Fegan Baking

vegan red velvet cake

it’s a rainy day here in norfolk, and i’m baking a bittersweet cake. my manager jenny is getting transferred to another starbucks, and i’m going to miss her a lot :/ but, we’re having a little going away party for her tomorrow, so i’m going to surprise her with a yummy farewell cake!

VEGAN RED VELVET CAKE

2 1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. cocoa
1/2. c vegetable shortening
1 1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. applesauce
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. almond milk
as much red food dye as you want
1 tsp. vinegar
1 tsp. baking soda

mix together flour, salt and cocoa. set this mixture aside

in another bowl, combine shortening, sugar, applesauce and vanilla, and beat with a fork until fluffy

in yet another bowl, whisk together the almond milk and red food coloring

add the flour mixture and almond milk mixtures to the shortening mixture like this: 1/2 the flour mixture, almond milk mixutre, 1/2 the flour mixture. mix well!

in a small cup, mix the vinegar and baking soda. let bubble for a moment, and then quickly fold into cake batter

bake at 350* for about 20 minutes

i iced this sucker with vegan buttercream frosting - a great alternative to the usual cream cheese frosting

this cake was a big hit with my co-workers!

vegan avocado cupcakes

i found this recipe a while ago, and am stoked to finally try it out! i never liked avocado at all until recently for some reason, and now i can’t get enough of it. in a vegan diet, it’s an awesome way to add flavor and texture to foods, and moisture to your baking. plus avocado has such a refreshing flavor! perfect for warm spring days :)

VEGAN AVOCADO CUPCAKES

1 1/2 c. flour
3 tbsp. cocoa
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 soft, super ripe avocados
1 c. water
1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
2 tsp. vanilla
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. lemon juice
tons of extra sugar for frosting

mix flour, cocoa, salt, and baking soda together in a large bowl. now mash the avocado!

i mashed half of a medium-sized avocado

mash until no big chunks remain. mix 1/4 c. of the mashed avocado together in a small bowl with vegetable oil, water, vinegar and vanilla until well blended. add the sugar and mix well again. combine the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until smooth

bake at 350* for 20 minutes. yields about 20 cupcakes

these came out of the oven smelling super rich and chocolatey!

for the frosting, mash an avocado with the lemon juice until no big chunks of avocado remain. add sugar and mix fiercely until it reaches desired consistency. then mix in the vanilla. this is honestly the easiest frosting i’ve ever made from scratch! so yummy - it retained the flavor and texture of the avocado a bit, but ultimately just tasted sweet and fresh

these were so fun and unique! definitely a refreshing taste

vegan pb&j cupcakes

i’m leaving for sxsw tomorrow morning!!! i’m so excited i can’t sleep, and when i can’t sleep, friends and cupcakes keep me company :)

VEGAN PB&J CUPCAKES

6 tbsp. vegetable shortening
1 c. peanut butter
1 1/3 c. brown sugar
3/4 c. applesauce
1 tsp. vanilla
3 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 c. almond milk
gelatin-free jelly

mix shortening, peanut butter and brown sugar til creamy. add applesauce and vanilla, and mix well once more. in a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. add the flour mixture to the wet mixture gradually, alternating with additions of almond milk til well-mixed

this is the first time i’ve used my fancy pan that’s for making filled cupcakes! my friend michelle got it for me for christmas

bake at 350* for about 15-18 minutes

using the fancy cupcake pan, the cupcakes come out like this - one half has a cutout space for the filling, and the other half is the “top” of the cupcake that goes on once the inside is filled. if you don’t have access to baking swag like mine, you can easily make the cupcakes in a normal cupcake pan and cut out the middles for filling

once the filling was in and the tops were on, i iced these badboys with peanut butter buttercream frosting; i just used my usual vegan buttercream frosting recipe, and added peanut butter to taste

rusty ranks as one of my favorite friends and as resident twin peaks expert of virginia beach he has approved these cupcakes

vegan chocolate stout cake

VEGAN CHOCOLATE STOUT CAKE

1. c stout
1 c. vegetable shortening
3/4 c. cocoa
2 c. flour
2. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. applesauce
2/3 c. soy “yogurt”
1 c. chocolate chips
kahlua
starbucks via

simmer stout and shortening together until shortening is melted and the mixture is smooth

add cocoa, and whisk until smooth. remove from heat

mix flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in a medium-sized bowl. separately, in a large bowl, mix applesauce and yogurt just til combined. add the stout-chocolate mixture to the applesauce-yogurt mixture and beat til smooth

then add the flour mixture to the chocolatey mixture, and mix well!

