It's So Easy Being GREEN!

Last week was one of our very favorite holidays -- St. Patrick's Day! The one day of the year where you have an excuse to wear green, drink copious amounts of beer, and sing Irish pub songs at the top of your lungs. In our eyes, everyone is Irish on March 17th. Therefore everyone deserves a very special cupcake.

This year, the lucky dessert turned out to be Black and Tan Cupcakes - Chocolate Stout Cake with a Whiskey Buttercream Frosting.

Black and Tan Cupcakes
Perfect for St. Patty's day, or any other day you want to consume your alcohol in dessert form.

For the Chocolate Stout Cupcakes:

3/4 cup Soymilk
1 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp All-Purpose Flour
1/3 cup Dutch Processed Cocoa Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 cup Chocolate Stout
3/4 cup Sugar
1/3 cup Canola Oil
1 and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line pan with cupcake liners.
2. Whisk together Soy Milk and Vinegar in a large bowl and let sit for a few minutes.
3. In a separate bowl, sift together the dry ingredients and mix.
4. Add the Chocolate Stout, Sugar, Oil, and Vanilla to the Soy Milk mixture and beat until foamy.
5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in two additions and beat for a couple of minutes or until ingredients are well incorporated.
6. Pour batter into liners, filling about 3/4 of the way. Bake for 20 minutes. Transfer cupcakes to cooling rack and allow them to cool completely before frosting.

For the Whiskey Buttercream Frosting:

1/4 cup Nonhydrogenated Shortening

1/4 cup Vegan Margarine

1 and 3/4 cup Confectioner's Sugar

1 tsp Vanilla

2 tsp Irish Whiskey (We used Bushmill's)

2 to 3 Tbsp Soy Milk

1. Beat together the Shortening and Margarine until well combined.

2. Add the Sugar and liquid ingredients alternately and beat until well combined and fluffy. Adjust by adding more Sugar or Soy Milk to get your desired consistency.

For the Caramel Drizzle:

1/2 cup packed Brown Sugar

1/8 cup Vegan Margarine

2 tsp Soy Milk

1. In a small saucepan heat all the ingredients over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the well incorporated. Raise heat to medium high and continue stirring until the mixture begins to boil.

2. Remove from heat and let cool slightly (it will need to be warm to drizzle).

Top these drunken cakes with golden drizzle and magical green shamrocks. Whether you truly hail from the Emerald Isle, or you just happen to like Lucky Charms, we hope you had a marvelous St. Patrick's day and continue to have a fantastic year.

"There is no sincerer love than the love of food." -George Bernard Shaw

Peace, Love, and Leprechauns

Pam and KT