Blog derailment!

Hi folks. I know I should be hiding my face in shame for not keeping up with my mofo commitment, but I'm just gonna be upfront about it. My life has suddenly...um...kicked things up a notch. I've barely had time to breathe, let alone bake. I do have an assortment of ingredients awaiting my tender care though, so there will be more posts in the near future.
I love my "real life". It just makes me really busy sometimes.

The Sultan's Pomegranate Cupcake

The Sultan has a vicious case of the Mondays.
What this actually means is that I had a very long day and instead of having the time to bake all my arsenal for the next week, I have to resort to looking for a picture of cupcakes I made a while ago. These are dark chocolate and pomegranate cupcakes that I made as a more "sophisticated" holiday treat last year. These very rich and grown up tasting--dense chocolate cake, then a layer of pomegranate jelly, covered by a layer of chocolate ganache, and topped of with a sprinkle of jewel-like pom seeds.

Shots are on me!

Ok, no. I am not buying all y'all free drinks. But I offer you a boozy bite.
This is a Rum'n'Raisin mini cupcake. I like my rummy cupcakes really rummy, so I keep them bite-sized to prevent drunken cupcake fiascos. Rum and rum-soaked raisins are both in the moist, dense cake, topped with rum buttercream and a single drunken raisin up on the top.

Incidentally, you've probably noticed by now that I use mostly vegan buttercream as my frosting of choice. It's versatile and dagnabit, it's delish! I do top cupcakes with glazes and ganaches too, but I have to admit that buttercream is what you're going to see the most around here.

Totally Fabulous Vegan Bake Off!

So, I know I technically don't have to post on weekends for this veganmofo thing. But 31 days of cupcakes has a way better ring than adding "less weekends" to it does.
Besides, today is an awesome day! In honour of world Vegetarian day, the Toronto Vegetarian Association is having a vegan bake off. Last year I was a runner up, and it really inspired me to kick my baking up a notch.
My offering this year is my Lumberjack's Breakfast Cupcake.
Now, the thing you need to understand is that this cupcake began as a joke. Omni's have been on this insane kick lately where they'll put bacon in, or on, anything. Really anything. My boyfriend came home one day talking about chocolate chip and bacon cookies. And I thought...that is the least vegan thing I've ever heard. But it sounds awesome.
I admit, i used to really like bacon, back in the pregan days. And the idea of something sweet, with something salty and crispy? Aghghghgh... (that's me making Homer Simpson's drool noise.)
So I decided to see if there was any way I could possibly make this vegan acceptable. Really, i was just thinking of mixing sweet and salty, but then someone mentioned on the ppk (post punk kitchen)forums that bac-o's are vegan, and my idea came to life. A little like Frankenstein's moster.
I have to admit, i don't expect to win any prizes for this. It's a bit wierd by most people's standards, and I don't find bac-o's the prettiest topping, but I promise you, this is the most amazing flavour combination. Salty, sweet, crispy, and yet soft and moist. Think of it as a really good breakfast. Coffee cake, real maple syrup buttercream, and yep, "bacon" bit topping.

Who wants cookie dough?

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes!!!
Yes, I know that I'm evil. These are made either chocolate or vanilla, and then stuffed with and topped by my evil secret recipe cookie dough frosting. Okay, it's not really a secret: it's vanilla buttercream, whipped together with a batch of real chocolate chip cookie dough until it's light and fluffy enough to top a cake with. It's one of my favorite frostings, because it isn't ridiculously sweet, and the chocolate chips give it a bit of subtle crunch.
Check out the delicious innards!

Day 1- Pink Lemonade

Welcome to the first of my VeganMoFo posts...also affectionatly known as 31 days of cupcake. By the end of the month, it's going to look like a frickin' Baskin Robbins around here...except with less dairy and more cupcakes. And I promise, no repeats!
My first cupcake of the month is Pink Lemonade. It's a vanilla-lemon flavoured yellow cake on the bottom, with lemonade-y pink buttercream frosting(with real lemon zest and lemonade in it!) swirled on top, and finished off with a curly lemon twist.
I should have warned you. I am by no means a pro photographer. And sometimes I just click away with stuff all over the counters...this is an at home bakery! So please ignore the occasionally less than stellar backgrounds(chickpeas, anyone?) I'll try to pretty things up a bit for future posts.