eclaire (what’s in a) name?

a few weekends ago, jamie, tyler, mike, and i decided it would be a great idea to select TWO cupcake recipes from the tantalizing cookbook vegan cupcakes take over the world, by isa chandra moskowitz and terry hope romero. we labored over our choices, drooled over the pictures, and selected coconut lime cupcakes and brooklyn vs boston creme pie cakes.

we had to go to several stores to find all the ingredients needed to make the glorious treats – vegan cupcake ingredients are not as simple as the non-vegan cupcake staples of eggs, butter, and sugar. as you can see by the clock on the microwave above, it was late by the time we pulled together all the ingredients, so we began zesting, beating, and mixing in a bit of a frenzy.

we found the recipes to be semi-challenging (and we all are avid and experienced bakers) to follow for two different reasons: 1. because the cookbook is about a quarter the size of a normal cookbook, and thus we had to keep flipping pages back and forth to read the quantity of an item and then the direction of what to do with it; and 2. because the cookbook starts off with basic cupcakes, and then directs you to modify those basic recipes, causing more page flipping and general confusion.

honestly, though, if we hadn’t chosen two recipes and started so late, i think the page flipping would have been less annoying and/or frustrating. we only made it all the way through the lime coconut cupcakes (my next post will be about the other ones) – and we made the mistake of using white sugar in the frosting instead of powdered sugar (at 12am, the term confectioner’s sugar didn’t even register in our brains!).

but those lime coconut cupcakes? they were some of the most delicious cupcakes i have ever tasted, vegan or non vegan, mistake with the frosting included. they had a strong citrus flavor that danced with the coconut flavor to create a tropical party on my taste buds. and just for you, dear readers, i’ll flip through those pages again to get the whole recipe on one page below so you can make these cupcakes – which will probably make you want to go out and buy the whole book!

coconut lime cupcakes

adapted from vegan cupcakes take over the world, by isa chandra moskowitz and terry hope romero
yields 12 cupcakes

• cupcake
• 1/3c coconut oil (it’s worth it to buy this ingredient – we’ve used the coconut oil in stir fries and pancakes since we purchased it, and love the flavor)
• 3/4c granulated sugar
• 1c coconut milk
• 1/4c soy milk
• 2t vanilla
• 1T lime zest
• 1c all purpose flour
• 1/2t baking soda
• 1/2t baking powder
• 1/4t salt
• 1c dried coconut, plus extra for topping the cupcakes

• frosting
• 1/2c nonhydrogenated shortening (i used shortening for the first time in my life in this recipe!)
• 1/2c nonhydrogenated fake butter (i love earth balance)
• 3½c POWDERED sugar
• 1t vanilla
• 1/4c lime juice
• 1t lime zest
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1. preheat your oven to 350° and line cupcake tins
2. for cupcake: melt coconut oil in a small pan over low heat
3. mix together coconut oil and sugar
4. add coconut milk, soy milk, vanilla, and lime zest and mix well
5. mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt
6. once smooth, add dried coconut and pour into cupcake pan
7. cook for 25 minutes and allow to cool completely before icing
8. for the frosting, beat the shortening and fake butter together until fluffy
9. add the sugar and beat 3 minutes
10. put vanilla and lime juice in, and mix 5-7 minutes more
11. add the lime zest and frost the cupcakes
12. add extra dried coconut once cupcakes are frosted