Red Velvet-ish

Who doesn't love red velvet cake? Losers, that is who. Not only is it a mostly bland, sweet, inoffensive cake, it almost without fail is coated in the god of all frostings: cream cheese frosting (truthfully, I don't really consider a cake red velvet unless it has cream cheese frosting. Buttercream? Never!). So when Nic requested that I make some form of red velvet concoction, I seized the opportunity to indulge in food coloring and powdered sugar. Since Nic has been a long time supporter of my culinary adventures, I was all too eager to go one step further with these treats and make them vegan. Nic is not vegan, but she frequently voices her preference for baked goods that lack animal byproducts. Considering my delightful experimentation with flax seeds, I decided to venture forth into the land of hardcore vegan baking. Mashing bananas into cookies and switching oil for butter are baby steps; I prepared to take the plunge.

I obtained a reference recipe for vegan red velvet cupcakes from BabyCakes, a delicious bakery in NYC in which all products are vegan, gluten free, and/or some other variety of non-traditional. My wise foodie accomplice, Ava, joined me. She proved very helpful with a few minor mishaps (the most notable being using a pastry cutter to cut the solid coconut oil into the mixture. Note: it might be wise to melt the coconut oil before adding it, as its consistency is not conducive to creaming, but it is too hard at room temperature to mix directly into the batter). We were also able to create a slightly benign, but nonetheless tasty vegan cream cheese frosting to top it all off.

Responses to the cupcakes varied, but the overall consensus was that they were a not too sweet, though dense, chocolatey and overall butter-free version of a highly esteemed dessert. Interpret as you will.

Vegan red velvet cupcakes
(adapted from the BabyCakes cookbook)

* 1/2 cup soy milk
* 2 tbsp white vinegar
* 2 cups whole wheat flour
* 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
* 1/3 cup cocoa powder
* 4 tsp baking powder
* 1/2 tsp baking soda
* 2 tsp salt
* 2/3 cup coconut oil
* 1 1/4 cups agave nectar
* 2 tbsp vanilla
* 3 tbsp red food coloring

Preheat oven to 350˚.

Mix the soy milk (the original called for rice milk, but it seems either works) and vinegar in a bowl (or liquid cup measure).

In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Add the agave nectar, vanilla, and coconut oil (this would be a good time to reiterate that melting the coconut oil would have allowed the oil to actually mix into the whole thing. It would have saved us the effort of pastry chopping the oil in as well, as probably would have led to superiorly blended cupcakes) to the dry ingredients and mix well. Add the milk/vinegar and mix, then add the food coloring (you can add more or less depending on how red you want them) and give a final stir. The result will be more dough-like than batter-like.

Our next slight catastrophe was my realization that I had left my sole muffin tin at Emma's house. I resigned myself to making a less portable and less adorable red velvet cake, when a lightbulb in Ava's head saved the day. We managed to cram cupcake papers into round cake tins (about 6 in each tin) and fill each with the batter/dough. They (sort of) maintained their shape during the baking process.

Bake for 22-25 minutes, then remove and cool on a rack.

While they are cooling, make the frosting:

Vegan cream cheese frosting (not as gross as it sounds!)

* 1/2 cup tofutti cream cheese
* 1/2 cup margarine
* 3 cups powdered sugar

We busted out the old hand mixer for this one. As much as I love the wooden spoon, I find it is better not to mess around with frosting. We consulted a vegan cream cheese frosting recipe, but ended up improvising and tasting along the way for sweetness. The end result was not too sugary or flavorful, but complemented the rich cupcakes nicely.

Lastly: frost the cupcakes with a knife, spoon, fork, whatever. Bring to Portland and offload them on your friends.