Aww Valentine's Day, hate it or love it, it's a thing right???

Personally, I never took much stock in it, but for some reason, I've always felt compelled to take the opportunity to make something sweet.  And since I was at my parent's house and their kitchen is waaaaaay better than mine, I decided this year would be no different.  BUT of course, I forgot to bring my baking tools so that I could make pretty, pretty cupcakes.  That meant no fancy frosting or sparkly decorations.  I also forgot my recipe that I wanted to re-test!  After a half an hour of berating myself I decided, Ehh, who cares?  They'll just look a little retro...you know, like some cupcakes you might have baked for your PTA meeting (is that still a thing?) and I'm sure they will taste fine.   Anyways, what ever.  I made cupcakes and they are pretty good- I really really like the cupcake part.  But to be honest, if I were to make these for myself to really enjoy, I would ditch the raspberry filling altogether and go straight vanilla....but hey, that's just me. If you want to try these Raspberry Vanilla Cupcakes out, check it out below.

INGREDIENTS:

{ Cake }

• 2 C.  Flour (I use unbleached, All Purpose)
• 1 tsp. Baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 C. Sugar (granulated)
• 2 tsp. Powdered sugar
• 1/3 C. Canola oil
• 2 T. Vegan butter (I use Miyoko's)
• 1 C. Plant milk (coconut,almond, soy- room temp.)
• 1 tsp. Vanilla extract
• 1 tsp. Almond extract
• 1 tsp. Apple cider vinegar
• 2 T. Aqua faba (aqua faba = chickpea brine- just drain a can of chickpeas and the liquid is called "Aqua Faba"  It's magic, people)
• 1 C.  Frozen raspberries

{ Frosting }

• 2- 2 1/2 C. Confectioner/powder sugar
• 2 T. Frozen raspberries ( thawed)
• Pinch Salt
• 1/2 tsp. Vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. Almond extract

{ Prep } 

Preheat oven to 350°

1. Thaw 2 tablespoons of raspberries for frosting
2. Drain chickpeas for aqua faba
3. Coat your cup of frozen raspberries in 2 teaspoons of powdered sugar- prevents them from falling to bottom of pan
4. Add vinegar to milk and let stand for at least 10 min

DIRECTIONS:

• In a medium-size bowl, sift together flour and baking soda. Normally, you would sift the salt too, but my grains are bigger, so they get caught in a fine mesh sieve- I just stir it into the sifted mixture.  Set aside.
•  Cream butter, sugar, and oil together in a large bowl with and electric or stand mixer on medium-high, until the butter has broken down and the mixture is smooth (about 2- 3 minutes).  Add in extracts and aqua faba-  continue to mix on low for 1 minute.
• Add milk and use a rubber spatula or a whisk to mix it into the sugar mixture- I find this is the easiest way to incorporate the milk and not create a total mess in the kitchen.
• Add the wet mixture to the dry in thirds  and mix with a rubber spatula until the batter is fully combined.  But please, do not over-mix, or you will activate the gluten in the flour and your cake will be tough and chewy.
• Fold in coated  raspberries to mixture
• Line cupcake pan with papers and ladle the batter into your pan evenly.  Lightly tap to remove any air bubbles.  Place the pan on the middle rack in the oven and bake 12- 17 minutes or until a toothpick or fork tines come out clean.

While your cupcakes are baking, go ahead and make your frosting- just add all the ingredients (except the raspberries) in a bowl and blend with a hand-mixer until smooth and creamy.  Then blend or fold in thawed raspberries.  Just add a little at a time until you get the consistency and flavor you like.  Place frosting in the refrigerator to harden up if needed or fill up your pastry bag.  

When cupcakes are done, let them sit for about 1 minutes in their tin.  After they are cool to touch, remove them for the baking pan and let them cool completely on a baking rack or the counter.

When they are cooled, frost em' up and decorate to your heart's desire...  Whether you pipe them till they're pretty pretty or rock them old-school style like me,  I hope you enjoy them.  If you try them out, let me know!

Peace and coconut grease,

di

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