12.02.2007

vegan cupcakes take over my blog

My mother sent me the Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World cookbook a short while ago and I have been drooling over its pages often. And I have made a couple recipes from it as well!

My first attempt:

Peanut Butter Cupcakes

with Rich Chocolate Ganache on top.

These were amazing, of course, though I ate so much of the batter beforehand that I nearly didn't want them. I brought them to a non-veg friend's potluck and everyone there was full of that backhanded compliment "These don't taste vegan at all," as well as the more friendly "oh my god these are better than most non-vegan cupcakes!"

And because I can't get enough of the chocolate and nut combination, when it came time to make snacks for the boston vegan association's monthly meeting, I made a variation on the basic vanilla cupcake recipe by using almond extract instead of vanilla for some pretty little
Almond Cupcakes with Rich Chocolate Ganache and Marzipan Daisies

The daisies were REALLY easy to make: I used the leftover marzipan from my day of the dead celebration (it's been in the freezer), mixed some of it with Turmeric for the color (I don't like food coloring), and called up a friend to pass the time while decorating.

In non-cupcake news, I threw out the durian. There are three main reasons: 1.) Mish and I made terrible faces whenever we thought about breaking it out to try something with it, 2.) it was making our ice cubes taste funny and 3.) we are low on tupperware.

While frozen things generally DON'T stink, this was not the case with the durian. As soon as I opened the tupperware - STENCH. Any guilt I felt was gone. Plus, look at it:

Not convinced it's evil? A little Microsoft Paint might change your mind...
STILL not convinced? Here is the cover of the Necronomicon, the evil book of the dead in wonderful zombie movies such as Evil Dead and Evil Dead 2.

See a resemblance?!

But I don't want to leave you with nightmares. Here are some more cupcakes. Stop thinking of the Durianomicon.

12 comments:

ChocolateCoveredVegan said... Best Blogger Tips

Funniest. Post. Ever.

(and lovely cupcake pics!)

Rural Vegan said... Best Blogger Tips

The marzipan cupcakes are adorable, but then you showed that durian again! I'm going to have stinky durian nightmares! Throw it out! Burn it! Perform an exorcism if you have to!

jd said... Best Blogger Tips

I love, love, LOVE those cupcakes! The are so adorable!

And FYI: my bf tried durian when he was in China years ago, & I always used to roll my eyes when he told me how smelly they were - now I believe him :)

bazu said... Best Blogger Tips

Haha- you are cracking me up with that Durianomicon! Such a creepy face- I can see why you chucked it.
Your cupcakes, on the other hand, are lovely! The wee little flowers are so cute. I have a bunch of stored marzipan... I should really use it soon.

Ashasarala said... Best Blogger Tips

I just got VCTOTW, myself, and I have yet to try anything in it. I'm thinking of making something minty for a New Year's get-together. But that's a month away.

Sorry to see the durian go. But I could totally see the evil oozing out of its frozen body. You should have burned it! Ah, but then it might leave a stench in the house for all time. Better off throwing it away.

Anonymous said... Best Blogger Tips

High-five for referencing Evil Dead in your blog post!

ChocolateCoveredVegan said... Best Blogger Tips

I adore pandas :o)

Definitely a reason to give those puddings a try!

Liz Ranger (Bubble Tea for Dinner) said... Best Blogger Tips

haha, awesome blog! That durian WILL probably haunt my dreams, ms-paint nomicon face and all... :o

And beautiful cupcakes, I love that you used turmeric!

Vegan_Noodle said... Best Blogger Tips

I agree with the call to toss the durian. Scary....
But your daises are so ridiculously cute!!! I've never worked with marzipan before and it definitely intimidates me. Must get over that because those are so sweet!

Anonymous said... Best Blogger Tips

Thank you for making those daisy cupcakes! They were so pretty and delicious!
I tried durian a few months ago and it was pretty disgusting. The father of a student in my class brought it in for everyone to try on "fruit day" (fruit is his hobby) and it stunk up the entire classroom... and hallway... people thought a kid had peed on the floor or something. good move getting rid of it. it was definitely evil.

Anonymous said... Best Blogger Tips

OMG nice cupcakes! I was blog-hopping by the way and stumble upon this old yet funny post!

I disagree with you on the durian part though. Durian taste totally awesome but it's maybe because I'm asian so it doesn't affect me :)

It's funny how caucasians are not a fan of durians!

You should try mangosteen instead! They're full of awesomeness.

Ps, You wasted the durians! D: Nooo.. But yah. They don't really look appetizing once you put them in the freezer. Should have make durian porridge or tart :) Cheers!

Anonymous said... Best Blogger Tips

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