Italia comes alive with flavor

Tucked away in the boot shaped country is a 29 year old Mom who loves cupcakes. Does she kiss her fingers then open them like a rose in mid-air? Will she kiss you on both cheeks when she greets you? Does she drive a Fiat? Can she recite the story of Romulus and Remus?

Do you want to know the answers? Suspense killing you? Well sorry I actually don't know the answers. But a girl can wonder!  I do know she makes a kick-ass Delizioso Vegan cupcake.

Lara's journey into veganism started out like many of us. She did her research about where her meat and dairy came from and decided it was cruel. She realized being Vegan was beneficial to her health and the planet but most importantly the animals. I applaud her for making a positive change.

Although I do have a vegan bone to pick with her, she's not a Team Edward fan! Everyone knows my one self-indulgent is Edward Cullen. He is the Cupcake Whisperers one and only. I just know one day a van will be screeching out of control towards me and Edward will come and stop it with his steel hard cold fist. It will happen, it will! We will lay in our meadow. And we will have a half vampire, half human baby, we will!

Let's get to know Lara from Italy. I love the way she speaks English even if she is not a Team Edward fan.

Carrot Cupcakes


When did you start baking?I started baking vegan about three years ago, because I was craving for cake, but in Italy, especially in Emilia-Romagna where everything is pork-based (they put strutto, which is pork fat, basically everywhere), is nearly impossible to find vegan goods. So I did some research on the Internet, and I bought the Isa Chandra masterpiece, Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World. Baking vegan cupcakes was easier than I never thought!

What is your personal favorite cupcake to make?
I like light and fruity cupcakes, because they are easy, nice, good looking and... I can eat more than one!

Are you vegan? Why did you turn to veganism?
I am vegan since may 2008. I always wanted to be vegetarian, but my parents tricked me with the "meat is necessary" tale all the time. I supposed that, at 26, I was big enough to make my own choice :) I wanted to go vegetarian, but when I read about the horrors of milk and eggs, I went straight vegan. I also learnt that going vegan is not only good for animals, but for the entire planet!

What do cupcakes mean to you?
I like cupcakes because they are pretty, yummy, and they remember me of London!

What is your happiest memory while eating cupcakes?
I have nice memories of eating delicious vegan cupcakes in London, with special friends!

Chocolate Brownies

What do you like to do when you are not baking?
I work for a web agency and I'm on the Internet 12h a day. But I love reading, playing with my daughter and do postcrossing.  
Do you have any events coming up where you will be selling cupcakes?

Unfortunately no. First, I'm not so good yet (my friend Francesca's cupcakes are way prettier, lol! :)), second, here in Italy there are very strict laws about selling baked goods. I dream about opening a vegan bakery, but I think I'd need to move from my pork-loving town! :)

 

Team Edward or Team Jacob? (the most important question)

Team "Kill 'em both"? :) Is killing fictional characters suitable for vegans? 

 

What else do you like to bake? 

Cakes, cookies, and sometimes bread with my bread machine. 

And now the moment you've all been waiting for. I'm over my Team Edward rant. I've surrounded myself with my Edward Cullen dolls, pillow cases, key chains, backpacks, posters, book markers, and lunch box to soothe me. But the moment you were waiting for was the recipe!

Vanilla & Raspberry Vegan Cupcakes

For the cupcakes:

1 cup of soy milk
1 1/4 cups of self-raising flour
1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoon of corn starch
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/3 cup of vegetable oil
3/4 cup of brown sugar
2 teaspoon of vanilla extract or 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla powder

For the custard:
600g of vanilla flavoured soy milk
30g of all-purpose flour
12g of corn starch
30g of non-hydrogenated margarine
60g of brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon of turmeric powder (to make it yellow, optional)
grated lemon zest

Other ingredients:

Raspberry jam
Prepare the cupcakes mixing soy milk and vinegar and set it aside a few minutes, then mix it with oil, sugar and vanilla and mix together. Sift in the flour, salt and cornstarch and mix. Fill cupcake liners and bake for 20 minutes in a pre-heated oven to 180°C (350°F). Transfer to a cooling rack and let them cool completely.
Prepare the custard mixing 100g of soy milk with the flour, corn starch and turmeric powder. In a pan melt the margarine, mix it with the remaining soy milk, sugar and lemon zest. When it boils, add flour and corn starch, stirring with a wire whisk, and cook for 3 minutes. Set aside and let it cool completely. (this makes a lot of custard, and I usually save it for eating later)

With a tablespoon, dig a cone out of the top of each cupcake, fill the hole with a tablespoon or two of custard and one or two of raspberry jam, then set the cones back on place.

