You don't win friends with salad!

... You win them with delicious cupcakes!

John and I haven't been doing too much cooking/baking lately. Everything we've made has been along the lines of "what do we have in the fridge?". A lot of stirfrys, and perogies.

But the other night I was feeling antsy, and had a bit of a sweet tooth, so I made some cupcakes!

This recipe is from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, which is the greatest cookbook (bakebook?) to ever exist. Even if you only make cupcakes once a year, you should buy this book.

I did edit it a bit though, so I will put my edited version on here. If you want the real version, buy the book!

Banana Cupcakes

1/2 C. very ripe banana, mashed well (you don't want any lumps. I mashed mine with an immersion blender)
1 1/4 C. all purpose flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
3/4 C. granulated sugar
1/3 C. canola oil
2/3 C. rice milk
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. almond extract

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and sugar in a large bowl. In a seperate, smaller bowl, whisk together the oil, rice milk, vanilla, almond extract, and banana. Create a well in the dry ingredients and fold in wet ingredients, mixing to just combine.
3. Fill cupcake liners two-thirds full. Bake for 20-22 minutes.
4. Cool completely before icing.

I haven't quite figured out how to make a vegan AND soy-free buttercream-style frosting. I didn't want boring cupcakes though, so I made a chocolate glaze... I put 1/4 C soy milk in a little sauce pan over the stove, until it was gently boiling. Then I took it off the heat, added 2 Tbsp. maple syrup, and chocolate chips. I didn't really measure the chocolate chips, I just poured them while slowly stirring with a spatula until it was nice and thick. I probably used about 150 g. Then I poured in about 1/2 oz. of coconut rum! 

You can make the glaze while the cupcakes are baking, then set it aside, because you want it to be cooled down when you use it.

When the cupcakes are ready, spoon the glaze generously over top. I topped my cupcakes with a slice of frozen banana! (Fresh works too.)

These were really good. I made them at about 10 pm... They didn't make it through the night.