Mojito cupcakes

Mojito cupcakes

Lime, mint and rum… It’s a standard dull summer day here in Ireland and this was just the combination we needed to remind us it’s still summer!

Ingredients:

1½ cups flour

1 cup sugar

¼ cup oil

2 limes

½ cup water

1 tsp vinegar

1 tbsp mint essence (or to taste)

About 3 tbsp rum OR 1-2 tsp rum essence (to taste)

Preheat oven to 180°.

1. Grate the limes and collect the grated rind. Mix flour, sugar and lime rind.

2. Add oil, mint essence, and whatever rum flavouring you are using (we used rum essence due to lack of real rum) and water.

3. Squeeze juice of the limes into a cup and add to mixture. Add vinegar, mix well and pour mixture into greased cupcake liners.

4. Bake for about 20mins or until toothpick comes out clean.

 

Sometimes I wonder if I should even type these recipes up… As basically they’re all the same really except for the item used for flavour (fruit, cocoa powder, peanut butter etc) and the recipe slightly adjusted to match the dry/wet ratio on addition of the item used for flavour.

It all comes down to the basic ingredients; flour, sugar, oil (& occasional vinegar) and then changing the recipe to decrease/increase the dry/wet ratio based on whether the flavour ingredient is wet/dry (also considering the oven – know your oven!)

I firmly believe cupcakes should be simple and happy. No mad ingredients, no egg replacer, no weighing scales. Just a cup, bowl and spoon and away you go.

The more simple, accessible and happy – the more people bake and the more cupcakes (Especially vegan cupcakes) there are in the world and that to me makes it a happier place.

All the cupcake/cake recipes here are made from scratch – why would I bother with recipes from books or online that I’ve never tried and am not sure if they work? I have my basics that I trust and just need to go from there. Usually when deciding to bake it goes something like:

‘I’m in the mood to bake a little something.’ Do we have the basic three ingredients? Grand.

What flavour should it be- what do we have lots of, kiwis? Grand. How do I get them into cupcakes? Puree them and adjust the dry/wet ratio. Grand.

So I guess that’s why I keep putting them up – to share some nice, simple, happy vegan cupcakes! ^^

Hara Bhara (Spinach & Pea cutlets)

Hara Bhara (Spinach & Pea cutlets)

We recently went to  Delhi O'Deli for the first time in a long while (final year woes..) So when we were there we ate Hara Bhara kebabs with delicious sauces etc. and we got the desire to try make them ourselves. We brought them to a friend’s bbq and they went down a treat.

Ingredients

3 small potatoes

3 tbsp minced fresh ginger

3 cups peas

2 ½ cups spinach (chopped)

1 tsp green curry paste

2 cloves garlic

2 tbsp cornflour

2 -3 tbsp flour (and more for the end)

Spices/herbs: cumin, coriander, chana masala powder

Oil for the oven dish/tray and ½ tbsp oil for each

¾ packet of cashews (optional)

1. Boil the potatoes and then mash or blend them. Put the peas in a blender (or mash) and add the finely chopped spinach. Blend the cashews with 2-3 tbsp water until creamed.

2. Mix the mashed potatoes, peas, spinach and cashews together. Add chopped garlic, green curry paste, ginger, cornflour, flour and spices.

3. Shape the mix into flattened balls/burger shapes and roll in flour to cover.

4. (alternatively for this step they can be fried). Put balls on a well greased oven tray and top each with ½ tbsp oil. Bake in oven until brown and turn halfway for the other side. Bake about 30-40mins.

Enjoy! (Lovely in some pitta bread)

Blackforest cupcakes

Blackforest cupcakes

Gorgeous day and off to a potluck/BBQ/food feast to celebrate a friend of ours finishing her PhD… and still cherries and all sorts of berries floating around so thought we’d make this type of cakey thing we’ve never tried before.

Ingredients

1 2/3 cups flour

1 cup sugar

2 tbsp cocoa powder

3/4 cup cherries blended ( ½ cup for batter, ¼ cup for topping)

1/2 cup water

1/3 cup oil

1 teaspoon vinegar

2-3 drops liquor

(a few blackberries, cranberries, raspberries – optional)

Preheat oven to 180°

1. Blend the cherries until a smoothie like consistency (add some of the other berries into it if desired).

2. Mix sugar, cocoa powder and flour together. Add water, oil and blended cherries.

3. Add vinegar and mix well. Pour mixture into greased cupcake cases and bake for 20mins or until toothpick comes out clean.

4. Add 2-3 drops of cherry liquor onto each once cooled.

For the top we used some of the leftover cherry smoothie mixed with icing sugar, topped with a half cherry. 

Kiwi cupcakes

Kiwi cupcakes

We’re having gorgeous leaving cert weather at the moment (which you can only really enjoy if you’re not one of those unfortunate people doing the leaving cert!) so are having a picnic. My brother is home currently and for some reason this means there’s lots and lots of kiwis in the house (he likes kiwis?), which just made kiwis cupcakes seem the right zesty choice of cupcakes to make…

Ingredients

1 2/3 cups flour

1 cup sugar

2 kiwis

1/2 cup water

1/3 cup oil

1 teaspoon vinegar

2-3 drops lemon essence (optional)

Preheat oven to 180°

1. Blend the kiwis until a smoothie like consistency (you can also mash them until this consistency with a fork, but it may take a bit longer)

2. Mix sugar and flour together. Add water, oil, blended kiwi and lemon essence (if using).

3. Add vinegar and mix well. Pour mixture into cupcake cases and bake for 20mins or until toothpick comes out clean.

Top with chocolate icing (we melted chocolate and just dipped the cupcakes in) if desired.

I love how the inside had visible little bits of the little black kiwi seeds...

Summer Cherry Crumble Cake (with a hint of rum)

Summer Cherry Crumble Cake (with a hint of rum)

It’s finally summer! After myself and Conor having the most difficult years of our degrees, final year exams for him and five weeks of exams myself, we are done and can enjoy baking and cooking again!

So what could be more summery than a cheery cherry crumble cake?

Ingredients

2 cup self-rising flour

½ cup dairy free butter

1 cup sugar

1 cup soya milk

1 tbsp vinegar

1 large pack cherries (or as many as you desire – chopped and halved)

1-2 tsp rum essence +/- vanilla essence (optional)

Crumble:

- 1¼ cup flour

- ½ cup dairy free butter

- ½ cup sugar

Preheat oven to 180˚

1. Mix soya milk and vinegar and leave to stand briefly.

2. Mix sugar and butter together in a bowl. Add in flour. Add in essence if using (or real rum).

3. Add in soya milk/vinegar mixture and mix.

4. Transfer mixture to greased cake tin (preferably lined with baking paper), top with cherries.

5. Crumble: cut flour and butter together using a butter knife, then add in sugar. Make to fine breadcrumb consistency using the tips of your fingers.

Add crumble mixture on top of the cherry layer in the cake pan.

6. Bake for about 40-50mins or until toothpick comes out clean.

Going to have a lot of cooking now to make up for the year I hope! : )