I hope you like it! :)

 

 

Thank you Lara for this amazing recipe. We love your flavor and taste of Italy. Boy we would like to be a fly on the wall when you were in London :0

Ding Dong Ms. Cupcake Calling

Hello! Cupcake Whisperer here. I finally scored the interview I have been waiting for for months. I started following Ms. Cupcake on Twitter and found her to be quite zany, funny and naughty. She comes from the land of Big Ben, the place where they throw in a bunch of extra U's in words, the place where Bob is your Uncle, and left is right and right is left. But my favorite or favourite thing about her is that she makes Vegan cupcakes! Oh mama! While Whilst she is quite far from the Cupcake Whisperer, her website displays an array of color or colour (too much? not funny anymore?) and a whole heap of variety of flavours or flavors (perhaps you need me to translate?). If I could turn her into my own Mrs. Doubtfire I would and she could bake me fresh Raspberry Cheesecake Cupcakes or Toffee-Fudge Cupcakes daily. She has many many different cupcakes, too many for me to sit and count because I am yes, lazy. No I have not gone Barmy and I certainly haven't been smoking too many Fags and this is not Codswallop, it's the Bee's Knees I tell ya. So let's get our rompy pumpy on and learn a bit more about Ms. Cupcake.

When did you start your business and why did you decide to go into baking?

I started baking Vegan cakes for my friends a few years back and everyone loved them. I had always dreamed about working for myself and after some brain storming with my friends Ms. Cupcake was born. I started all by myself a little over a year ago opening Ms. Cupcake in markets around London. It was clear from the start that people liked what I was doing and within months I had to bring on extra people on board to help grow the business into where it is now

Why are you vegan?

I love our planet – this is my little contribution to it.

What is your personal favorite cupcake to make?

I never play favourites with my cupcakes – I love them all like my children! But one of my first flavors was a Bakewell Tart flavoured cupcake and I still have a soft spot for it.

What is your top selling cupcake?

That would be the one we call the Ambassador, it’s my take on a Ferrero Rocher, but Vegan.

What do cupcakes mean to you?

Cupcakes are a perfectly formed gift of love. Every one of our cupcakes is hand crafted by my team and I like to think we put a little of our love in all of them.

What is your happiest memory while eating cupcakes?

Every time I create a new flavour it takes me back to my first day of baking when I was a young child baking with my grandmother in her kitchen.

Have you had any crazy requests from customers?

We had an order from the Australian Tourist Board for cupcakes using Vegemite as the flavor. But here at Ms. Cupcake we like a challenge when it comes to flavors, we now have over 100 flavors that we can pick from and I like to come up with at least a new one every week or so.

What do you like to do when you are not baking?

I love trawling around ethnic food markets and going to the latest underground supper-clubs as well as spending time with my family and friends.

Do you have any events coming up where you will be selling cupcakes?

We do lots of special event and we list these on our website, Ms Cupcake likes to pop up here and there so it’s always best to check first before heading out.

Let us know your website and social networking sites and if you have a brick and mortar store give us the address/telephone and how we can order.

Our new shop is at 408 Coldharbour Lane, Brixton, London SW9 8LF. You can also find us www.mscupcake.co.uk or on one of our social networking sites: Twitter: MsCupcakeUK or Facebook: Ms.CupcakeUK

 Do you take special requests, do you ship out of state, and do you do large orders like for weddings?

We do large orders for civil partnerships and weddings; we talk to every customer about their orders and try to find a way to get their cake to them. Most of our deliveries are in London where I can send one of my team to make the delivery personally, for me it’s all about the Ms. Cupcake experience.

Team Edward or Team Jacob?

This is a hard one but I think I would have to go with Team Jacob, he looks like he enjoys good cake and here at Ms Cupcake we believe that everyone deserves good cake.

What else do you sell in your shop?

Well our menu is always growing this week we also have Vegan Donuts, Cookies, Cookie Sandwiches, Vegan Cheese Scones and Cuppa-cup Cakes.

Anything special you want to promote?

Do check out our website www.mscupcake.co.uk for any event’s and promotions.

Do you do any vegan related fund raising?

We have chosen to support the London Vegan Pledge. We also feel it is important to actively promote a vegan life style within the shop, this is done through our leaflet area as well as hosting a monthly Vegan Potluck.

 

Shadey turns 5

Shadey here, and guessh what peeps......It'sh my BIRTHDAY and I turned 5 today. That'sh how many fingers I have on my front paws but not my back paws. he he. Luckily I have 5 toesh on my front paws or elshe I'd have to type with my back feet. he he.

