Iron Cupcake Challenge

With the turkey massacre that is Thanksgiving rapidly approaching, I am feeling more glum by the day so it is time to think about something slightly lighter....the Iron Cupcake Challenge. This is some fun devised by the Milwaukee Cupcake Queen whereby each month an ingredient is announced and folks compete to create a cupcake using that 'guest' ingredient.

There are monthly prizes and the November ETSY PRIZE-PACK is from the following artists:

* LOLLIPOP WORKSHOP
* COOKIE SUNSHINE

as well as a pair of cupcake earrings from LOTS OF SPRINKLES.

OK, so last month it was cheese which presented a unique challenge to a vegan baker to be sure and so I ended up letting my entry slide. This month, however, the mytery foodstuff is the ever-so-humble-but-completely-wonderful-superstar-of-the antioxidant-izers: the CRANBERRY!

So for my entry I have created the Thanksgiving Stack cupcake!





Its base is a lemon, almond and vegan white chocolate cupcake - lusciously light yet moist and a fraction chewy from the ground almonds. To create the multi-layered effect, I just added some red food colouring to one half of the cupcake batter and then sliced and stacked the layers alternately. The filling is a light vegan buttercream frosting with a swirl of fresh cranberry confit.

As part of the entry I have uploaded my pix to the cupcake group on Flickr where you can see the competition is in full swing! I know I need to work on my 'mis en place' a bit more, but heck...this is going to be one sweet dessert to share with My Beloved in front of the fire tonight!

Anyways, click on over the ICC page and vote for Cackleberry! Let's have a vegan cupcake win this time!

And...stay vegan, friends!

Monday MoFo

Today is Columbus Day in Massachusetts and it is also - coincidentally - the first full day of my father-in-law's annual visit. He loves to come over in the fall - autumn - and see the colours change, and yesterday was D-Day - Dad Day!

Now, although he is somewhat...shall we say?...'indiscriminate' in what he eats, he does love a good Bakewell Tart. And who can blame him? For those unfamiliar with this particularly English (British?) treat it is basically a pastry crust, spread with raspberry jam and a layer of moist almond cake, topped with a thick layer of icing and a cherry. Possibly the best known commercial brand is Mr. Kipling and they come in individual tarts like this:



I also remember there being a family-sized tart when I was a child, but perhaps they don't do these anymore. Anyhow, I would no longer recommend them as they contain eggs and milk and all kinds of non-vegan things, so I guess that's something of an aside..... Anyways, in preparation for my FIL's visit, I made a vegan version, which I swear and declare is better than the original. It uses a pate brisee recipe which I found on Vegan YumYum along with an almond cupcake recipe from Isa's VCTOW (is that the right abbreviation??? the enormously successful cupcake book!) and I have to say the result is splendiferous! Here's how it goes:

Make the pate brisee and line a tin with a removable base thus:




Bake blind for about 10 minutes on approx. 400 degrees.

When it's cool enough to handle, remove the baking beans and spread wth raspberry jam. Raspberry preserves. Or raspberry jelly - whatever they call it in your neck of the woods!



Then make the cake-y filling and spread on top of the jam/preserves/jelly. It is a basic almond cupcake recipe and I used the full amount this time which is equal to 12 cupcakes...but worth it! (Last time, I made the bakewell tart shallower and got 3 additional cupcakes out of the recipe, but this time I splurged!).



When it came out of the oven, it looked like this:



Once it cooled, I make a very rough and ready lattice in icing - powdered sugar mixed with a splash of soymilk - and that was that.





The cake part was moist and deliciously packed with ground almonds. The jam lent a touch of sharpness to the overall sweetness of the tart and the pastry was divine - just thick enough to hold together perfectly but not so that it risked dominating the dish. Both my FIL and My Beloved enjoyed it and I have to admit it's one I'll be making again.

OK, that's all I have today. Am back to work again tomorrow so there might be shorter posts this week - what with work and a guest in the house.....Am still thinking through my ideas for the Iron Cupcake Challenge...'cheese' is hard!!!

OK, stay vegan, friends! :)