Strawberry, Lemon Cupcakes

Amidst all the rain, and my birthday around the corner, I sought to bring some light into the gloomy days. I decided I wanted lemon... lemon what though? I have no idea how to make a vegan meringue, so lemon meringue pie was out of the question. I do enjoy lemon bars and found a recipe from Veggie Wedgie (that I can't wait to try), but I figured if it is a birthday I'm destined to have cake. I found these Lemon Cupcakes filled with Homemade Strawberry Preserves and topped with a Lemon Butter Cream frosting. I wanted to make them a tad healthier then the average cupcake, so I swapped out the sugar in the preserves and cake for agave, and added in some whole wheat flour. The frosting however purely sugar. Has anyone created a nice frosting without any of that deliciously, hated white "stuff"? Overall these cupcakes had an incredibly bright lemon flavor. The only downside was they weren't exactly fluffy and light. They weren't dense but moist once again. I can't seem to break free from the moistness in my baked goods. Most likely its because of the liquid sweetener. So I've thought up some suggestions in the recipe on how to fix it. 

A.) Add a tad more flour

B.) A tad more baking soda

C.) Less coconut milk

I am determined to perfect this recipe and make it a solid staple under my mum's roof. Let me know if any of the suggestions make a nice light cake. Everyone enjoy the spring air! 

Strawberry filled Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Butter Cream

Adapted from: Love & Olive Oil

Makes 12

Ingredients

Cupcake

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/4-1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/3-1/2 cup agave

1/3 cup oil

1 cup coconut milk

2 tsp vanilla

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp lemon zest

Preserves

2 1/2 cups chopped strawberries (next time I'll try rhubarb)

1/3 cup agave

1 tsp cornstarch

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 tsp lemon zest

Butter Cream Frosting

1/2 cup earth balance

3 cups confectioners sugar

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tsp lemon zest 

2 tsp-1 tablespoon soy creamer

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F

Start with preserves and frosting as they both will need to chill.

Preserves: Mix cornstarch and lemon juice together to fully dissolve. Place berries in medium heavy saucepan along with agave, lemon juice mixture, and zest. Lightly mash berries and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly. Cook over low heat for 20 minutes or until preserves coat the back of a spoon. They will seem a bit runny. Remove from heat, transfer to a heat-safe container, and allow to cool at room temperature for 15 minutes. Move to refrigerator and chill for 1 hour or until set.

Butter Cream Frosting: Cream butter in electric mixer for 1-2 minutes until fluffy. Slowly add confectioners’ sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, until mixture is smooth. Add lemon juice and zest and mix until combined. Add creamer and mix at medium-high speed until light and fluffy (2-3 minutes).

Cupcakes: In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk together agave, oil, coconut milk, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Mix until relatively smooth. Fill cupcake liners with a scant 1/4 cup of batter (should be just under 2/3 of the way full). Bake for 25 minutes or until golden, and toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to cooling rack and allow to cool completely.

Assembly: Cut a cone-shaped piece out of the tops of cooled cupcakes, approximately 3/4" in diameter and set aside. Fill cavities with chilled preserves, and replace tops of cupcakes. Pipe on frosting, being sure to cover the seams.

Little Village

This week has just been "one of those weeks".  It started last Wednesday.. and has continuously been rolling over into the next day and most likely this snowball effect will keep building until Tuesday. 

Thoughts of the Week...

As I crave to run, the clouds relinquish tears and winds howl.  

For lent I am trying to give up eating out. On Friday I had a taco, Saturday a wrap, Tuesday a smoothie... 

Solid good fact about the rain, you can put off washing your car for a few more days

5 cookies + 1 cookie + ice cream + other nightly goodies = a (backwards) step in the right direction

When I'm fifty I'll drink coffee as my 3 meals per day

Wet Tom's means frozen toes.

Has her heart set on a Subaru . 

Will never stop adoring Jamie Oliver.

Desires hydrangea decorated cupcakes for birthday.

What juicer is the juicer for me?!

Summer classes, summer classes, summer classes. Why must I take you?

Sweden. I want to travel to Sweden. 

... and PLENTY of other random thoughts.

Lesson of the Week: "There always seems to be something naggingly imperfect in life. We have the idea that if we could only get it all together, attain some imagined state of complete wholeness and authenticity, everything would be great. Being happy is about being able to relax into the imperfect nature of our experience, not about finally having everything just the way we want it." -Whole Living Magazine

   

Seen above: Cranberry Scones- love the rustic texture! 

The Eclair Bakery in Arroyo Grande, California. Though it is not a vegan bakery in particular, they do seem to carry on a daily basis a vegan cupcake (usually chocolate with buttercream) and a chocolate, blueberry cookie. This cookie is divine! Its soft, chewy, and moist. With each bite you have either that chewy dried blueberry, or a creamy melted chocolate chip. Have it along side a cup of coffee and you can see heaven's gates open. So if you are ever in my little town of Arroyo Grande, do stop at the Eclair Bakery and pick yourself up something sweet to try. The scone I bought today makes me want to bake some vegan scones. Pear and Ginger possibly? I have a wacky idea of wrapping them in phyllo dough before baking as well...