Sho Mummy is having a big shcelebration in my honor. We are going to have a party. Do you know who I'm not inviting to my Birthday party? The shtupid cats, that'sh who! It'sh bad enough I have to share my cake with my shister. But she turned 5 twelve years ago sho she'll probably just curl up on her favorite blankie and go to shleep.

Shince it'sh my birthday I can do anything I want. Sho I go up to the shtupid cats and I ashk them, "Sho what are you getting me for my birthday?" And their all, "Why would we get you anything, you're a dog". Sho I shee one of their toysh on the ground and I pick it up and shtart running with it but I didn't get too far cuz there was Mummy standing there with her hands on her hipsh. Ah Oh!

I'm shure those shtupid cats got me shomething for my birthday sho I'm looking around the house and I think I finally figured it out. They keep going into thish little box with a roof and leaving shomething in there that shmells shooo good. I shneak in the room and the aroma is sho enticing. I can shee like little tootsie rolls hidden in shome shand. Now my tails wagging and I then get dishtracted and have to catch my tail but oh yeah, the tootsie rolls...sho I try to reach my head in the door way but it'sh to big, darn it thish nose of mine, I'm sqeezing and changing angles but my nose keepsh hitting the house. Maybe if I took a running head shtart I could dive right in thish shtupid cat house. Sho I turn around and my nose hitsh Mummy right in the knee. She has her hands on her hipsh. Ah Oh!

And on my own birthday I had to do a down shtay but I heard the timer on the oven and then I know shomething good is coming out of that oven. Mummy makes me and my shister the most aweshomest treats and they alwaysh come out of the oven. Sho I shay screw this down shtay and I run into the kitchen only to find the biggesht wonderfulesht cake. Mummy didn't sheem to mind I got up from my down shtay ha! score! But she was cutting my cake into piecshes. I tried to tell her I'll just take the whole thing she doeshn't need to cut it for me, I'm a big girl. Woof woof woof. But she shtill cut it anywaysh.

Mummy shtarted singing to me but all I wanted was the cake. CAKE! After what felt a century long the dumb shong was over,  all I could understand was my name anywaysh but finally I got CAKE! I can't really tell you what it tashted like caushe I woofed (no pun intended) it down..maybe the faster I eat them the more I'll get. But guessh who didn't get any of my birthday cake? The shtupid cats, that'sh who!

Sho that'sh me on the left. Ash you can shee my plate is empty. My shister takes F.O.R.E.V.E.R to eat her piecshe. I want to shteal it ash you can shee the look in my eye.

Our friend Scrappy Rat provided thish recshipe in a previous blog post, one I wrote all by myshelf.

Peanut Butter Cake with Carob Ganache

An impressive looking cake that's easy to make!



Cake

1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup rice milk

1/4 cup molasses

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 tablespoon ground flax seeds



Ganache

3/4 cup carob chips

1 tablespoon vegetable shortening



• In a large bowl, mix flour and baking powder.

• In a large measuring cup, combine the other cake ingredients and

allow to sit for three minutes.

• Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and stir just until

completely blended.

• Pour batter into a well greased round cake pan and bake at 350

degrees for 20 minutes.

• Cool completely before turning out onto a cake platter. Regular

plates will cause the cake to be indented in the middle due to their

concavity.

• When the cake is cool, place carob chips and shortening into a small

saucepan.

• Stir over low heat until both are melted and the mixture is smooth.

• Pour onto the center of the cake.

• With a rubber scraping spatula, smear the ganache evenly over the

top in a thin layer, allowing some of the mixture to drip over the

edges decoratively.

• When ganache is completely cool, it will form a firm glaze.

• Tip: Flax seeds can easily be ground in a home coffee mill.





Scrappy Rat Designs has a creature creation you'll love!

http://scrappyrat.etsy.com

Stop by and grab your copy of Yummy for Dogs: A Cookbook for Canines.




 
Until next time folks. Woof Woof Aaarrruuueeee!

JAM Vegan Bakery

Jam Vegan Bakery sounds like a kick ass duo that produces fair trade, organic and all natural vegan awesomeness. They are located in Los Angeles and will be getting mobile with their Vegan Food Truck! That will make every vegan's dream come true; imagine stepping outside and have a truck full of vegan desserts at your disposal, oh my! If you are in their area look for them at Farmer's Markets. If not, check them out online. It was so fun interviewing this couple. Read below to find out what cakes and penises have to do with each other. Speaking of penises, what is the plural of penis? Peni like Cacti? Penis'? Before the Cucpake Whisperer gets reported we better move on to the interview.