bake at 350* for about 25 minutes. i used two 8-inch round baking pans, greased with vegetable shortening :)

when the cake was cooled, i added a yummy kahlua ganache mmm! to make one like mine, melt chocolate pieces on the stove, and add kahlua and starbucks via instant coffee to taste

i went crazy with the ganache and just poured it all over the cake once it cooled YUM! a piece of this ooey gooey cake will get you buzzed ;)

vegan lemon dainties

a bunch of rainy icky days in a row have left me yearning for summer. and when i crave summer, for some reason i really want to bake light, lemony goodies!

VEGAN LEMON DAINTIES

1/2 c. vegetable shortening
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. applesauce
2 tbsp. lemon juice
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder

beat the shortening and sugar together until super smooth. then add applesauce and lemon juice, and beat until well-mixed. add flour and baking soda, and mix well again! super simple, and can all be done in one bowl

roll the dough and chill until fully cooled. (i left mine in the fridge for about three hours)

slice super thin, and they’re ready to bake! these cookies are so tiny and cute :) bake at 350* for about 9 minutes

these cookies are super easy to make, super yummy, and have a nice lemony crunch to them. they were perfect for a night of munching and watching twin peaks :)

vegan strawberry lemonade cupcakes

i don’t know how the weather is in your neck of the woods, but here on the east coast everyone is stoked on the 70* and sunny day we are having - except me :(

i’ve been fighting a losing battle with a cold for a week now, so i’m the loser inside alternating between naps and watching friends on dvd with a cup of tea. since i’m not feeling up to enjoying the beautiful outdoors, i figured i’d make a nice sunny springtime cupcake to cheer me up :)

VEGAN STRAWBERRY LEMONADE CUPCAKES

1 3/4 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. applesauce
1/8 c. almond milk
1/2 c. lemon juice
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1 c. fresh strawberries

mix flour, baking soda and sugar in a small bowl. in a larger bowl, beat together applesauce, almond millk, lemon juice, oil and vanilla until well-blended

crush the strawberries! this is always my favorite part of baking with fresh fruit. i cut the strawberries into smaller pieces first to make it a little bit easier

add the crushed berries to the wet mixture and mix! beat in the flour mixture until smooth, but with berry pieces still visible

bake at 350* for about 15 minutes

i love how different every cupcake smells coming out of the oven! these seriously reminded me of summertime - lemony and sweet

i cheated this time with the frosting because PINK buttercream frosting was on sale at the cake and wine hobby store - PERFECT!!!

vegan coconut macaroons

while i was in seattle, my friend recommended this awesome vegan bakery called flying apron. it was in fremont, which ended up being my favorite neighborhood out there!

while i was there, i got a DELICIOUS vegan coconut macaroon! as you can tell from the picture, i scarfed most of it down before i could even think to take a picture of it - it was so good!

thus, i was inspired to mimic these at home :)

VEGAN COCONUT MACAROONS

2 c. shredded coconut
3 tbsp. flour
3/4 c. almond milk
6 tbsp. real maple syrup
1/2 tsp. vanilla
a pinch of salt

combine all ingredients, and cook on stovetop until solid enough to scoop into balls

then they’re ready to bake! i made mine in a cupcake pan

bake at 350* for about 16 minutes

after they cooled, i poured melted chocolate on top of them for a little extra yum! and i added fun valentine’s sprinkles, just to be festive. you know how i love sprinkles!

these macaroons are one of my proudest baking achievements :) so simple, so awesome! i shared them at a production meeting and they were a big hit

vegan oatmeal cookies

i am always really scared to even attempt making oatmeal cookies because my mom makes the best oatmeal cookies in the whole wide world. here goes nothing!

