Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes

Wait just a minute. Where in the world did this summer go? I feel like it was just two days ago that I was starting my hostessing job and unpacking all of my college things. Now suddenly it's the middle of August and I am leaving for Europe in exactly three weeks. Whoa.

I always begin the summer with a list of things I want to do. Usually by the end, I have only checked off about three of those things, but done a million other things that were not on the list in the first place. While I did not go kayaking (yet), go camping, or salsa dance (again, there's still time...), I did go to Chicago twice, I went to see a movie in the park, ate at new restaurants in Minneapolis, and made new friends through my job. Summers always have their ups and downs, but overall this one has been pretty successful.

One thing on my list that I didn't quite accomplish was to "frequently sit on the back porch and drink lemonade." I sat on the back porch a lot, but I tended to drink cup after cup of coffee instead. To make up for my lack of actual lemonade, I decided to make lemonade cupcakes and throw in some strawberries, because strawberry lemonade was always my favorite.

These cupcakes are light and fluffy and perfectly sweet. They are a great farewell-to-summer dessert, reminiscent of lemonade stands and picnic lunches on the beach. You can get the recipe from my post on One Green Planet!

Do you ever make summer to-do lists? They are great in theory, but a little more difficult in execution. It's funny how sidetracked life can get you!

Wake up and Smell the Coffee

Confession Time:
I think I have a coffee addiction. I swear I never meant for this to happen.
Thank you, college professors, for the boat loads of work that forced me to stay up past 2am and wake up at 7am, groggy eyed with nothing but more work in sight and a huuuge cup of coffee to soothe me.

My only slightly embarrassing obsession with Gilmore Girls and watching Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel consume obscene amounts of coffee may have something to do with my addiction as well. Basically what I'm saying is, none of this is my fault. I can't help it if I'm crabby without my morning cup 'a joe. 

You know what is even better than a cup of coffee to wake you up? Coffee cakes. And I don't mean the kind of crumb cake you serve with coffee. I mean coffee-infused cake with chocolate coffee frosting. Oh my goodness. I promise you, these are 100% worth the caffeine crash you'll be having later today. 

Mini Coffee Cakes with Coffee-Fudge Frosting

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

1/2 cup earth balance

1/2 cup boiling strong coffee

1/4 cup almond milk

1 tsp vinegar

1 1/2 tsp ener-g egg replacer mixed with 2 tbsp water

1/2 tsp vanilla

Frosting:

1/2 cup earth balance

2 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1-2 tbsp strong coffee

1. Preheat your oven to 350º and lightly grease and flour a cupcake tin. In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
2. Melt the earth balance in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir in the coffee and remove from heat. In a measuring cup, whisk together the almond milk and vinegar. Add the egg replacer and vanilla.
3. Pour the coffee and butter into the dry ingredients and stir lightly. Add in the milk mixture and mix until just combined. Divide the batter evenly into your cupcake tin (each will be about 2/3 of the way full) and bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
4. Meanwhile, make the frosting. Mentally prepare yourself, first. This might be the best and most dangerous frosting I have ever made. 
5. Cream together the earth balance, cocoa powder and 1 cup of powdered sugar. Add in the rest of the sugar and 1 tbsp of coffee and stir until creamy. If the frosting is too thick, mix in another tbsp of coffee. You don't want it too liquified though, it should be a fudge-y consistency.
6. Let the cakes cool for about 20 minutes, then frost and enjoy :)

Chocolate Whiskey Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting

My holiday post is a little belated... but I hope everyone had a happy St. Patrick's Day! I meant to post this on Saturday, but my weekend got insanely busy with rehearsals and work.

I'm only partially Irish, so St. Patrick's Day has never been a huge deal for my family. I'll wear green to show some pride, but that's about it. This year, however, I decided to get a little crazier and flaunt my Irish heritage with some good old fashioned Irish whiskey- baked in a cake, that is ;)

Chocolate Whiskey Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting

makes about 10 cupcakes

Cake (adapted from this recipe)

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup Jameson Irish Whiskey
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp white distilled vinegar

Frosting:

1/3 cup vegan butter (I used earth balance)
2 cups powdered sugar
3 tbsp soy milk (or 1 tbsp soy milk and 2 tbsp whiskey, if you want to make it extra boozey!)
1 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat your oven to 350º and grease or line a cupcake tin.
2. Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, cocoa and salt in a large bowl. Stir in the remaining ingredients and mix until just combined. Pour batter into the cupcake tin and bake for about 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
3. While your cupcakes bake, prepare the frosting by creaming together the earth balance, soy milk (or whiskey), vanilla and one cup of sugar. Once it is creamy, whisk in the remaining powdered sugar. Either refrigerate for about an hour, or serve drippy and room-temperature, like I did :)

Thanks to everyone for the wonderful traveling suggestions! I'm still in the process of plotting out my route, so I'm open to any further recommendations and advice. I love hearing about other peoples travel stories- it makes me so excited to have my own adventures!