by Mlissa | May 31, 2012 | cupcakes, Guest blogs, In the kitchen with...
I spend a lot of time in the kitchen especially when I’m stressed or I need to plot something out for a book. Baking has a calming effect on me and helps me think. Cupcakes are my drug of choice. Yes, I’m addicted. I can admit that. I thought I’d share with you one of my all time favorite cupcake recipes.
Chai Latte Cupcakes
Recipe originally from http://www.theppk.com/ (best Vegan site EVAH) and also appears in the book Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World.
Ingredients
1 cup soy or rice milk
4 black teabags (I used chai tea instead. I like them to really have that spice flavor)
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup vanilla soy yogurt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
pinch of ground white or black pepper
Buttercream Icing
6 tablespoons vegan margarine, softened (I use Earth’s Balance)
3 tablespoons soymilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1 teaspoon nutmeg, and 1 tablespoon sugar for the tops
Directions
Preheat oven to 375F. In a small saucepan heat soymilk until almost boiling, then add the tea bags, cover the pan, and remove from the heat. Let sit for 10 minutes then squeeze the teabags to release as much tea as possible before removing the bags from the soymilk.
In a large bowl whisk together oil, yogurt, sugar, vanilla and tea mixture until lumps are worked out. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, cloves, and pepper into wet ingredients. Mix until large lumps disappear; some small lumps are okay. Pour batter into lined cupcake tins and bake 20 to 22 minutes until a sharp knife inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool completely.
For icing: Beat together butter, milk and vanilla until smooth. Add sugar a cup at a time until you get the consistency you want. If icing seems too runny, at more sugar, if it seems too thick, add a bit more milk. Spread or pipe onto cooled cupcakes.
Mix together the cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar, then sprinkle a bit onto the top of each cupcake and indulge!
Blurb:
Plus-sized fetish model and aspiring chef Indigo Hartley has plenty of tattoos and a fiery attitude to match. When she’s offered a job as a sushi model for one of Miami’s trendiest restaurants, she jumps at the chance. Little does this country-mouse-turned-city-vixen know that what starts out as a modeling job will end up the answer to all of her kinkiest fantasies. Three days serving as a sub to this hot chef is too tempting an offer to refuse.
Banner Faust has worked his ass off and sacrificed his love life to become a rock star in the culinary world. On what should be the biggest night of his career, he realizes something is missing from his life—the submissive woman he’s always craved. The curvy new model with the blue-streaked hair and innate submissive nature just might be the one he’s been waiting for. And when he gets her home—and in his bed—he soon realizes three days will never be enough.
Available from : Ellora’s Cave Publishing | Amazon | Barnes and Noble | All Romance eBooks
About Fallon Blake:
Fallon Blake loves to spin stories that explore the romance of dominance and submission or venture into the realms of the paranormal. When she’d not glued to her netbook writing away, you can usually find her in the kitchen whipping up something vegetarian. She loves horror movies, has a soft spot for zombies and cupcakes, and reads everything she can get her grubby hands on.
Find Fallon: Website | Twitter
by Mlissa | Feb 27, 2011 | Birthday Blog Party
We have two days left here for my Birthday Bash and I hope all of you readers have had a little fun learning about authors and bloggers over the month of February. I hope some of you have found new authors to try, maybe a new genre to look into, a new publisher to seek out. I have loved having everyone here and posting. The comments have been great and I feel so incredibly lucky to know so many wonderful people and to call them friend.
Today, I have my very good friend, author Fallon Blake. We have a lot in common from food to BDSM, except she’s Vegetarian and I’m not. Grins…
Happy Birthday Lissa! May you get your forty spankings *evil grin*.
I have to be honest here; I have the most boring birthdays EVER. Well, that wasn’t always true, but no one wants to hear about my girl-gone-wild days and even if you do, I’m taking those secrets to the grave.
For me the very best part of the whole birthday deal is not feeling guilty about what you put in your mouth. I’m talking about food people! Well, I’m certainly not one to tell you to get your mind out of the gutter. Just make room for cake while you’re down there…dark chocolate cake…with raspberry. Sounds good doesn’t it? It is decadent even if you’re not veggie like me.
I wanted to share the cake recipe I make for my birthday every year. What? I like to bake, and this way I always get the cake I want. Anyway, it’s really hard to find a bakery around here that can do a good vegan cake. The best part is you’d never know it was vegan. Whenever anyone asks me to bring something to a get-together, I bring this baby. There is never a crumb left and everyone is always shocked it’s vegan. Of course I don’t tell them until after they’ve eaten it *snicker*.
Raspberry Blackout Cake
Recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup dark cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups plain soy milk
1/2 cup of canola oil
1 (10 oz.) jar raspberry jam – reserve 1/2 cup for batter *note: the original recipe calls for preserves, but I am so not down with picking seeds out of my teeth four hours after I eat a piece so I switched to jam. You’ll thank me.
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup sugar
Fresh raspberries for decorating and yuminess
Preheat oven to 350. Spray two 8-inch round cake pans with cooking spray. I use Wilton’s Cake Release to keep it from sticking *note: I have no idea if it’s vegan, but it rocks for baking cakes.
Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Combine the soy milk, oil, 1/2 cup of the preserves, the vanilla, and the sugar in a large bowl and mix with a hand mixer or strong fork. For the most part, the jam should dissolve with the rest of the ingredients, but some small clumps are okay. Add the dry ingredients to the wet in batches and mix until everything is incorporated. Divide the batter between the prepared pans and bake at 350F for 40-45 minutes.
When the cakes have cooled, spread one layer of cake with a thin layer of raspberry jam. Spread a layer of chocolate frosting on the top of the preserves. Place the other layer of the cake on top and spread its top with preserves. Spread chocolate frosting over the top, then ice the sides.
CHOCOLATE GANACHE FROSTING:
3/4 cup of soy creamer (Silk soy creamer, or plain soy milk)
6 tablespoons non-hydrogenated margarine
10 oz. semisweet chocolate chips
In a saucepan, over medium heat, bring the soy creamer to a low boil. All margarine, turn off the heat, stir in chocolate chips until smooth. Let sit for at least 1 hour. It should have a pourable consistency. If you want a spreadable consistency, then refrigerate for one hour. Do not refrigerate it for more than an hour, it will set too much to be spreadable. Allow the ganache to set then eat until your chocolate lovin’ heart is content!
Available at Ellora’s Cave
Plus-sized fetish model and aspiring chef Indigo Hartley has plenty of tattoos and a fiery attitude to match. When she’s offered a job as a sushi model for one of Miami’s trendiest restaurants, she jumps at the chance. Little does this country-mouse-turned-city-vixen know that what starts out as a modeling job will end up the answer to all of her kinkiest fantasies. Three days serving as a sub to this hot chef is too tempting an offer to refuse.
Banner Faust has worked his ass off and sacrificed his love life to become a rock star in the culinary world. On what should be the biggest night of his career, he realizes something is missing from his life—the submissive woman he’s always craved. The curvy new model with the blue-streaked hair and innate submissive nature just might be the one he’s been waiting for. And when he gets her home—and in his bed—he soon realizes three days will never be enough.
Visit Fallon at www.fallonblake.com
