Agave cupcakes with chocolate frosting

Adapted from The Kind Diet, p. 190

Cupcakes
2/3 cup hemp or soy milk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
2/3 cup agave nectar
1/3 cup safflower oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of fine sea salt
 

Fudge Frosting
1/2 cup (4 ounces) Earth Balance butter
1/2 cup agave nectar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup soy milk

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
 

Combine the milk and vinegar in a medium bowl, and set aside for at least 5 minutes or until it bubbles a little. If it doesn’t bubble, keep stirring the mixture until it does. Add the agave nectar, oil, and vanilla and stir.
 

In a separate bowl, combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, mixing until no lumps remain.
 

Pour the batter into the prepared muffin tin, and bake for 18 to 22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of one cupcake comes out clean and the tops are slightly springy when pressed. Cool the cupcakes in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes, then cool completely on a baking rack before frosting.
 

To make the Fudge Frosting, use a mixer to cream the butter together with the agave nectar in a mixing bowl until very smooth. Add the vanilla extract and about half the cocoa powder, mix on low speed to combine, then add the remaining cocoa powder. Add in the soy milk powder, and beat at medium-high speed until fluffy. If it is runny, refrigerate the frosting until it sets a little.

My frosting turned out with a bit of a weird texture as you can tell by the photos, but it still tasted delicious!

Embracing the Fall season: chocolate chip pumpkin bread!

What you'll need:

Serves 9  

yields one 8"X8" pan

Ingredients:

• 20oz (2.5 cups) canned pumpkin
• 1 cup brown sugar 
• 1 egg replacer (I use Bob's Red Mill brand found at Whole Foods)
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp safflower oil
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups spelt flower
• 1.5 tsp baking soda
• 1.5 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup non dairy chocolate chips (I use Enjoy life brand found at Target or Whole Foods)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Lightly spray an 8"X8" cake pan with oil spray
• Combine the pumpkin, brown sugar, egg replacer, almond milk, safflower oil, and vanilla extract in a medium size mixing bowl.
• In a large bowl combine the spelt flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and most of the chocolate chips (leave behind enough to sprinkle on top).
• Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients bowl and mix until fully combined.
• Fill the 8" x 8" pan with the batter and spread with a spoon to even out.
• Sprinkle with the remaining chocolate chips over the bread.
• Bake between 45 minutes and an hour (I baked mine a whole hour). You will know it's ready when you poke the center of the loaf with a fork and it comes out clean.
• Let the pumpkin bread cool for 5-10 minutes on a rack before serving.

This is the best pumpkin bread I've ever had, vegan or non-vegan! My boyfriend normally dislike anything with pumpkin, and when he reluctantly tried this he couldn't believe how much he liked it! Meat-lover boyfriend approved!!

Easy 5 ingredient whole wheat biscuits!

What you'll need:

Adapted from The Kind Diet, p. 197

Ingredients:

• 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (found at Whole Foods)
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 cup safflower oil
• 1/2 cup almond milk

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees
• Combine the flour, baking powder & salt in a large mixing bowl.
• Slowly pour in the oil, mixing with a fork until mixture is combined
• Add the milk and mix thoroughly
• Lightly flour a cutting board
• Gather the dough into a ball and place on the cutting board
• Kneed the dough about 25 times with your hands and then gather dough into a ball again
• Use a rolling pin the flatten out the dough until it's a 1/2" thick
• Use a biscuit cutter or the rim of a glass (I used a glass with a 2.5" rim) to cut the biscuits
• Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper and place biscuits on the sheet at least 1" apart
• Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until the bottoms are golden 
• Serve with cookie butter (yum!), jam, or Earth Balance butter

I found this biscuit recipe in Alicia Silverstone's book "The Kind Diet". These are so easy to make and my boyfriend and I love having them for breakfast! They are so filling and yummy. We both love spreading cookie butter on them and sometimes I have them with jam. Enjoy!