Snowballs… in September!

September 8, 2011 | 6 Comments »

No! I don’t mean THOSE kind of snowballs. I mean the delicious chocolate cakes filled with marshmallow creme, frosted in even more marshmallow creme and then coated in delicious coconut.

I’ve had this recipe bookmarked for quite some time now. I’m not sure why, but yesterday out of all days I decided I just had to make them. Since I’m trying to stay away from sweets I only ate one and brought the rest to my mother-in-law. She’s living far out in the sticks now so she looks forward to any sweets I bring her way. You should have seen her face when she saw these bad boys.

I made a few changes to the cake recipe. For starters I used vegan butter in place of regular butter, 1 1/2 cups of sugar instead of 2 cups and unsweetened coconut milk. Also, am I the only one who really wants the glass displayed on their homepage hahaha? Anyway, then I used some Ricemellow to fill and frost the cupcakes and coated them in blue(ish) colored coconut. I ran out of red food coloring or I would have gone with pink.

They were nowhere near as difficult as they look. Frosting and filling the cupcakes were a bit messy, but otherwise it was pretty quick and painless. Afterward I popped them in an airtight container and allowed them to chill in the fridge overnight to firm up a bit. I swear they taste just like I remembered. Only BETTER! Good thing I got rid of them though. These guys would have caused me nothing but trouble.

White Russian Cupcakes

June 19, 2011 | 3 Comments »

I’m really not sure why I’ve been on such a baking kick lately. It’s been super humid and icky outside for the past month. You’d think the last thing I’d want to do is turn my oven on. However, when I came across this recipe for White Russian Cupcakes, icky humid weather aside, I just had to have one.

I tweaked the recipe a bit. I used vegan butter in place of regular butter, Ener-G egg replacer for just one egg, unsweetened coconut milk (not the canned stuff) in place of milk and added 2 teaspoons of baking powder instead of the 1 1/2. For the buttercream I didn’t add the salt, but I did add a little instant espresso powder to give the buttercream a richer coffee taste. Then I garnished with some chocolate shavings.

These cupcakes were so good! I had to walk away from them because I was tempted to eat them ALL. Not only did it actually taste like a White Russian (and I’d know because I had one the night before!), but it was so good that the guys gave them a 10. And they don’t care for sweets. Last weekend I made Sangria cupcakes and while they said they liked them, they didn’t seem too thrilled. They took a bite and stepped away. THESE bad boys were literally inhaled. But really, who can resist a vodka and Kahlua soaked cake topped with Kahlua and espresso buttercream? It paired off nicely with my Kahlua spiked iced coffee.

Easter candy

April 23, 2011 | 6 Comments »

Every year around this time I think to myself ‘I should make my own Easter candy!’… and I never do. This year I finally got around to it. And boy am I glad I did!

The only Easter candy I really miss since going vegan is the chocolate covered marshmallow eggs and the coconut filled eggs. So when I spotted both recipes online I figured I’d give it a shot.

I followed this recipe for the chocolate covered marshmallow creme eggs. I used Ricemellow Creme and vegan butter in place of the marshmallow cream and regular butter. Then I did my best to shape them into eggs. Yes, there’s A LOT of sugar in them and they’re incredibly sweet, but it is candy after all. It’s not super gooey and marshmallowy like the stuff I used to buy way back in the day, but they’re still very yummy. I had the tummy ache to prove it hahaha.

My favorite of the two is definitely the coconut filled eggs. I used this recipe as a base. I really experimented on this one though. It was a lot of work and it gave me one heck of a headache, but it was well worth it. I’d seriously do it all over again just to enjoy one of these pieces of chocolate covered coconut heaven.

First things first. I had to make myself some vegan sweetened condensed milk. I followed this recipe. I used unsweetened coconut milk (not the canned stuff) so that it wouldn’t be overly sweet. Once I was finished making the condensed coconut milk I refrigerated it overnight. Believe me when I tell you, this condensed milk turned out wonderful and really added that extra something to the candy.

I didn’t add corn syrup and I toasted my coconut before combining with the liquid mixture. Toasted coconut makes a world of a difference! I also didn’t use a heat proof bowl. I just dumped the ingredients into a small pot with the heat on medium/low and kept a close eye on it. Lots and lots of whisking! After I added the toasted coconut to the liquid mixture I scooped out some of the mixture using a teaspoon and shaped it as best as I could and placed it on a plate lined with parchment paper. Then I popped them in the freezer until nice and firm. To get them coated in the chocolate I found it easier to stick a toothpick in the side and quickly (but easily) dip the coconut into the chocolate, allow the excess to drip off, place them back onto the plate lined with parchment paper and back into the freezer until the chocolate hardened. It sounds like a lot of work and it kind of is. But WELL worth it. Trust me! Just look at the inside! Look at that toasted coconut! It’s wonderful!

And so that’s what I’ve been up to. Hope you all have a wonderful Easter!