Karina Makes the Chow, Ariel Takes the Vow: cupcakes for the newlyweds!

This weekend...oh, what a weekend. Our very own Ariel and Sam got themselves hitched on the beautiful Mt. Tam, and I was lucky enough to be there to witness one of the most unique and inspiring ceremonies imaginable... Even better- I was asked to make cupcakes for the celebratory event!


Ariel requested enough cupcakes to feed 75 folks, and hinted at the wish for two different flavors. I knew there was going to be a more traditional wedding cake front and center made by her incredibly talented friend Butch, so I decided to stick to my style and go bizarre and bold.


I made my favorite go-to vegan cake batter using all the organic ingredients I could get. (I made a little over double what this recipe calls for:)

2 cups water
3/4 cups light oil (I used extra virgin olive oil this time)
2 tbl white vinegar
4 tsp vanilla
3-1/2 cups unbleached flour (I used whole wheat instead and recommend it!)
2 cups sugar
1 tsp sea salt
2 tsp baking soda cinnamon and cayenne

Then I split the batter in half and made two different flavor purees to add to each one.

Kiwi-Lavender (with added mango, ginger and dates)


And Banana-Chipotle (with added cayenne, ginger, more cinnamon and dates.)


I added each puree to one of the batter bowls, and made a few last minute flavor adjustments by adding this and that (more spice here, a little lemon to balance it there, agave to make it perfectly sweet..) I made both minis and regular size to make sure there was more than enough to go around.


Once they were all cooked at 350* to moist and golden perfection and cooled over night, I set up my decorating station and got to some serious business... (notice my new frosting syringe I just bought- an awesome addition to my cake garnishing tool box!)


I had made both frostings by starting with a base of room temperature earth balance, vanilla, powdered sugar, sea salt, dates, fresh ginger, cinnamon and cayenne. I added bananas and chipotle peppers to one, and kiwi, lavender buds, lemon, and rose water to the other.


I garnished the kiwi-mango-lavender cupcakes with dried pomegranate seeds, dried blueberries, and candy pearls...


And the Banana-Chipotle cupcakes with freeze-dried bananas, chili-coated dried pineapples, dried pomegranate seeds and more candy pearls.


Butch's gorgeous cake!




The crafty couple planned for the reception to be one giant potluck, and luckily all of their friends and family apparently are INCREDIBLE cooks. I am fairly confident that no one went hungry that night.


Congrats Ariel and Sam!

Karina's TDAY Spicy Apple Carrot Cake

In my last entry I featured my family's incredible Thanksgiving meal and promised I would soon follow up with the dessert I made for it. Its a little late, but here is my spiced apple and carrot cake journey...


First I sliced two or three beautiful pink lady apples and packed them in a baking dish with some olive oil, fresh ginger, chopped hot peppers, cinnamon, powdered ginger, nutmeg, cayenne, agave, and sea salt. I set them in the oven at about 425* and roasted them until fairly soft and juicy (maybe 20 or 30 minutes).


While the apples were roasting I boiled a bag full of organic baby carrots until soft and then drained them. I put them in the food processor with my baked apples, agave, another round of the same spices, and some hemp milk.


I decided it still needed some more depth in flavor and consistency, so I added several scoops of raw crunchy almond butter.

I made my go-to vegan cake batter by combining:

2 cups water
3/4 cups light oil (I used safflower this time)
2 tbl white vinegar
4 tsp vanilla
3-1/2 cups unbleached flour (I used whole wheat instead and recommend it!)
2 cups sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda

Then I added the majority of my apple/carrot puree and mixed well. I saved about a cup or so of it to add to the frosting....


I added more cinnamon, cayenne, ginger and nutmeg until I was satisfied with the kick and had a delicious batter.


I formed two layers for my family's cake, and then made the rest as minis to sell at the market around the corner. I was afraid they might be a little dry, so to make sure, I punctured little holes over the tops of the finished baked goods and brushed a little maple syrup over them.


For the frosting I took several scoops of Earth Balance, a cup or so of powdered sugar, my cup of left over apple/carrot puree, sea salt, cinnamon and a touch of vanilla. I added more p. sugar and earth balance to get the flavor and thickness perfect, and set it in the fridge to set up a little bit.


I had a few vegan carrot/watermelon gummies leftover that I had made the week before, so I decided to finely slice these to decorate with. (I will soon add an entry on these gummies- for they were awesome!).


I garnished with shaved coconut, the last figs I got for the season (tear), almond slices, my gummy shapes and slices, and toasted carrot shreds I had baked with agave and a little olive oil.


It was a big hit. I personally was far too full from gorging myself at dinner to eat any that night, but I more than made up for it by having it for breakfast..for the next several mornings.

It was my first time substituting the whole wheat flour in my base recipe and I think I am switching over from here on out- not only is it better for you, it may have been even more moist and delicious than ever before. YUM!

Karina's Thanksgiving Plate...

2010 marked a special Thanksgiving, as it was the first that I got to spend it with my parents in probably 8 years. My sister offered her new house in Santa Cruz as a gathering spot for friends and family who could make it, and I was relieved to find out I only had to come up with a few side dishes and a dessert to bring down.


Everyone prizes their helping of meat on Thanksgiving, so I tried to come up with some special veggie substite that would prevent my plate or palate from feeling left out of the festivities. My mother doesn't touch soy and I wanted something everyone could eat, so I decided to start from scratch, and improvise some "beet balls"...

