The cupcakes themselves turned out very well (especially for a first-time effort), but the frosting was a mess. I used evaporated cane juice (powdered in the food processor since I didn't have powdered sugar) and forgot to sift it, so the frosting was crunchy. My friend said she thought they were tasty and that the crunchy frosting was had an "interesting" texture, but maybe she was just saying it to save my feelings. The color was a bit dull, so I made it pink by adding beet juice extract. Also, there's a mistake in the lemon buttercream recipe - lemon zest is mentioned in the ingredient list but not in the directions, so my cupcakes were frosted by the time I noticed the lemon zest still sitting on the counter. I just sprinkled it over the cupcakes, which didn't look so good once it dried.

For part of my holiday gift, she gave me some professional cake-decorating supplies, so I guess this means I'll have to make more vegan cupcakes! :)

posted by chanale at 12:40 pm (EST) on Dec 26, 2006

Oops, I haven't made them yet! I felt awful about it, but we had a change of plans on her birthday, so we had to go up early before my daughter's nap - I had counted on using her nap to bake the cupcakes. I apologized profusely and told her I'd have them for her the next time we saw her, which will be sometime in the next 3 weeks. So I'll let you know how they turn out. :) I was practically salivating watching episode 1 of the Post-Punk Kitchen where they make cupcakes.

posted by chanale at 7:37 pm (EST) on Dec 14, 2006