Old Fashioned Vegan Velvet Cupcakes

By now, you were probably expecting at least one Halloweenie post to come through the tubes around here. I know – it’s pretty strange for me to go this long without baking something with pumpkins or candy corn. This year, I’m sad to say, I’m pretty uninspired for whatever reason. My love of Devil’s Night is still there, but I don’t know if my heart is in it.


Honestly, I usually rely on you guys to really get my brainwaves flowing – while browsing through the blogsphere, I always tend to pick up a really amazing idea or two. Or three. This year, however, I’m disappointed. Sure there are some great spooky themed treats out there, but nothing really special. I’ve seen the same ghost meringues, brain puddings, and witch hat cookies for ages. And this really bums me out.


Decorations are all well and good, yes. But what I’m looking for is flavour. What I see out there are plain jane vanilla cupcakes decorated in orange, black, and green canned frosting. Which is fine for most people. But not for me.

Let’s get some ideas flowing up in this ‘hood. I’m going to give you one of my best kept cupcake secrets – a canvas to let you have some Halloween fun on. Go forth and turn these vegan delights into something spooky. Decorate with blood, guts, and maybe (if you must) a cute little monster or two. Inspire others and I promise I’ll try my best to work through this October slump of mine.

If you have a brilliant Halloween idea, feel free to post it in the comments!


Old Fashioned Vegan Velvet Cupcakes
Adapted from Vegan Cupcake Takes Over the World

Ingredients
1 cup soy milk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 1/4 cup flour
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1/3 canola oil
1/4 almond extract
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Red food colouring (make sure it’s vegan!)

1)Preheat oven to 350. Whisk together the soy milk and vinegar and set aside in order to let it curdle.

2)In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

3)In a large bowl, whisk together the oil and extract with the curdled soy milk until well mixed. Add the red food colouring to get your desired colour (I like mine more on the dark side, less radioactive and unnatural). Sift in your dry ingredients and gently fold them in, making sure you have no large lumps left in the batter.

4)Fill 12 cupcake liners and bake in the oven for about 18 to 20 minutes, or until your cake tester comes out clean. Leave out to cool before frosting.

Old-Fashioned Vegan Velvet Icing

2 tablespoons flour
1/2 cups soy milk
1/4 cup nonhydrogenated shortening
1/4 cup nonhydrogenated vegan margarine
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup confectioner’s sugar (make sure it’s vegan!)

1)In a small saucepan over medium heat, whisk together the flour and soy milk and keep on mixing until it starts to take on a thick, pudding-like consistency. Scoop into a wide bowl and cover the top with plastic wrap, pressing it right against the custard so a skin doesn’t form. Set it in the fridge to cool completely.

2)Cream together the shortening and margarine until evenly distributed. Add the confectioner’s sugar and vanilla extract and mix until everything has come together. Add the cold custard and beat for up to 6 minutes. The frosting will start to take on a lighter colour and will have a real creamy, whipped-cream like texture. Frost on cooled cupcakes and decorate!