Down below: chocolate cupcake, with buttercream frosting, dipped in chocolate ganache. 

My hearty friend- the artichoke. Largest one I have seen this beginning spring. He was only $3.50 at the farmers market on Saturday. I also purchased fresh asparagus, broccoli, sprouted beans, and strawberries. Have I mentioned how eager I am to make a strawberry rhubarb crumble? Delicate individual crumbles topped with a cashew cream or maybe a homemade coconut ice cream. Oh summer should come sooner! 

Fatty Burrito Bowls

I'd like to point out a disclaimer- I am not fond of this picture, but it is all I have to work with. I've noticed that I cook more than I post. About 80% of the time we tend to eat our grub immediately after it's finished. Plus I tend to be a much more scattered person while cooking. I have slowly begun working to prep the food in hopes of beating the 'pre-heat' timer. Then there is also the fact that I have to take everything I make to the outside world because of our ever-so-terrible lighting in the kitchen, Last week Ben and I made a vegetable lasagna with eggplant, zucchini, whole wheat pasta, and home made ricotta and tomato sauce. And once again has not appeared on this blog! Terrible isn't it? It was pretty tasty and the next time I shall make it as well as perfect it. Then you will all see! As for this dish it was good. Not the best, but good. I really enjoyed the sweet potatoes with the chili verde sauce. But honestly I really wanted it wrapped into a fatty burrito. Wouldn't you say fatty burritos make everything better! 

Fatty Burrito Bowls

Salsa Verde

1.5 pounds tomatillos

1/2 of a large yellow onion

1 jalapeno

2-3 garlic cloves

handful of cilantro

juice of one lime

Roasted Po-Tats

2 medium/large sweet potatoes peeled and diced into one inch cubes

1 tablespoon soy sauce

Juice of 2 limes (about 1 tablespoon)

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp olive oil. 

The Goods

black beans

cooked brown rice/whole wheat tortilla

avocado

tomatoes

corn

fresh cilantro

spinach leaves

Directions

1.) Preheat oven to 450 degrees F and line a baking sheet with foil

2.) Remove husks, wash, and chop tomatillos in half, also roughly chop garlic, onion, and jalapeno (I removed seeds, but it actually might give it a nice kick with them left in). 

3.) Place all ingredients on to foil and roast for 30 minutes- until tomatillos begin to golden.

4.) Let cool for 20 minutes and then add to a food processor. Pulse for a bit until smooth.

5.) Add in cilantro and lime juice. Pulse again. 

1.) Preheat oven to 425 degrees F

2.)In a small bowl add soy sauce, lime juice, chili, oregano, and olive oil. Whisk together. 

3.) Drizzle over potatoes and toss together so that they are evenly coated.

4.) Place potatoes on to a baking sheet and bake for another 30 minutes.

1.) Cook rice according to packaged directions. 

2.) Layer spinach, rice, sweet potatoes (possibly smashed), beans, corn, avocado (smashed), tomatoes and salsa. 

3.) Enjoy! Feel free to add cheese, or sour cream as well. 

A Little Enjoyment

This week (thus so far) I have been thoroughly enjoying...

 These crazy beautiful head bands and all of Mignonne Handmade's other lovely pieces work! I definitely wouldn't mind owning one. Or all of them... hint hint... birthday in 7 days counting...

Sheenalu's blog! I have fallen in love with her blog. She's just about one of the cutest people I've discovered in the relmn of the blog world. Her photography is truly great, and her kids are just the darnedest models. I'm jealous of how much she runs! I want to run like that someday. I even brought up the idea of running a 10K to Ben... He said he might be able to do a 5K. At least it's a foot in the right direction!

These smooth, classic, creamy white heals that seem to contain an essence of spring. Their wooden-soles, literally "sole-d" me from Anthropologie.

Gemma Booth's absolute stunning photography. Just looking, admiring, and obsessing over her photographs I have been craving to take pictures. I want to build my coin collection and invest in another lens so I can start right away. 

The Soft Parade from Gemma Booth on Vimeo.

What things have YOU enjoyed this week??

Coconut Dessert Muffins

So I've been looking at a certain coconut cupcake recipe for over two weeks, and finally this evening i decided to give it a go! Sadly the recipe uses grams, and so forth. And I can tell you up front that I am terrible with that stuff... So I was left to decipher the recipe on my own. As I was making the icing, I had forgotten to let it simmer for ten minutes, and then the dough ended up being extremely thick. The look of it scared me, and made me sad at the same time. My hopes for a light and airy cupcake vanished instantly as the batter was dough on my spoon. I decided not to waste and try baking them anyways. While they were baking I took the icing out of the fridge to whip it... it didn't whip. Failure after failure it seemed. But i pressed on! 

They came out of the oven lightly dense but not doughy, mellow but not overly sweet, and covered with a deep earthy glaze. It went from a brutal start to a sweet and rewarding ending. 

Coconut CupCakes

  makes one dozen 

2 cups whole wheat flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup silken tofu

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup melted coconut oil

1/2 cup light coconut milk

1/2 cup full fat coconut milk* can substitute light also, may result in a lighter texture

2 Tbsp rum or apple juice or 1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a muffin tin with paper liners.

Sift together dry ingredients.

