Death Cab by chocolate vegan cupcakes

Like the lyrics of any self-respecting Death Cab for Cutie song, these cupcakes are dark, dense, and unassuming. These little cuties are so rich, they could probably pay for my tuition at this freaking school. Inspired by Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World's Brooklyn Brownie Cupcakes recipe, their decadence is owing to--surprise!--cherry preserves, not butter! So you get antioxidants instead of CANCER!!!

Half of the American indie rock quartet are vegan devotees: both Chris Walla and Ben Gibbard are guilty of multiplying their collective hotness factor by infinity in the name of saving the earth. According to the July/August 2008 issue of VegNews, the two are guilty of subtly using their music as a political platform in the name of vegetarian causes; Chris Walla has recently been involved in numerous campaigns with Peta to promote veganism, especially amongst children. "Some parents just don't get it, some schools just don't get it, and lots of young people simply don't have much choice about what they eat or where it comes from," Chris said in an interview with VegNews. Walla turned toward vegetarianism at the age of 15, when he was first introduced to the realities of factory farming. Cool.


Death Cab by chocolate vegan cupcakes
suggested soundtrack: Narrow Stairs, Death Cab for Cutie, 2008
prep time: 10 minutes
baking time: 20-30 minutes
yield: 12-18 cupcakes


ingredients:
2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup soy yogurt
1/2 cup cherry preserves or cherry pie filling
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

for the frosting:
multicolored nonpareils
2 tbsp. melted vegetable oil spread (i.e. EarthBalance)
1/4 cup cocoa powder
4 tbsp. soy milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups confectioners' sugar



directions:
1.) Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners and/or spray each well with nonstick cooking spray (use extra is forgoing liners).
2.) Melt the 2/3 cup of semisweet chocolate chips over a double boiler, on the stove, or just nuke 'em in the microwave.
3.) Blend together wet ingredients: soy yogurt, cherry preserves, soy milk, canola oil, and vanilla extract should be well blended. Slowly add the 3/4 cup of sugar to the mixture until it is well incorporated and dissolved.
4.) In a separate bowl, sift together the other dry ingredients: flour, cocoa, baking powder & soda, and salt. Once mixed, incorporate the dry mixture in small amounts into the wet mixture. Once fully incorporated, use a handheld mixer for several minutes to blend well. If you're poor like me, use your guns.
5.) Incorporate the melted chocolate.
6.) You know the deal...spoon batter into muffin pan wells and try to resist the urge to gouge your own eyes out with the blunt end of the spoon because it's practically impossible to do this without dripping batter all over the parts of the pan where you don't want it to go.
7.) At this point, I suggest taking a deep breath and skipping to the track, "Your New Twin Sized Bed".
8.) Bake for 20-30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

FROSTING!!!
1.) Mix the coca into the melted vegetable oil spread, and then add soy milk and vanilla extract.
2.) Slowly incorporate confectioners' sugar in 1/2-cupfuls until fully incorporated. You may need to experiment a little here with the proportions depending on how icing-like (less sugar) or frosting like (more sugar) you like things.

Transfer cupcakes to a wire rack and allow them to cool fully before frosting...otherwise you will find yourself stuck in a sticky mess and may have to resort to licking said frosting from your person. Shame, shame...

it was the perfect timing

It was the summer of 2008. I had just returned stateside from a six month stint in Europe, and was once again vulnerable to the everyday charms of American civilization. Like cupcakes.

My mother egged on my newfound fascination with drip coffee and 32 oz. sodas from Sunoco when she left a copy of the infamous Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World on my pillow. It was the perfect timing.

I had my own big kitchen in Providence. I had more than a handful of friends with upcoming birthdays. I had a demanding work and class schedule that required copious amounts of procrastination. And, perhaps most notably, I was vegan with a vengeance.

I took to the kitchen, and despite its lack of fancy baking equipment, was able to whip up a few first successful batches of cakes. Granted, the tops collapsed in on some and they weren't the prettiest things to look at, but a quick dousing in hundreds-and-thousands always saved the day. I brought my first babies to a friend's birthday party only four days after our mutual arrival to the states. After her first bite, her eyes grew to the size of dinner plates. "Carrie, these are the best...cupcakes...i have ever...had!"

That's when I knew. It can be done, and it can be done well--vegan baking, vegan eating, for that matter, can be the best one has ever had. To hell with butter, eggs, and milk. We really don't need that crap--in our bodies or in our cupcakes.

And so vegan cupcakes take over the world. Or at least Providence, for that matter.

This blog is an attempt to chronicle the adventures in my kitchen, which typically involve sticky messes with coconut icing and rainbow sprinkles, always involve embarrassing air guitar jams to (vegan!) rock, and never involve any animals.

And the playlist begins...