I started by soaking a bunch of raw cashews overnight, and boiling 6 beets until soft and cooked. The next morning, I sauteed an onion and a half, all of the beet stems and leafs, a pack of crimini mushrooms, some garlic, and a left over vegan field roast sausage (soy free) in some olive oil and spiced it with sea salt, pepper, cayenne, cinnamon and curry.

I drained and pressed all of the sauteed veggies with paper towels to pull out any remaining moisture, and put everything in the food processor. I pureed it all until it was well blended (with all of the big chunks gone.)

I added some cumin and more curry...


It was too soft and wet, so I added a cup or two of rolled oats. I also added some agave and chili powder...


When I was satisfied with the flavoring, I chopped up a carton of whole wheat graham crackers and a cup of raw almonds in the food processor, and made a crust for my beet balls to make them crunchy. I formed small balls and dipped them each in a dish of hemp milk and egg, and rolled them generously in my graham almond crust mix to get a good coating.


I packed them up uncooked and took them to Santa Cruz.


Once we were half an hour before eating time, I heated a few spoonfuls of organic coconut oil until melted and extremely hot, and lightly fried each of my beet balls until brownish/black and crunchy on the outside.


I let them cool on a paper toll to soak up the oil, and served them warm.
AHHHHHH- these were amazing! I'm kinda obsessed. Everyone was both highly amused and blown away with them. Its a good thing too, because we were eating leftover beet balls for three days!

I also wanted to get some greens in there, so I decided to recreate a pear and kale dish I had made only a week or two before. I rinsed my fresh organic kale and steamed it until soft. I drained this and packed it up for the trip down to Santa Cruz...

I always stare at special mushroom selections at the local market, but rarely indulge in them because of the higher price. If there is any occasion to go big, this was certainly one of them, so I purchased this lovely bundle of organic brown beech mushrooms.

I sauteed an onion, my mushrooms, chopped garlic, four sliced anjou pears, and fresh rosemary and sage from my sister's garden in some olive oil. I spiced with some salt and lemon. I simmered all of this until soft, well cooked and juicy.

I added the kale, warmed it all up, and added agave, cinnamon, more lemon, and cayenne.
Kale in perfection.

My sister made a vegan candied ginger yam mash...


...Rosemary and garlic mashed potatoes (that Annie whipped up!) in both a creamy and buttery version for the family, and a rice milk and earth balance version especially for me...

And our family's Tday staple of cranberry salad jello mold with a side of mayo (yep, I said it).


Alia's friend Ginger made a potato yam cranberry medley that was heavenly...


And this vegan corn bread stuffing that I couldn't stop inhaling...


Alia got an all organic, locally raised turkey that she named Eda. As in Eda-ble. Clever. So clever, in fact that I had my first bite in Turkey in years!


This was only my first plate full...


Val and Annie getting ready...


Mom and Dad...


And of course, the pinata. What Thanksgiving is complete without a donkey pinata filled with organic skin product samples? No one I care to be at, that's for sure....


After stuffing ourselves to the brim with helping after helping, (not to mention the several bottles of wine that seemed to disappear) the brave souls still standing ventured on to dessert. My sister made an amazing vegan pumpkin ginger pie that I somehow didn't get a picture of, and I made the above Spicy Apple Carrot cake. I will feature that in my next post as I think this one has had enough to digest already!

Karina's Mini Market Treats Meet Week Two...

Round Two mini vegan cupcakes for the Ashbury Market...


I started with a big batch of my favorite vegan vanilla cake batter and divided it into 3 bowls. I went to the market to see what seasonal fruits and herbs I could acquire to come up with three different flavors.
I decided on: Raspberry- Ginger, Spiced Pear-Mint, and Spicy Chocolate-Chili.


In the food processor I pureed a carton of fresh washed raspberries, about a tbl of chopped fresh ginger, some agave and lime. I added this sweet and tarty mix to the first bowl.


For the second, I pureed two extremely ripe pears, a handful washed mint, agave, cinnamon, nutmeg, cayenne and lime and added that to the next bowl...



Lastly I melted about a cup of vegan chocolate chips and added sea salt, cayenne pepper and chili pepper powder to it.



I mixed this together. I continued to add more cayenne and chili powder until I was satisfied with the kick.


Perhaps it was the fresh fruit, but for some reason, the first two didn't rise as much as usual..


On the other hand, the chocolate minis rose a little too much and overflowed into each other. I was upset at first and thought they might be ruined, but they tasted delicious and I remembered there is always hope in saving the aesthetic of your cake (or cupcakes) with some good old reliable frosting. I cut the size of mini cupcakes I was looking for out of the mass, leaving the excess, overcooked tops behind. I packed them tightly with my fingers and placed them in mini cupcake sleeves.


I made three different batches of frosting, all starting with earth balance, powdered sugar, sea salt, cinnamon, agave and vanilla. For the first one, I added raspberries and ginger, the second, mint and pear, and the third, with chocolate, cayenne, and chili powder.


Not a flawless batch shape wise, but the flavors were all still really really good and with the frosting and garnishing, they even managed to look pretty cute...



After everything they were a hit with friends, roomies, and co-workers, and I even sold some at the market!