Cream together wet ingredients.

Scoop into muffin tins and bake for about 25 minutes.

Turn out of pan and let cool completely.

Coconut Icing

 could probably half the recipe and have enough 

1/2 cup full cat coconut milk

1/2 cup agave syrup

1/4 tsp salt

1 Tablespoon cornstarch

1 Tablespoon water

1/4 cup coconut oil

Let the milk, syrup, and salt simmer on medium heat for ten minutes.

Whisk the cornstarch and water together in a small bowl and add it to the saucepan.

Bring the mixture to a quick boil, remove from heat and whisk in the oil until fully welted. 

Let cool in the fridge until it is completely white again (two hours)

Cream with a hand-mixer and spread onto cupcakes.

Granola Di Alba

           Words can not even describe how delicious granola is. It has the ever perfect essence of crunch, chew, and sweetness that fills your heart with great warmth. I had been looking for that "perfect" granola recipe for days and nothing seemed to jump out of a blog through my screen. So I decided to just wing it. Not always a good approach, but one worth trying. Let me just say, I am more then 110% grateful I went with my gut instinct on this because it turned out like a charm! Enjoy this little delight on top of yogurt, ice cream, non-dairy milk, oatmeal, smoothies and whatever else you can come up with!

Granola Di Alba

1 1/4 cup puffed millet

1 1/4 cup roasted buckwheat

1 1/2 cup kamut flakes

1 cup sliced raw almonds

3/4 cup chopped macadamia nuts

1/4 cup golden flax seeds

1/2 cup pure maple syrup*

1/2 cup brown rice syrup 

3/4 cup chopped dried apricots

3/4 cup dried pears

1/2 cup dried currants

1/4-1/2 dried ginger

1/4-1/2 sea salt

Preheat your oven to 350 F
Mix the grains, nuts, flavorings and syrups all together. 
Lie across a lightly greased baking sheet or on top of parchment paper ( just beware you might be peeling it off like I had to ha)
Bake for 10 minutes and stir. Bake for another 10 minutes and stir once again. This time add all of your chopped dried fruits. Place back in the oven roughly for another three minutes. 
Let cool and break apart. 
Oh, and of course. Enjoy : )

*If you want a sweeter version add more maple syrup and less brown rice to equal a half a cup. Over all you should have four cups of grains, two cups of nuts, one cup of syrup and two cups of fruit. Try your own variation next time following these simple guidelines!*

* Try a gluten free version by swapping kamut flakes with quinoa flakes, buckwheat flakes, or G.F. oats*

Apple-n-Carrot Shortbread

     A couple of Monday's ago the boy and I fled north to the local town of Cambria. He was determined to skate, once again. So we gathered some friends and headed out for the day. It was a crisp clear day after a couple of days of heavy rain, and the ramps were dry and ready to go! Chelsea, Didi, and I decided we'd be better off walking the streets then watching some clumsy boys.... well, be boys. hah. While walking around we went to an antique store where I bought a darling little bowl to use in one of my photographs, eventually. Then I also purchased a Dino-cookie cutter. Uhm, can you say, "best purchase EVER"! If you can't tell, I am really excited. It was the best $0.27 I have ever spent. Instantly I had an urge to bake cut-out Dino-cookies. I've only tried one vegan sugar cookie before and don't get me wrong it was good, but I wanted to do a healthier cookie. Something unique like my Dino friend. After searching around some sites i had two choices. One by Green Kitchen Stores and one by 101 Cookbooks. I decided upon the latter, an apple and carrot shortbread cookie. With a healthy, vegan twist. Those two words have a blissful ring to them don't they?

Apple-N-Carrot Shortbread Cookies 

(adapted from 101 Cookbooks)

You're going to want to use metal (or sharp-edged) cookie cutters here, it will help cut through the shreds of apple/carrot more easily. 

1/4 cup semolina flour

1 1/2 cups spelt flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

6-7 tablespoons coconut oil

1/2 brown rice syrup

1/4 cup carrot, grated and loosely packed

1/2 grated apple, Braeburn (squeeze juice and leave  aside, only use if needed to moisten the dough )

zest of one lemon

almond milk

Preheat your oven to 350F degrees, or 180C.
Sift the semolina, flour, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl, and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, cream the coconut oil and brown rice syrup together until light and fluffy. 
Stir the carrot, apple, and lemon zest into the flour mixture, and mix until well coated and evenly dispersed. 
Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture until a dough forms, then knead a couple times to bring everything together. Split the dough in two, flatten each piece into an inch-thick patty, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least thirty minutes.
When you're ready to bake the shortbread, roll the dough out onto a lightly floured surface 1/2-inch thick/1cm. Use a metal cutters to stamp out cookies, then place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush lightly with a bit of milk and bake for about 10-12 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies start to brown just a bit.
Makes about 3 dozen cookies.
*Variation- roll into small balls and press an indented thumbprint in the center, fill with unsweetened peach jam and bake*
{Also, If ever in Cambria, try Robin's Restaurant and check out The Garden Shed. Both two super cute fun places to see on a little day trip}