He Said/She Said: Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World

Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World: 75 Dairy-Free Recipes for Cupcakes that Rule

Written by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero

Foreword by Sara Quin (Tegan & Sara)

Photography by Rebecca Bent

ISBN-13: 9781569242735
ISBN-10: 1569242739
Publisher: Da Capo Press/Marlowe & Company

Paperback: 168 Pages

S: This book is an absolute darling! I had heard so many good things about this book in the past year. At first, I was curious and skeptical, how do you make cupcakes and frosting's that are dairy-free? Second, I absolutely do not like wasting ingredients when I bake. Especially when recipes call only for egg whites or egg yolks. What am I suppose to do with the other half? Well, these reasons were enough for me to try vegan cupcakes!

H: The book is divided into two parts. First, "How to Make Kick-Ass Cupcakes" and the second part includes all the recipes. The recipes are then broken down into different sections: "Basic Cupcakes," "Classic Cupcakes," "Fancy Cupcakes," and "Frostin's and Fillin's." The introduction contains a couple of pages that we really enjoyed reading. They also explain in the introduction that these cupcakes were tested many times by many different people, which is reassuring when choosing a new cookbook.

S: "Cupcakes A to Z" was a blast to read. Isa and Terry came up with a funny list having to do with cupcakes. My favourites were the letters H, L, N, O, and X... while R and S are completely true for me.

H: For vegan noobs like us, we found the first part very useful. They went over all the ingredients by explaining what works and what didn't. We learned a lot about dairy substitutions here. They also go over tools for baking and decorating as well as cupcake troubleshooting.

S: The recipes were well-written and easy to follow. Each recipe has an introduction, followed by ingredients and directions. Occasionally there are variations to the recipes and these side notes labelled under "Sprinkles." I also like the fact that all the recipes make a dozen cupcakes. I have seen other cookbooks that provide recipes for 18-20 cupcakes or really odd numbers. Where am I suppose to put the odd leftovers if cupcake pans only fit 12?? Right?

H: Calm down there... Not only is the book well-written and put together, the photographs are beautiful, as you can see below.

Photography from Rebecca Bent LLC:

Left to Right: Pistachio Rosewater Cupcakes; and Green Tea Cupcakes with Green Tea Glaze and Almond Flowers. Photos by Rebecca Bent.

S: So, we decided to try making the basic cupcake (baby steps first). "Golden Vanilla Cupcakes" and "Your Basic Chocolate Cupcake."

H: The cupcake rose up into perfect little domes.

S: Compared to non-vegan cupcakes, the only thing I noticed missing was the aroma. Also, each batter made a bit more than 12 cupcakes, so we were scooping them in, which is why the domes were higher

H: Taste test! These vegan cupcakes were good and moist, I admit I had a couple for breakfast one day...

S: More than a couple... but yay, this marks our first vegan cupcake occasion! We hope you enjoyed our review and photos. They also have a flickr group if you want to see more vegan cupcakes made by others!

H: Like always, we end with our personal ratings, I give the book 5 "total vegan cupcake domination" out of 5.

S: I would recommend this book to vegan cupcake lovers! I give it 4.5 [|} [|} [|} [|} [| (sideways cupcake emoticons, notice one is bitten in half) out of 5!

Collage above: Measuring out all-purpose flour; soy milk and apple cider vinegar.

Golden Vanilla Cupcakes

From Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World

(makes a little more than 12 cupcakes)

1 cup of soy milk

1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar

1 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons of cornstarch

3/4 teaspoon of baking powder

1/2 teaspoon of baking soda

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1/3 cup of canola oil

3/4 cups of granulated sugar

2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon of almond extract

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and have your cupcake liners ready in the pan.
2. Whisk soy milk and apple cider vinegar and set aside to curdle.
3. Then, beat together the soy milk mixture, oil, sugar, vanilla extract, and almond extract.
4. Sift in the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix until smooth.
5. Fill cupcake liners and bake for 20-25 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.

Collage above: "Your Basic Chocolate Cupcake" and "Golden Vanilla Cupcakes."

Your Basic Chocolate Cupcake

From Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World

(makes a little more than 12 cupcakes)

1 cup of soy milk

1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar

3/4 cup of granulated sugar

1/3 cup of canola oil

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon of almond extract

1 cup of all-purpose flour

1/3 cup of cocoa powder

3/4 teaspoon of baking soda

1/2 teaspoon of baking powder

1/4 teaspoon of salt

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and have your cupcake liners ready in the pan.
2. Whisk soy milk and apple cider vinegar and set aside to curdle.
3. Add to the soy milk mixture sugar, oil, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Mix until foamy.
4. In a separate bowl, sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
5. Pour half of the dry batch into the wet batch and mix. Pour the last half and mix until smooth.
6. Fill cupcake liners and bake for 20-25 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.

Thank you to Lindsey from Da Capo Press for letting us review this book!