#19 Chocolate & Curry with Lemongras scented coconut cream icing

These are, in my opinion, by far the best cupcakes I have EVER MADE. They're light and moist and really pack a curry punch. The icing is too sweet, but I always find icing too sweet (others will probably also find this too sweet, though. It's hella sweet.)

Inspired by Vosges Naga bar, and using some chips from Vosges, these are absolutely perfect. PERFECT.

I took the recipe from Vegan Cupcakes take Over the World, for both frosting and cupcake, and added curry, naga chips, replaced soymilk with coconut milk in both, and walla, perfect cupcakes.

Cupcakes (12)

1 cup coconut milk
1 teaspoon vinegar
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup oil
1.5 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup flour
1/3 cup cocoa
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

5 or so tablespoons of curry powder
1 bag (minus what you've munched on) Naga Chips, chopped

Mix coconut milk and vinegar, set aside to curdle (yum!). Mix oil, sugar, vanilla. Add to curdled milk.
Mix flour, cocoa, bs, bp, salt. Add to wet in two batches. I sifted the dry directly into the milky stuff, and blended halfway through. Because I didn't want to wash three bowls.

At the end, add the chopped naga, and as much curry powder as you like. I added more than I thought I needed, cos in baking the flavour is lessened. Keep tasting the tasty, tasty batter until you like it.

Bake 20 minutes at 350

Icing
1/4 cup shortening
1/4 cup margerine
1.75 cups icing sugar
1/8 cup coconut milk infused with lemongrass

To infuse coconut milk: Sounds fancy, but I just threw some lemongrass into some coconut milk and let it sit overnight.

Mix shortening and margerine until 'light and fluffy'. (2-3 minutes)
Add sugar. Mix until lighter and fluffier. (2-4 minutes)
Add coconut milk. Mix again (7-10 minutes).

Fridge a bit so it's harder and easier to pipe. Put in plastic baggie, seal, cut off edge, and glom onto cupcakes.

Enjoy.

#18 Cosmopolitan

Long time no cupcake. Life, it has been busy.

I made these last night cos I had some cranberry juice laying around, and I know I'm like 6 weeks behind, so I've got to get in gear.

I baked them up, took them out of the oven, and went to eat the smallest / most pitiful looking one. And it stuck like GLUE to the paper. like gluey glue glue. It was bad news. I put them back in the oven for a bit, hoping I had just undercooked them. When they started to smell a touch like burning, I took them out again. GLUE. GLUEY like the Original Pumpkin Cakes!

So, I need a new oven thermometre, cos I left the old one in the old apartment's oven. :/

I left them on the counter, intending to throw them out this morning, but thought I would try one more and see if they maybe improved. And they had! It came out of the wrapper!! And the flavour, it was good.

Because I had planned to toss them, I didn't make the icing I had intended, but I did have the syrup I was planning to use to flavour the icing, so I just brushed some of that overtop of the remaining cakes.


Cupcakes (12)

1 1/3 c. whole wheat flour
1 c. soy milk
2 tbsp. lime juice
1/4 c. oil
1 c. sugar
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c. cranberry juice

Mix wet. Sift dry into wet. Bake 20 minutes (or more if they come out like GLUE) at 350F.

Syrup
1/2 c. cranberry juice
2 tbsp lime juice
1 c. sugar

Boil. Reduce. Drizzle over cupcakes.