AuburnChick's Adventures

Yesterday, Chicky and went to the bookstore where I picked up this book…

The book has a lot of helpful information, including the why’s of using certain ingredients, the how-to-fix-boo-boos tips and tricks, and lots of other helpful suggestions.

I couldn’t wait to begin!

Now, you do know that I do not cook very often.  In fact, I avoid it like the plague; however, I’ve gotten tired of not getting dessert.  Chicky has been cooking quite a bit and indulging her sweet tooth…making delicious yummies for the guys.  I decided to take matters into my own hands!

For my first recipe, I went all out and made Chocolate Mint Cupcakes.  Chicky and I visited the grocery store and picked up a few items…

I began by making the basic chocolate cupcakes that are found near the front of the book.  We didn’t have toothpicks, so we used a fork to test for doneness.

While these cooled, I made the mint icing.  It turned out too thin, but I think that I can fix this by adding less milk next time.  You’ll see, in the picture below, that the icing ran all over the tops of the cupcakes.  No worries.  I’ll work on presentation later.

😀

The final step in this recipe was making the chocolate ganache.

Oh word, but I’d heard this word before on The Food Network, but I’d never actually eaten it, not to mention cooked it.

It was soooo easy…just soy milk and chocolate chips!  Seriously!

I put a dollop of ganache on the top of each mint-iced cupcake.

Then, it was time to try one.

Have you ever watched Cupcake Wars?  I have.  Plenty of times.  Which is how I learned about vegan cupcakes.

I felt a little like Florian as I sniffed my cupcake before carefully peeling the liner off.

I did not, however, eat the cupcake with a fork.

I am a redneck; hence, I am not quite that refined.

I did notice that the texture looked good.

And then the first bite.

Oh.

My.

Golly.

It was everything I’d hoped for and then some.

I had worried about the cupcakes being completely cooked.  Chicky had assured me, in her all-cooking-know-how-way that they would continue to cook a bit in the muffin pan.

It was cooked perfectly!

And the taste?

I’d also worried about the mint being too overpowering; however, it was perfectly balanced with the taste of the chocolate.

The ganache on top made for that extra umph that my mouth had been craving for so long.

Lord have mercy!

I do not think that anyone would be able to distinguish these cupcakes from non-vegan ones.

Who says you need eggs and regular milk?

Being vegan doesn’t mean you have to be deprived from tasty food…even if you do have to make it yourself sometimes.

Filed under: Vegan | Tagged: Chocolate Mint Cupcakes, cooking, vegan |