Irish Coffee Cupcakes (Vegan!)

I finally had a weekend where I could sit back and bake.  Okay, I suppose baking does not actually mean sitting back by any means, however, I did have the time to create something since I had no obligations outside of my home.  I also knew I wanted to create something vegan since I have been baking a lot with eggs recently and if you’ve ever read this blog before, you already know that eggs gross me out.  So after going to four different grocery stores, I finally tracked down Ener-G Egg Replacer and decided let’s see what I can do with this.

• Cupcake Ingredients:
  
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons dutch-processed cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon Ener-G Egg Replacer (Whole Foods and Wild by Nature definitely carry this, if you can’t find it anywhere else….)
• 1/2 cup boiling water
• 2 tablespoons instant-espresso powder
• 1/4 cup almond milk
• 1/2 cup margarine (as always, I used Earth Balance)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons applesauce (I HATE applesauce but it does make for some tasty baked treats)
• 1/2 teaspoon whiskey (I used Jameson because helloooo)

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a medium-size bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cocoa powder, and egg replacer.
3. Boil water.  In a small bowl, pour water over espresso powder.  Add the almond milk to the espresso/water mix.
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer, fixed with the paddle attachment, mix the margarine and sugars on medium speed.  This should be completely blended and look like small pebbles.
5. Add applesauce to the margarine mix and blend for about 5 minutes, or so.
6. Add the flour mixture, in small portions, to the margarine/applesauce mixture, then add the espresso mix to the rest of the ingredients and blend for another 2 1/2 minutes.
7. Add the whiskey and continue to mix for another 2 1/2 – 3 minutes.
8. Put liners in your cupcake pan and fill each liner 3/4 of the way full with your batter.
9. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  These were done exactly at 20 and had a beautiful, smooth finish to them.
10. Transfer to cooling racks after about 5 minutes and prepare your frosting while the cupcakes finish cooling.

• Ingredients for Whiskey Frosting:
  
• 3 cups powdered sugar (this seems like a lot, but trust me the whiskey cuts through the sweetness)
• 1/3 cup margarine (again, Earth Balance)
• 3 tablespoons whiskey (again, Jameson)

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, fixed with the paddle attachment, mix the powdered sugar and margarine together.
2. Add in 1 tablespoon of whiskey, allow it to mix, add a second tablespoon of whiskey and mix.
3. If desired, add a third tablespoon of whiskey and mix.  I required a third since sugar, without anything to “cut through” the sweetness aggravates me to no end.  Oh, and I really love whiskey.
4. Frost your cupcakes!

 

These cupcakes came out sooooo good!  The cupcakes themselves are a bit dry and more the consistency of a muffin, however, this works perfectly with the frosting.  The sweetness and bite of the frosting definitely aids the cupcakes.  I feel as though if the cupcakes were sweet, this would be a cavity waiting to happen.  I also didn’t do the best job frosting since I really just wanted to take a photo and eat a damn cupcake.

This may seem like a lot of ingredients and a lot of work, but it really isn’t.  The ingredients go together quickly and well.  The frosting took only a few minutes to make.  And in the end, you get a tasty cupcake that your typically sober friends can get drunk on. Please eat these responsibly.  There is nothing in the frosting to “burn off” the alcohol from the whiskey.  And let’s be honest, Jameson is not for everyone.