Vegan chocolate / banana / caramel cupcakes
Our monthly cooking club decided to cut me (and my stomach) a break this month. The theme was “All the cheese is in the movie” aka, we’d watch an overly cheesey movie but make all the food dairy free. I enjoyed the evening and think everyone liked the challenge. I decided to make some vegan cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. It’s a great cupcake cookbook. I need to use it more often.
I’ve made the chocolate vegan cupcake recipe before (they were fierce!) so I knew that would be perfect. The cupcakes have a pretty round dome and are very moist. It’s a very good cupcake.
I also had this banana caramel sauce that was given to us as a gift. I knew I wanted to use that. Then I decided to try the chocolate banana mousse that is also in Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. So I decided to make a chocolate cupcake with a slice of banana and some banana caramel sauce in the middle, topped with banana chocolate mousse and banana caramel sauce. That’s a mouthful!
The mousse is made with tofu which made me a little nervous. I’m weird about tofu. I love the Tofutti products, especially the Better than cream cheese and the Tofutti cuties. But, for some reason, working with tofu just kinda grosses me out. I think it’s the texture on my hands. I’m weird. I know. This mousse is amazing. It’s not as light and fluffy as the mousse my Mother in Law makes (which Hubby LOVES), instead it is quite dense and actually perfect for piping on top of a cupcake. It was very good and you would never have guessed it’s dairy free.
Vegan chocolate cupcakes – from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World
1 cup soy milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
Preheat oven to 350 and line muffin pan with cupcake liners.
Whisk the soy milk and vinegar in a large bowl and set aside a few minutes to get good and curdled.
Add the sugar, oil, vanilla, and almond extract to the soy milk mixture and beat until foamy.
In a separate bowl, sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add in two batches to wet ingredients and beat till no large lumps remain.
Pour into liners, filling three-quarters of the way. Put one PB cup into each cupcake. Bake 18-20 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Vegan chocolate banana mousse – from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World
1 (12.3 oz) pkg extra-firm tofu, drained
1/4 cup plain soy milk
2 Tbsp agave syrup or pure maple syrup – I used 2 Tbsp sugar because I was out of maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 (12 oz) pkg semisweet chocolate chips
1 very ripe banana
Crumble tofu into blender. Add milk, agave, and vanilla. Puree until smooth.
Add banana and puree until smooth. (leave this out for just chocolate mousse)
Melt chocolate in double boiler. Allow to cool 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the chocolate to the blender and blend until combined. Be sure to scrape down the sides a couple times.
Transfer mousse to airtight container or a bowl covered with plastic wrap.
Chill for an hour (or longer).
To Assemble cupcake:
12 chocolate cupcakes
chocolate banana mousse
banana caramel sauce
1 banana
After cupcakes are completely cooled, use the cone method to remove some of the cupcake.
Pipe a tiny amount of mousse into cupcake. Add a banana slice and replace “lid” of cupcake.
Pipe mousse onto top of cupcakes. Drizzle with banana caramel sauce.
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
Those are adorable! I love the idea of lemon meringue cupcakes.
They are adorable!! Great job and I am glad you had success with the recipe.
Congrats on a successful challenge!
OMG, are they cute! Like little porcupines. So glad it turned out for you. Fab job!
I really liked your idea of making the cupcakes. No cutting up and great single sized servings. They look just great.
Makes me wonder– why didn’t I think of that?
Hey~ I made lemon maringue cuppies too! I am so sold on making pies this way in the future- very fun. Love the spikies- great job.
Your LMP looks great! I love the cuppies
LMP cuppys rule! ::high five:: love all the pictures of your process… great job!
I really like the little pies everyone is making..now I want to redo mine.blessings,
marye
http://bakingdelights.com
Oh so cute! I had considered trying my second attempt in a cupcake tin… until I waited until the last minute, that is! 🙂
Congrats! These look fabulously divine!
Ah ha, another fellow Boston baker! Your tarts are beautiful! Love the peaks on the meringue!
Those are so perfect!
PS: I have those red measuring bowls. I love them! 😀
so SMART to have all of your ingredients out FIRST. I really should know this by now.
Ooooh, I love your cupcake-pies. How’d you make the meringue spikey?
And what did the husband think of the final product?
your little ones are adorable. Great job on your challenge!!
your lemon meringue cupcakes are so cute! job well done! 🙂
They’re so cute!! Great job!! :O)
i had that crust shrinkage problem too. it’s a bummer.
———-
kate
http://www.thecleanplateclub.net
Dolores – I just spread the meringue around and then using a spatula, pressed it into the meringue and pulled it out and voila! Spikes!
Your little cupcakes are adorable! That was a great idea!
Your little tarts lok just lovely. well done!
a challenge executed incrediblely well!
They look just perfect!!
Nice job!
Too cute! Love the cupcakes. I want one!
My crust did the same thing! Your cupcakes look great though!
~Carrie from bakersbakery.wordpress.com
Your “pie-cups” look perfect. Great job!
Jane of VeganBits.com
Very cute! Did you turn away and silently mock your husband “my mom makes a great…”, no of course you wouldn’t have, I must be projecting 🙂
You did a wonderful job on your lemon meringue tarts!
Natalie @ Gluten A Go Go
~ We’re lactose intolerant at our house too.
Nice cupcakes! And if it makes you feel any better, I’ve been a DB’er for a year and friends and family, all non-bloggers, always know what I’m making. They kinda have to since I always tape the recipe up on the kitchen cupboards!
Yayy! I love reading success posts like this! They look great and that’s a good idea to bake them in muffin tins. Well done!
I love your little lemon meringues!
Awesome! I love how differently everyone’s turned out, but these little cuties are so adorable 🙂 Great job!!
So cute! I’m sure everyone enjoyed you addition to the spread!
I love cupcake idea. One big pie seems so messy, these seem neat and tidy. Congrats on another successful challenge!
The shrinking crust always affects my mini cupcake pies too. The trick is to make them overhang the cups enough so that they shrink down to just the right size. Your little pies are darling!
It’s awesome for me to have a website, which is helpful in
favor of my know-how. thanks admin