23rd February 2010

It’s been a while since I tried out some new flavours, but we saw the upcoming festival in Brighton as a good excuse to broaden our flavour horizons. Our classic flavoured items like chocolate cupcakes or blueberry muffins always do really well but seeing as Brighton is not short of a vegan cake or two we thought we would fancy things up a bit.

Enter the Molasses cupcake.

It is based on the S’more cupcake recipe from Vegan Cupcakes Takeoever The World, but since I don’t know what S’mores taste like (!) it’s been tweaked a little.

Molasses Cupcakes

Makes 12

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup oil
• 2 tbsp molasses
• 1/4 cup ‘yogurt’
• 1 1/4 cup ‘milk’
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1  cup flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 packet oat cakes (6 oat cakes) made into crumbs

1. Preheat oven to 180ºC, line baking tray with cases.
2. Blitz the oat cakes to make fine crumbs.
3. Mix the sugar, oil, molasses, yogurt, milk and vanilla.
4. Sift the dry ingredients into the wet and add the oat cakes
5. Bake for 22 mins.
6. I like to add a little Camp to the frosting as I think the deep flavours work well together.

My coffee and walnut cupcakes at Viva’s Roadshow in Bristol proved to be a hit, Sasha thinks this is because it was more of a grown up flavour so it inspired me to try out an earl grey recipe. After having an early grey dessert at Carnevale last week my mind was set!

To drink I have always found it a bit perfumey but used as an ingredient I love it! These cupcakes taste like sweet milky tea.

Earl Grey Cupcakes

Makes 14

Ingredients

• 1 cup ‘milk’
• 2 tbsp loose earl grey tea leaves
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1/2 cup yogurt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/3  cup flour
• 1 tbsp corn flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 180ºC, line baking tray with cases.
2. Heat the milk in a saucepan with the tea leaves, once boiled leave for 10 mins. Using a tea strainer strain the milk and discard the leaves, add more milk if you have less than 1 cup.
3. Whisk the sugar, oil, yogurt, earl grey milk and vanilla.
4. Sift the dry ingredients into the wet and mix
5. Bake for 22 mins.
6. I haven’t decided if I will be topping with lemon, vanilla or earl grey frosting for the fayre!

Tags: cupcakes