My cupcakes look like muffins because I can never be bothered to frost them, and my muffins look like cupcakes because they don't have muffin tops. Hence, Muffcakes. I felt like a genius when I thought up the word to describe the muffin-cupcake hybrid, but then a quick online search proved that it was hardly an original thought. Darn.
Anyhooz, I love baking anything in little paper cups because they just turn out so effin cute. And the variations are endless! I've also started using my homemade applesauce to replace some of the oil called for in the recipes, so they're lower in fat. :)
First up, Green Tea (muff)Cupcakes from 'VCTOTW'. I finally made use of the green tea powder that I bought at the Bosung Green Tea Fields! I thought it might just give them a dull greyish-green color, but they actually did turn out fairly green, especially on the inside. :) They were surprisingly good~ I actually modified the recipe a bit because I didn't have soy yogurt, or almond extract. Plus, I replaced some of the oil with applesauce.
Next, I tried the Low Fat Banana Muffins recipe from 'Veganomicon,' but added extra goodness in the form of shredded coconut, chocolate chips, and sunflower seeds on top. They were rockin.
Last, I tested the Strawberry Cupcake recipe from 'The Joy of Vegan Baking' using the frozen strawberries I had saved from this past Spring. I've never had a strawberry muffin/cupcake before, so I have no point of reference, but these were really yummy. They had a slight tanginess to them, and had little groovy pockets of mushy strawberry bits. Hungry yet?
