German chocolate cupcakes

My friend Mike and his girlfriend Emily recently brought their son Emery into the world, and per Emily’s request, I whipped up the German chocolate cupcakes from VCTOTW. Unfortunately, I couldn’t make it out to visit them before the cupcakes would have gone stale. I owe you guys! Instead, these became birthday cupcakes for my mom.

I used sweetened coconut in the frosting, so I cut out some of the brown sugar. I also used lite coconut milk, and it turned out just fine. In addition, as I may have mentioned in the past, I always use vanilla soymilk in baked goods unless otherwise specified; it adds that yummy extra dimension of sweetness. These too are calorific (as any German chocolate cake tends to be) but keep in mind that all the saturated fat here comes from the almighty coconut, whose medium-chain fatty acid goodness is not to be feared.

For the cupcakes:
1 cup soymilk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

For the frosting:
1/4 cup soymilk
2T cornstarch
Pinch of salt
3/4 cup canned coconut milk
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/4 cups shredded sweetened coconut
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 tsp vanilla
1T whiskey, bourbon, or Tuaca (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin tin or a 24-cup mini muffin tin with paper liners and coat with cooking spray. Combine the soymilk and vinegar in a large bowl and set aside for 5 minutes to curdle. Beat the sugar, oil, and vanilla into the soymilk. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.



Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients in two batches and mix until no large lumps remain.



Fill muffin cups 2/3 full.



Bake for 18-20 minutes for regular cupcakes, or 14-15 minutes for minis. When done, let sit in the pan for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.



Meanwhile, make the frosting. In a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the soymilk, cornstarch, and salt. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the coconut milk and brown sugar.



Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture starts to boil. Turn the heat down to low and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 more minutes. Whisk the soymilk mixture once more and slowly pour it into the coconut milk mixture, stirring constantly.



Stir continuously till the mixture darkens again, gets very thick and smooth, and the cornstarch is cooked, about 6 to 7 minutes.



Remove from the heat and add the vanilla, whiskey or bourbon (or, in my case, since I don't like either—Tuaca!), chopped pecans, and coconut.



Stir till everything is coated and combined. Cool to room temperature before frosting the cupcakes.



The base chocolate cupcake recipe is tasty, but the coconut pecan frosting is the real standout. This stuff is RICH! The assortment of textures – creamy, crunchy, chewy – is delightful, and the use of coconut milk rounds out the flavors marvelously. Be careful; you might want to eat this frosting with a spoon.



Yield: 12 regular or 24 mini cupcakes. Per cupcake (regular): 294 calories, 16.4g fat (7g sat), 37g carbs, 2g fiber, 3.4g protein.
Per cupcake (mini): 147 calories, 8.2g fat (3.5g sat), 18.5g carbs, 1g fiber, 1.7g protein.

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Coconut heaven cupcakes

I’ve been on a baking bender lately. Hopefully nobody minds. I finally ordered Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World from Amazon last week, so in the meantime, I wanted to make some cupcakes from books I already have, since those recipes are likely to be ignored once I have a whole book of cupcakes to choose from. These are from Vegan with a Vengeance, and they gave me the chance not only to use more of the unsweetened coconut milk I’ve got, but also to break out the unsweetened shredded coconut I bought awhile back. These are pretty caloric, so I made some regular-sized cupcakes for friends and some minis for me. If you don’t have the refrigerated unsweetened coconut milk that I used, you can use canned coconut milk instead, it will just increase the fat and calorie content somewhat.

For the cupcakes:
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup canola oil
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

For the frosting:
1/4 cup Earth Balance, softened
1/4 cup coconut milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin tin (or a 24-cup mini muffin tin) with paper liners. Spritz with cooking spray and set aside. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, coconut milk, sugar, and vanilla.



Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and whisk until smooth. Fold in 1 cup of unsweetened coconut. Fill each muffin cup about two-thirds full.



Bake at 350 degrees for 20-22 minutes (18-20 for minis); the cupcakes should be slightly browned around the edges and spring back when touched. Remove from the muffin tin let cool on a wire rack.



Using an electric mixer or a whisk, cream the Earth Balance until light and fluffy. Add the coconut milk and vanilla and combine. Add the powdered sugar and mix until smooth. Fold in the unsweetened coconut, and refrigerate until ready to use.



