Frosting Tip

I decided to take my cupcake decorating to the next level and invest in some quality hardware. I found this tip in the discount bin at a local kitchen supply store. I have no idea what the numbers on it mean, but they make me feel scientific.


Google tells me the tip is a rosette nozzle, but basically the frosting comes out looking similar to soft serve ice cream. So I practiced my skills on some mini cupcakes.


After a little practice, the frosting looks presentable. I'm not quite ready to submit my resume to Charm City Cakes, but I kinda impressed myself.



Vegan Buttercream Frosting

With a hand mixer, beat together equal parts shortening and margarine. I used about a half a cup each non-hydrogenated crisco and Earth Balance. Add in about a cup of powdered sugar and continue to beat. Throw in a splash of soymilk to make it smooth. You'll realize you probably added too much liquid, so now add in some more powdered sugar. Keep adding a bit more soymilk and powdered sugar until you get a fluffy frosting.

Sidenote: The frosting pictured above was this recipe but with broken Chocolate Joe Joe's cookies blended in. I used the cookies 'n creme frosting for some other cupcakes, then kept the frosting in the fridge for a week. I brought it to room temp, re-beat it with some soymilk, and the cookies dissolved and made chocolate frosting. And it still tastes good. Gross? Probably. Do I care? Evidently not.

Afternoon Delight

I've been away from my kitchen for awhile, out gallivanting on the other side of the country. While I was living the high life in New York and Boston, my kitchen in San Diego was lying dormant, the stove collecting dust. Yes, my husband was still at home while I was away, but he reverted to full bachelor mode and only used the kitchen to store empty pizza boxes.

This afternoon I made these chocolate chip pecan cookies as a little welcome home present for myself. They're a much needed comfort food because the delicious but greasy cuisine of New York left me with a heavy feeling in my stomach.

And I'm always looking for an excuse to break out the Big Red. It's serious about mixing.



There's no messing around here. Well, actually there was a small incident with the speed control that flung a few glops of cookie dough out of the bowl. But other than that I mean, there was no messing around.



The recipe is from "The Joy of Vegan Baking," by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau. It makes my kind of cookie: crisp exterior with a soft and yielding interior. And we just discovered that if you eat enough of them straight out of the oven, there really isn't any need to eat dinner. A meal replacement cookie, sort of.

Little. Yellow. Different.

If someone asks me what I want for Christmas or my Birthday or other gift giving occasion, I always try to be pretty specific in my response. I used to try and go the modest route, insisting I didn't need anything or would enjoy anything. Both of which are generally true. But eventually, in my wise old age, I've discovered that the chances of receiving something awesome increase dramatically if I actually ask for what I want. Which is how I ended up with a mini-donut pan for Christmas; it is undeniable in it's awesomeness.

Since December I've been perfecting my mini-donut skills with several test batches. Tweaking little things here and there, taste testing for quality control though the whole ordeal. Practice makes perfect, right?

I think this batch was a great success. Here's the naked donuts, removed from the baking pan, cooling on a rack.


Once the donuts are all baked up, out of the oven, and cooled, I go to town with the chocolate glaze.


Some with nuts too!


And just to be sassy, some get zebra stripes.


These little guys have the texture of a nice cake donut, very reminiscent of the hostess mini donuts that come 6 to a cellophane pack. Except without all the chemical crap.

This recipe was inspired by and modified from the one on VeganYumYum.

Plain Cake Donuts!
Makes 2 dozen.

Sift together:
1 1/4 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
little pinch of nutmeg

Mix in a measuring cup:
2/3 cup soymilk or almond milk
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
5 Tbs canola oil
3 Tbs soy yogurt (or egg replacer of choice)
1/2 tsp vanilla

Mix wet with dry to form a thick batter/smooth dough. Spoon into ungreased mini-donut pan. Bake 12 minutes at 350 degrees. Let cool, frost, eat!

My pan has only 12 spaces, so I wipe it out after the first round before baking the rest.

If you don't have a mini donut pan, you can make a pretty decent "donut holes" in a mini muffin pan.