Butterbeer Cupcakes Recipe

(Makes 20 Cupcakes)

Ingredients:

1 cup soymilk

1 teaspoon cider vinegar

2 1/2 cup flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

2/3 cup canola oil

1 cup granulated sugar

3 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup cream soda

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together dry ingredients. Mix together the wet ingredients. Add the wet to the dry and stir until batter is well-mixed. Line the cupcake tins and fill each pocket 3/4 with batter. Bake for 22-25 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. 

Sugar drizzle:

1/4 cup margarine, melted

1 1/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup soymilk

2 tablespoons dark corn syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. In a large bowl, microwave the margarine for 1 minute, until melted

2. stir in the brown sugar, soy milk, and corn syrup. Stir with a wooden spoon to break up any lumps in the sugar. Cover with a piece of parchment paper. Microwave from 3-4 minutes, stirring once with the wooden spoon until mixture is thickened and all sugar is dissolved. The mixture will come to a full boil

3. Remove from microwave and immediately add vanilla. 

use immediately or let cool and store in a sealed container. 

Funfetti Cupcakes!

Who doesn't love sprinkles? Give these funfetti cupcakes a try!

 Ingredients 

• 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unsweetened plain soy milk
• ½ cup canola oil
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon white or apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup sprinkles (add more or less depending on your preference!)

Instructions:

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 (12-cup) cupcake pans with 14 cupcake liners or 2 (24-cup) mini cupcake pans.

2.  In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3.  In a medium bowl, whisk together soy milk, oil, vanilla, and vinegar. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and whisk until just combined. Do not over mix. Add those sprinkles!
4.  Fill the cupcake liners about two-thirds full with batter. Bake standard sized cupcakes for 15 to 18 minutes (or mini cupcakes for 8-10 minutes), or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean with a few crumbs clinging to it. Cool the cupcakes completely before frosting.

Banana Chocolate Chip Cupcakes!

... over-ripe bananas. Don't throw them out! Experiment with this recipe! If you don't have chocolate chips, try adding some nuts or dried fruit - your cupcakes are sure to turn out delicious! 

Wet Ingredients:

• 1 Cup non-dairy milk
• 1 Teaspoon Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1 1/2 Over-ripe Bananas, Mashed
• 1/4 Cup Coconut Oil
• 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Dry Ingredients:

• 2 Cups Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
• 1 Cup White Sugar
• 1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
• 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
• 1/2 Cup Vegan Chocolate Chips

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 350F/180C for 15 minutes. Lightly grease a muffin tin or line it with paper liners.
2. In a small bowl mix together the milk and vinegar and set aside for about 5 minutes or until it curdles.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients and make a well in the center.
4. To it add the milk mixture, applesauce, oil and vanilla extract. Mix together until the batter is just moistened. Fold in the chocolate chips and nuts, if using.
5. Scoop out about 1/3rd cup of batter in each muffin cup. Bake for about 25-27 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Mine was done in 25 minutes.

Cupcake or Muffin?

I get this question a lot:

What's the difference between a cupcake and a muffin? The simplest answer is that Cupcakes have frosting while Muffins do not.

More specifically, "A basic formula for muffins is 2 cups flour, 2-4 tablespoons sugar, 2½ teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 egg, ¼ cup oil, shortening or butter and 1 cup milk. When the fat, sugar and egg ratio in a recipe reaches double or more than this, you have reached the cake level." (dianasdesserts.com).

Another difference that i've recently discovered is in how you consume a cupcake vs. a muffin. Although everyone has their own way of eating these delecasies, i'll talk about my experiences. When eating a cupcake, the best way to achieve the propper cupcake/frosting ratio in every bite is to separate the bottom of the cupcake and place it ontop of the frosting (like a whoopie pie).
When eating a muffin, most people eat the top-down, but the most efficient way to eat a muffin (as a recently discovered ovbserving a family at McDonalds while sipping a free Coffee) is to turn it upside-down in a napkin, remove the paper, and eat from the bottom-down.
No matter what way you choose to eat a muffin or cupcake, odds are the methods are different.

...and that's the way the cupcake crumbles..

Apple Pie Cupcakes

Although Canadian Thanksgiving is long gone, American Thanksgiving is just around the corner and Apple pie is a staple at every table. Much easier to pull together than an entire pie, Apple Pie Cupcakes are a creative twist on the classic dessert. You're guests will be thankful you made them!

Ingredients

• 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unsweetened plain soy milk
• ½ cup canola oil
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon white or apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 can apple pie filling
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 (12-cup) cupcake pans with 24 cupcake liners

2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together soy milk, oil, vanilla, apple pie filling and vinegar. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and whisk until just combined. Do not over mix.
4. Fill the cupcake liners about two-thirds full with batter. Bake standard sized cupcakes for 15 to 18 minutes (or mini cupcakes for 8-10 minutes), or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean with a few crumbs clinging to it. Cool the cupcakes completely before frosting.

