Vegan Recipes: Easter Cupcakes

By Taylor Nichols When the Peeps, Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs, and those giant, gold chocolate bunnies show up at the front of the store, you know Easter is getting close. This recipe is for those of you whose sweet tooth is not satisfied by store-bought treats (because let’s face it, Oreos with Peeps-flavored filling? Probably not for everyone).   I know how hard it can be to find baking recipes that are vegan and won’t weird your friends out, so here’s a fun and easy one for vegan cupcakes with buttercream frosting. To spruce it up for Easter, I nestled Jordan almond Easter eggs in a toasted coconut “nest.” For the cupcakes and buttercream frosting, I used a recipe from Creative Inspirations Photography for vegan creamsicle and root beer cupcakes, sans the creamsicle and root beer flavoring.

Vanilla cupcakes:

1 cup non-dairy milk (I used ½ cup almond milk and ½ cup coconut milk) 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar 1 ¼ cups flour

2 tablespoon cornstarch ¾ teaspoon baking powder ½ teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon salt ⅓ cup canola oil ¾ cup granulated sugar 2 teaspoon vanilla extract   Preheat the oven to 350 F. Whisk together the non-dairy milk and apple cider vinegar and set aside to curdle. In a large bowl, sift all the dry ingredients, except the sugar, together. Then add the oil and sugar to the milk and vinegar mixture and whisk together. Add this to the dry ingredients, mixing thoroughly. Put cupcake liners in muffin tin. You can use an ice cream scoop with a lever on it to measure out the perfect amount of batter, or just use a large spoon. Fill the cupcake liners about two-thirds full, and bake for 20 to 22 minutes. Use a toothpick or fork to see if they are done. Wait 5 to 10 minutes for them to cool before frosting them.

Buttercream frosting:

½ cup Earth Balance or other vegan margarine (I used the soy free one) ½ cup non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening 4 ½ cups confectioner’s sugar (aka powdered sugar) ¼ cup non-dairy milk 1 teaspoon vanilla (or whatever flavor you want!) 1 ½ - 2 cups shredded coconut 1 cup Jordan almonds – you can find these in the bulk section of your supermarket While the cupcakes are baking, cream margarine and shortening together with an electric mixer. Add the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla and continue to mix until it’s a smooth and fluffy consistency.

Toast 1 ½ to 2 cups of shredded coconut in a skillet on the stovetop until browned. Frost the cupcakes, then just dip the frosted tops into the coconut. Put a dime-sized dollop of frosting in the center, and gently push the Jordan almonds into the frosting. Enjoy!

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