Green Tea Cupcakes

Last week I fell victim to my inner spaz (or was the victim of a vicious vacuum cord assault, I can't be sure which since it all happened so fast) and was stranded at home for a few days, including Family Day in Ontario on Monday, February 15. Fortunately the annoying member of my family had to work, so I had a lovely day hanging out with the cat. I was even inspired (and upright) enough to make vegan green tea cupcakes. This was the second time I made them, and they turned out even better this time and they were pretty darn good the last time!

I'm not vegan, but have a good friend who is, and I like to be able to feed her something other than hummus when she visits. I've noticed that a lot of people discriminate against vegan food without even trying it, assuming it tastes like ass. And sometimes it does, just like non-vegan food. But my friend is an awesome cook and baker herself, and she has introduced me to great vegan food. Quite frankly I like food, and won't discriminate against it if it's tasty, whether vegan or non-vegan. So for Christmas my friend gave me some excellent vegan cookbooks - the Veginomicon, Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar, and Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World. I love these books, and have made a few tasty things so far. The Green Tea Cupcakes are from the cupcake book obviously, and the only change I made was to use almond milk instead of rice milk. Considering you add almond extract, this seems to be a perfect substitution.



I took both batches of cupcakes to the office. I think the strategy with vegan cooking or baking is not to tell people ahead of time as it messes with their heads - I think their taste buds need to decide. And I think these cupcakes were the most universally well received baking of anything I have taken in - everyone ate them, even the second time when they KNEW they were vegan! Tom, who generally finds most things too icky sweet after a few bites, happily devoured the cupcake and was impressed. Vanessa, who is trying to keep her sugar levels down, also enjoyed these. Brent, who has will power and often passes treats up, didn't pass on these. In fact no one did, although I don't think Kelly was super-impressed but mostly because she doesn't like almond flavour. Fair enough. I know I saw Susan's eyes light up when she saw the second batch arrive - she loves green tea ice cream and I think these cupcakes have garnered a big fan here. These cupcakes are moist, have a nice cake crumb, and a pleasant balance of green tea to almond flavour. The icing is just the right amount and not too sweet (again I used almond milk in the icing as well).

I hope I am as lucky with the next flavour - I'm almost reluctant to try another type since this one is such a sure-fire hit.