Frost the cupcakes once they have cooled completely.



You can tell on the first bite that these babies are not "light" in any way. The coconut comes through loud and clear, lending the cake its dense chew. The rich, fluffy frosting is the perfect topper. These make a great (albeit once-in-awhile) treat for the coconut lover in your life.



Go ahead, indulge.



Yield: 12 regular or 24 mini cupcakes. Per cupcake (regular): 281 calories, 13.1g fat (5.4g sat), 41.1g carbs, 2.6g fiber, 2.1g protein.
Per cupcake (mini): 141 calories, 6.5g fat (2.7g sat), 20.5g carbs, 1.3g fiber, 1.1g protein.

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Crème-filled German chocolate upside-down cake

Yes, I realize I just did an upside-down cake, but while that one is classic and traditional, this is a very unconventional take on a well-known and -loved cake. German chocolate may not have anything to do with Germany (it was named after a Mr. Samuel German), but it can’t be a coincidence that my family is a GCC-loving clan. For just a few moments, though, suspend your preconceived notions of German chocolate cake, and try my interpretation on for size. The recipe is one I found a long time ago in Taste of Home. It’s unique, unexpected, and it veganizes surprisingly easily.

This is one of my three favorite cakes of all time (you’ll find out in due time what the other two are) and while it’s one of the most caloric desserts I’ve got on here, it’s well worth a splurge. You can use the excuse that I did, and make it for a friend’s birthday.

1 1/3 cups sweetened flaked coconut
1 cup chopped pecans
1 pkg German chocolate cake mix
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1T canola oil
1 Ener-G egg
1/2 block firm silken tofu, like Mori-Nu
1 pkg vegan cream cheese, like Tofutti, softened
1/2 cup Earth Balance, softened
4 cups powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Sprinkle the coconut and pecans evenly into a greased and floured 13x9-inch baking pan.



In a blender, combine 2/3 of the tofu with the applesauce, canola oil, Ener-G egg, and however much water your cake mix calls for (probably 1 1/4 cup) and process until completely smooth. At this point, my blender was already dirty, so I decided to try something weird and make the whole cake in there. It worked! So, you can transfer the mixture to a large bowl and break out a whisk or hand mixer, or you can just dump the cake mix right into the blender.



Blend for about 2 minutes, then carefully pour the batter over the coconut and pecan mixture in the pan.



Set that aside, and clean out your blender (take this opportunity to taste the batter, ohh it’s good). Set the blender back up and process together the cream cheese and Earth Balance. (I have a good feeling coconut oil could work here as well.) Add the remainder of the tofu and blend again.



Add the sugar a cup at a time, blending until completely smooth. Carefully drizzle the mixture evenly over the batter in the pan



Make sure it goes all the way to the edges. You’re probably wondering why we’re putting frosting on the bottom of an upside-down cake, but just you wait.



Bake for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Check out what happens in the oven—the rich, weighty frosting sinks halfway down into the cake, et voilà, instant crème filling!



Cool the cake for 10-15 minutes, then invert onto a serving plate or, in my case, a parchment-lined baking sheet. Before you say anything, yes, I admit I nibbled on one of the corners as the cake cooled. I just couldn’t wait. Only when I flipped the cake did I realize I couldn’t hide it in the picture, heh. Sorry.



Is that beautiful/amazing/mouthwatering/insert-yummy-adjective here, or what?! The coconut and pecans toast all on their own against the bottom of the pan, and lend the cake a pleasant crunch and chew. The cake part is kept super-moist by the applesauce and tofu, and the filling—oh, that filling! Super-sweet and rich, but with just the right amount of tang from the cream cheese. With every bite you sink your fork into, that gorgeous crème will ooze out to greet you. When you combine it all in your mouth, you'll experience the gustatory fireworks that only a treat as hedonistic and indulgent as this can bring.



I really wish this last picture weren’t blurry, but maybe that’s a sign that you need to just go bake this cake yourself. Because you do. Oh, you do.



Yield: 20 slices. Per slice: 337 calories, 14.4g fat (4.8g sat), 50.8g carbs, 2g fiber, 2.2g protein.

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