When did you start your business and why did you decide to go into baking?

We started our business, officially, in the beginning of 2011, but have been introducing our products to friends and neighbors since 2009.

Mallori- I have been baking with my mother since I was very young, and that is where I found my love for baking. My mother taught me the skills of baking cakes and cookies, and throughout the years, I have developed my own recipes and I have veganized family recipes. I taught Jesse, the other half of JAM Vegan Bakery, how to bake and decorate. Jesse has always been very creative, so once he learned the basics, we were able to combine our creativity and create the best vegan desserts.

Why are you vegan?

Mallori- I woke up one day when I was 14 and decided to be a vegetarian. I felt that if I could say "no" to something that was very common (such as Meat), I could say "no" to the peer pressure in my teenage years. Since I lived in Western Pennsylvania at the time, and vegetarianism was not widely accepted, I turned to PETA.com to learn how to be a vegetarian. After about one year, I decided that it was time to go Vegan. My family was very proud of me and supported my choice to live a Vegan lifestyle.

Jesse- Mallori and I met in 2005, at the time I was not a vegetarian. After being with Mallori, and learning how easy it was to be Vegan, I decided to try the 30-Day Veg Pledge on PETA.com's website. I loved the way I felt being a vegetarian, and I knew that I could be veg for life!

What is your personal favorite cupcake to make?

Mallori- My favorite Cupcake to bake is Raspberry Chocolate, because I use my mom's chocolate cake recipe and I love the color of the natural raspberry frosting!

Jesse- I really enjoy making the Mint Chocolate cupcake. I enjoy filling the cupcake with the mint creme before topping it off with a rich chocolate ganache.

Choco-Vanilla

What is your top selling cupcake?

Our top selling cupcake is the Raspberry Chocolate Cupcake, and the second is the Strawberry Lemonade Cupcake.

What is your happiest memory while eating cupcakes?

Mallori- Cupcakes remind me of the late nights spent baking with my mother... nostalgia.
Jesse- I remember when Mallori made me cupcakes in our first apartment when I was 23 years old. She made me Peanut Butter Chocolate cupcakes, yum!

Have you had any crazy requests from customers?

Mallori- I have had a request for an erotic vegan cake. The customer wanted a large dark penis cake! Sooo, I made her a 13"x4" vegan chocolate peanut butter penis cake, it also had some "white stuff" which wrote out Happy Birthday... she loved it!

What do you like to do when you are not baking?
Mallori- I like to lay by the pool in the warm SoCal sun. I also enjoy hiking in Griffith Park, and playing tennis.
Jesse- I like to swim, hang-out with friends, and watch movies. I also like hiking and playing tennis with Mallori.

Do you have any events coming up where you will be selling cupcakes?

Mallori- We are looking forward to the wonderful summer events happening in LA. We will be selling Vegan, Organic, Eco, Fair-Trade Easter Baskets for Easter, but we still need to verify the location, check our website soon for more info. We also plan on being at the World Fest on May 22nd 2011. We will be hitting the Farmer's Markets in the Los Angeles area in the near future as well, stay tuned!

Jesse- When we reach our Kickstarter.com goal, we will be launching our Vegan Food Truck. When our treats are on the streets, we will be at the food truck festivals, weekly events, and all over the city.

Our Website is: http://www.jamveganbakery.com/

Our Kickstarter: http://kck.st/igHjGV

Our Twitter is: http://twitter.com/JAMVeganBakery

Our Facebook is: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Los-Angeles-CA/JAM-Vegan-Bakery/162052813840792#!/

We are a catering/personal order bakery in Los Angeles, and hopefully we will have the First Vegan Dessert Food Truck in Los Angeles by the end of July (Visit our Kickstarter.com project to learn how you can help us fund the food truck).

If you are interested in placing an order, Email us at: JAMVeganBakery@gmail.com or click-on "Contact Us" on our website, http://www.jamveganbakery.com/

Do you take special requests, do you ship out of state, and do you do large orders like for weddings?

We take orders within the LA area. JAM Vegan Bakery can do orders for weddings, including specialized Eco-wedding favors. We also provide treats for birthday celebrations, holidays, productions, and more!

What else do you sell in your shop?
We create Vegan, Eco-Friendly, Organic, Natural, and Fair-Trade desserts, such as Vegan Cupcakes, Vegan Cake Pops, Vegan Cookies, Vegan Muffins, Vegan Oatmeal Cream Pies, Vegan Gobs, Vegan Brownies, and more!

