is starting to look like we don't eat dinner anymore. However, I assure you, we are still eating other things besides baked goods :) Dinners have been pretty "regular" lately and not that photo worthy... Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcakes on the other hand photograph so beautifully we couldn't resist!

Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes

April 5th
OK, after doing the vanilla filled cupcakes last week, I just had to try another! These are filled with home made raspberry yumminess - cross between jam, syrup and pudding. Don't ask how I made it - it took me hours to get the right consistency. But it turned out great in the end.

Chocolate Cupcake Surprise

Dessert, Thursday April 3rd

Chocolate Cupcakes filled with vanilla pudding and topped with ganache. I am very happy about how these came out. I might never make a vanilla cupcake again! And I look forward to trying different fillings too.

Mexican Chili-Stew

Dinner, Thursday March 19th


Again with the long lost photos and slack blogging practices...
This was a yummy hearty chili with TVP, kidney and black beans, corn, onion and of course avocado to top it off. Everything is better with avocado.

Birthday Cupcakes

Vanilla cupcakes with lavender frosting

March 8th
I've been delinquent about this blog. I made these almost a month ago!
Anyhow, these were my first "decorated" cupcakes. They were for my husband's birthday. I used rolled fondant for the flowers. It was quite the learning experience. They came out pretty well for a first attempt, I thought.

Grilled Tofu

Orange Ginger Glazed grilled Tofu with pasta salad

March 30th

Easter Cupcakes

Spring Flower Cupcakes
I made these cuppies for our annual easter egg hunt. Yellow vegan cake with piped "grass" and fondant flowers. They were a hit!

Thai Peanut Tofu with Broccoli, Asparagus & Avocado

Dinner, Saturday, March 1st

Friday night Pizza & Blackberry Crumble with Vanilla Ice Cream

Dinner, Friday, February 29th

Spicy Tofu Bento Bowl

Dinner, February 25th, Monday

Eggplant Parmesan

Dinner February 24th

"Beef" with Broccoli

Dinner February 23rd

Waffles & Blueberries

Breakfast February 23rd

Mmmmm....Pizza

Dinner February 22nd

White Bean and Kale Soup

Dinner, February 21st

Spaghetti with "Meat" sauce, Fresh Basil and "Feta"

Dinner, February 19th

Spinach Manicotti, Salad with Toasted Pecans and Dried Cranberries

Dinner February 15th

Corn Meal Crusted Tofu, Fire Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato Soup, Salad with Pickled Beets. Chocolate, Chocolate Chip Mini Cakes

Valentine's Dinner - February 14th

Tofu, Brown Rice, Broccoli

Dinner February 12th

Chik'n with Orange Sauce, Roasted New Potatoes, Garlic Green Beans

Dinner, February 9th

Tacos

Dinner February 8

Broiled Tofu, Kale with Balsamic Reduction, and Sweet Potato Fries

Dinner February 7th

Pasta e Fagioli with Spinach and Cheese

Dinner February 6th

Corn Meal Crusted Tofu, Roasted Butternut Squash & Broiled Brussel Sprouts

Dinner February 5th