VEGAN OATMEAL COOKIES

1/2 c. vegetable shortening
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. applesauce
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
3 c. oatmeal
1 c. raisins if you want, but personally i hate raisins in my cookies

in a large bowl, beat shortening and sugars until creamy. add applesauce and vanilla, and beat well. add flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt, and mix well. add oats (and raisins if you want), mixing well one last time! bake at 350* for 8-10 minutes

i’ll be honest - these aren’t as good as my mom’s :(

but for a quick and easy, one-bowl vegan treat, they’re pretty darn good!

vegan woodchuck hard cider cupcakes

one of the reasons i started baking as frequently as i do is that i need the excuse to just be home sometimes; i’m such a type a personality freak that i need something in the oven to keep me from rushing out the door to socialize or run errands every five minutes. i need nights like this - cupcakes in the oven, sitting at my awesome yellow kitchen table doing biology homework in my pajamas. it’s the little things :)

woodchuck cupcakes have been on my baking to-do list for some time now! although i don’t really drink these days, i love woodchuck! when i moved into my current place i wrote woodchuck cidery a letter asking them to “sponsor” my apartment. instead they sent me a set of beer tumblers, so that’s pretty cool. ANYWHO, knowing how much i love woodchuck my friends often dare me to make woodchuck cupcakes, so here we go!

VEGAN WOODCHUCK CUPCAKES

2 1/2 c. flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 c. vegetable shortening
1 3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. applesauce
1 tsp. vanilla
apple
cinnamon
1 c. woodchuck (any variety)
1/4 c. almond milk

in a small bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt. in a large bowl beat together shortening and sugar, adding the sugar a little at a time (i did this increments of 1/4 c.) and beating with each addition. add the applesauce, and mix well. add vanilla and just a pinch of cinnamon, stirring well. mix in about 2 tsp. of finely chopped apples

mix beer and almond milk in a separate bowl. alternately add the beer mixture and the flour mixture to the shortening mixture, stirring with each addition. once everything’s all mixed up, you’re all set!

bake at 375* for 18 minutes. yields 24 yummy cupcakes!

i iced these with buttercream frosting [http://feganbaking.tumblr.com/post/14737510079/vegan-buttercream-frosting]. can you tell that’s my favorite go-to frosting? it seriously goes awesome with everything! i also used apple slices as decoration

these cupcakes have the tartness of a woodchuck, cut by the sweetness of the frosting - perfection! (if i do say so myself)

homemade “samoas”

remember when i admitted i was a “fegan” - a fake vegan? this is one of those times that something super yummy comes along and i just can’t resist baking it, even if veganizing it proves impossible. it’s the caramel that ruins these for vegans

but an imitation girl scout cookie?! i seriously couldn’t help myself

HOMEMADE “SAMOAS”

1 c. margarine
1/2 c. sugar
2 c. flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla
coconut
chewy caramel
dark chocolate

cream butter and sugar together in a large bowl. add flour, baking powder, salt and vanilla, mixing well with each addition. the dough’s consistency should end up like cookie dough - somewhat sticky, but not so sticky you can’t reasonably work with it

roll the dough out on a flat surface, using flour as needed to prevent stickiness. a word to the wise - don’t roll it out too thin, or your cookies will break easily!

as per the suggestion of abigailmarguerite [http://abigailmarguerite.tumblr.com/], i used a glass to cut cookies about 1 1/2 inches in diameter

i just used a knife to cut out the circular centers

bake at 350* for about 9 minutes

let these cool completely! if they’re not completely cool when you add topping, disaster will strike

as for the topping! toast the coconut (i used about half of a 12 oz. bag) evenly spread on a baking sheet at 200* for about 35 min. i checked on it every few minutes and stirred it up though, which i recommend because everyone’s oven is different

once the coconut is a slight toasty brown, microwave-melt a 12 oz. bag of caramels (microwaving about 30 seconds at a time, stirring as you go). once completely melted, mix in the toasted caramel

this step of making samoas requires an enormous amount of patience. as the caramel cools, it gets increasingly difficult to work with. i ended up primarily using my hands to shape the coconut-caramel topping on each round cookie

finally, melt the chocolate (again, i used the microwave, using 30-second increments and lots of stirring). dip the bottom of each cookie in the melted chocolate, placing it on a sheet of parchment after dipping. once all cookies are dipped, use remaining chocolate to create classic samoa designs on top of the cookies. let cool completely

and there you have it! cookies that look convincingly like girl scouts’ samoas, but taste even better ;)

to be honest, i would only recommend trying to make these cookies if you have a fair amount of time to dedicate to them. while the recipe is pretty easy, it has a lot of time-consuming steps, and as i said, the caramel and chocolate construction portion of the recipe requires a LOT of patience. that being said, they were really delicious! and well-worth the trouble. my roommate, who is a giant fan of samoas, approved the slightly different taste