Anything special you want to promote?

All of our products are made with the best Organic ingredients, our products are Fair-Trade, and we use only Eco-friendly packaging materials. We never use artificial food coloring, artificial flavoring, or any preservatives in our treats!

Do you do any vegan related fund raising?

Our first fund-raising event will be to help out Japan. We will be providing treats for the Bake Sale for Japan in Los Angeles. Please visit: http://bakesaleforjapan.com/ to learn more about where you can buy our Vegan treats in the LA area for a good cause: we will also be updating everyone with the location on our website.
Thank You for taking the time to learn more about JAM Vegan Bakery!

Peace and Treats,

Jesse and Mallori

A Poem To Think About

"Thanksgiving dinner's sad and thankless

Christmas dinner's dark and blue

When you stop and try to see it

From the turkey's point of view.

Sunday dinner isn't sunny

Easter feasts are just bad luck

When you see it from the viewpoint

Of a chicken or a duck.

Oh how I once loved tuna salad

Pork and lobsters, lamb chops too

'Til I stopped and looked at dinner

From the dinner's point of view."

--Shel Silverstein

 

Something to think about on Vegan Cucpake Thursday. Don't forget dairy & egg products still hurt & kill the animals. See our tab above for some great vendors that make and sell vegan goodies.

Why am I free and they are not?

I took a trip out to Novato, CA today.  Um, not really the Vegan mecca of the world. Actually not much of anything of interest out there. Sorry Novato friends, no offense. There was a small historic area. A museum I wouldn't mind going into next time, however the only next time would be to rescue the thousands of bovines out there. It was a very meat and dairy kind of place. In search of food I saw tons of Mexican restaurants. I went into one to see if their rice was made with chicken broth. It took a lot of misunderstandings to communicate with them but the answer was finally resolved at YES. So I ended up at a Indian restaurant. They understood me with one try to ask which items did not have dairy or meat in them. The food was pretty good. But I can guarantee there were no vegan cupcakes in this town. Although I did see a Whole Foods. It almost looked out of place with all the farms.

I want to share with you some of my pictures I took of these lovely bovines. I'm not a bovine expert though I hope to be someday, but I think these were all young Holstein cows. Please someone correct me if I'm wrong.

When I got out of the car and walked up to the barbed wire fence these beauties stared at me. I said a small prayer for them because I knew their fate. They know their fate.

One was right at the fence.

My heart just ached for her. She couldn't get much closer to the fence than she already was. And I'm pretty sure she was saying, "Okay friends, my ride is here, see you later." And believe me if I could of fit her in my car I would have. Well that and if I had wire cutters.

And this gorgeous bovine says, "I AM NOT A NUMBER, I AM A LIVING CREATURE LIKE YOU THAT CRIES FOR MY MOMMY, since she was taken away from me, THAT ACHES ALL THE TIME from having forced pregnancies over and over and who gets injected with all kinds of evil things. THAT WOULD BE HAPPIER if it wasn't up to a stupid human to tell me when I have to die."

I was pleased that the cows had lots of land to roam around. I was pleased they were not standing in knee deep shit. But we all know once these cows stop making money for the farmers they are good as dead. And that is not okay with me.

That far away look makes me wonder what she is thinking. Perhaps she is hopeful for freedom.

How anyone has the heart to break up a bond such as Mother and Child, friend and friend is incomprehensible to me. Though I could not capture on film exactly what the cow on the right was doing I think you can sense the bond. She was grooming her friend on the left. The cow on the left seemed to need comfort. She walked over to the cow on the right, bowed her head and the other started licking her. Perhaps telling her, "One day all will be right with the world. Just hang in there a little while longer."

And the two friends stood side by side for the duration of my time there. I wonder if they will be slaughtered together.

Really how could anyone want to participate in the suffering of bovines by consuming dairy? Let alone meat, leather, whey, casein, gelatin, stearic acid, and a whole heap of other things.

There are so many alternatives out there, that putting a cow through so much torture is unnecessary.  

GO VEGAN

A contest to win a vegan calendar and zine!

A contest is in order here. Well it's not for cupcakes but something just as good because it's vegan! You get entered a chance to win an awesome handmade calendar that has vegan events listed like Farm Animals Day, not just the Federal holidays. And you also could win a zine written by vegan authors. All the topics are vegan related and cover all kinds of topics.

You can enter at the creators of Vegan Cupcake Thursday blog. This will give you a chance to see what we do when we are not stuffing our mouths with cupcakes.

So go to http://www.daisywares.blogspot.com/ to read the details on how to enter.

Good luck!