It’s day two of my cupcake extravaganza. Today I made the second batch of cupcakes for my husband’s friend’s going away party. These cupcakes were created with the guys in mind. If there’s two things these guys like it’s beer and bacon. I made a chocolate cake and paired it with a chocolate porter from Hanger 24. My husband used Barnivore to double check that the beer was vegan – it was the only chocolate porter I could find! Fortunately, it’s vegan. The icing is a chocolate/chocolate porter/facon flavor. Sounds complicated, but it’s not!
Just to clarify – I say facon meaning fake bacon or imitation bacon.
Chocolate Porter and Facon Cupcakes
1/2 cup white cane sugar
1/2 cup brown cane sugar
1/3 cup Earth Balance buttery stick, softened
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 tbs applesauce
1 cup chocolate porter
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
3 tbs cocoa powder
2 cups all-purpose flour
Facon Icing
1/3 cup chocolate porter
1 tsp vanilla
2 facon strips, cooked
1/3 cup Earth Balance buttery stick, softened
2 tbs cocoa powder
5 cups powdered cane sugar
dash of cayenne pepper, sweet paprika, mustard powder
(trust me!)
Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine the brown and white sugar in a mixing bowl. Add the Earth Balance butter and vanilla. Cream together. Add the apple sauce, cocoa powder, baking soda, and baking powder. Mix well. Finally, alternate adding the chocolate porter and flour. Mix until smooth, scrape the sides of the mixing bowl as needed.
Spoon evenly into cupcake liners, about half-way full. You can see I actually did a better job today!
Bake at 350 F for 12-15 minutes (mine averaged about 13). Allow to cool for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Makes 18-20 cupcakes, depending on how much you fill the cups.
Now for the icing. I cooked the facon at the same time I cooked the cupcakes. Follow the directions on the Imitation Bacon for cooking. After the facon has cooked and cooled, crumble into a blender. Add the chocolate porter and vanilla and blend until the facon breaks into tiny crumbs (the puree setting worked best for me). Allowing the facon to soak in the porter and vanilla allows it to break down easier.
Place the EB butter into a mixing bowl. Add the cocoa powder and the facon mixture. Mix well, then add 1 cup of icing sugar. Add the remaining 4 cups of icing sugar slowly, until the icing becomes stiff. Add a dash or cayenne pepper, sweet paprika, and mustard powder. You can barely taste the spices, but you will get a tiny bit of heat after each bite – yum!
Once your cupcakes have cooled, prepare them by brushing a tiny bit of chocolate porter over the top of each cupcake. If you want extra beer flavor, make a tiny cut on the top of the cupcake before you brush the porter on. Don’t add too much or your cupcake will get soggy!
Allow the cupcake to sit for a minute or two after you brush the porter on. Finally ice them. I took a photo of my ziplock icing bag for everyone!
I crumbled a few facon strips for a garnish, and used the bottlecap!
We are overwhelmed with cupcakes!
My anniversary surprise was my husband cooking dinner last night. I got locked in the bedroom while he cooked, and to my “surprise” we had pasta, salad, and garlic bread. It is the only thing he knows how to cook, after all! (He makes delicious pasta and salads!) He made a rose sauce, which I taught him before I became vegan. Halfway through dinner, I asked what he used for the cream. “Whipped cream.” he replied. Poor guy couldn’t find soy creamer so he got the real thing.
Well, I want to share that it is amazing how sensitive my body was to having cream. I felt nauseous and bloated all night, and had stomach cramps this morning. I’ve always been sensitive to milk, but I never knew how much it affected my body. In a way, I’m glad I found out how much it affects me. Don’t get me wrong, it was sweet, tasted great, and felt awesome to have dinner cooked for me. Next time with soy creamer please, husband!
Here’s a photo of my lovely dinner, and our goofy kitten trying to steal it!