Little Footprints, Big Steps

Little Footprints, Big Steps is Peace Treat's partner charity. LFBS is a transitional safehouse that provides children rescued from slavery, abuse, homelesness, or severe neglect by Hatian authorities with a safe, family environment. Little Footprints, Big Steps provides these children with 3 nutritionally dense meals per day as well as regular medical care. Shelter, tutoring, and therapy are also provided to help these children physically, as well as prove them with psychological help to cope with their traumatic pasts. LFBS also aims to find sponsors to fund each child's annual education costs. As the children return to health, they are either reunited with their biological families or placed in a trustworthy orphanage. To find out more or to donate to this great cause, please see http://littlefootprintsbigsteps.com/. Your support is greatly appreciated.

IT and Cupcakes

Baking cupcakes is not usually associated with Information Systems: It's associated with warm, fuzzy feelings while Information systems are cold-cut and technical.  But to operate a business successfully, systems like Excel and Microsoft Office are critical to stay organized. Using formulas in excel to make a Invoice template, that can be adjusted for each Peace Treat order we recieve, is just one example of why Excel is a great resource! Additionally, by using tables with fields and records, we are able to stay on-top of our expenses and revenues so that we know exactly how much money we're able to donate to our partner charity: Little Footprints Big Steps. Peacetreats also takes advantage of google calendar, as well as doodles for easy scheduling. Last, but not least, social media is our primary way to communicate with our bakers and cupcake lovers. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter! @PeaceTreats and http://www.facebook.com/#!/peacetreats?fref=ts. Where would business be today without these systems?

Pumpkin Cupcakes

Before we get too far into winter, be sure to take advantage of the fall vegetables- squash- and fill your home with the sweet smell of fall!

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup plain almond milk or soy milk
• 1 t. cider vinegar
• 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 t. baking powder
• ½ t. baking soda
• 1/3 cup white granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1 t. ground cinnamon
• ½ t. ginger
• ½ t. nutmeg
• ½ t. salt
• ½ cup pumpkin puree
• ½ cup canola oil
• 1 t. vanilla

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners and set aside.
2. In a small cup, combied the almond milk (or soy milk) and vingear. Allow mixture to rest for 5 minutes.
3. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugars, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. Set aside.
4. In another mixing bowl, mix together the pumpkin puree, canola oil, vanilla and almond milk-vinegar mixture. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, mixing until just combined. Divide the batter into the cups, filling each liner about ¾ full. Bake for 16 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake emergest clean.

Cappuccino Cupcakes and Frosting

Has midterm season got you down? Tired from lack of sleep and late halloween nights? Try these cappuccino cupcakes topped with delicious cappuccino frosting--they'll surely boost your energy!


photo taken by Cassandra Tooley

Cupcake Ingredients:


• 1 cup Non-Dairy Milk (Soy)
• 1 teaspoon Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1 1/4 cups All Purpose Flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup Cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1/3 cup Oil
• 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven at 350F/180C for 15 minutes. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners and grease it lightly.
2. In a medium size bowl, mix together the milk and vinegar allowing it to curdle. This will take about 5 minutes.
3. Meanwhile in a large bowl sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir in the sugar too.
4. Once the milk has curdled, stir in the oil and the extract. Whisk it well to combine.
5. Make a well in the dry ingredients and slowly add the wet ingredients to it, stirring it until all the ingredients come together. Small lumps are okay. Take care to see that you do not over mix it otherwise you will not get fluffy cupcakes.
6. Fill each muffin tin 3/4ths full of the batter.
7. Bake it for about 16-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cupcake comes out clean or with very little crumbs is okay too. Mine were done after 17 minutes.
8. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let it remain there for 5 minutes. After that remove the cupcakes from the pan and let it cool completely before you frost it!

Icing Ingredients:

• 1 Tbs instant coffee
• 2 Tbs hot water
• 4 cups icing sugar
• 1 cup margarine

Directions:
Mix margarine and icing sugar in a large bowl. Pour in the coffee mixture and add more soy milk as necessary to reach desired consistency (do trial and error – add until coffee/milk until it tastes cappuccino-enough to your liking!)
 

Lemon Poppyseed Cupcakes

Light and airy.The perfect pick-me-up for a rainy day! (or any day)!

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
4 tbsp poppy seeds
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups non-dairy milk
1 1/2 tbsp pure lemon extract or 2 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup applesauce
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup canola oil
1 tsp white vinegar

Directions:

1. Mix the milk, lemon juice, applesauce, extract, oil and vinegar together.
2. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, poppy seeds, and salt.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until well combined.
4. Spoon into a greased muffin tin and bake at 375 for 15 minutes or until cooked ( test with a toothpick, if it comes out clean there done!)
5. Let cool completely
6. Top with Citrus glaze (see instructions below)

Citrus Glaze:

• 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• and 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, plus more if needed

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. If mixture is too thick, slowly add milk until it's of maple-suryp consistency. For garnish, you may choose to top each cupcake with a sprinkle of: lemon zest, poppy seeds :)

Classic Vanilla Cupcakes

You can never go wrong making Vanilla Cupcakes. They're timeless and delicious. Give this recipe a try!

 Ingredients 

• 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unsweetened plain soy milk
• ½ cup canola oil
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon white or apple cider vinegar

 
Instructions:

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 (12-cup) cupcake pans with 14 cupcake liners or 2 (24-cup) mini cupcake pans.

2.  In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3.  In a medium bowl, whisk together soy milk, oil, vanilla, and vinegar. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and whisk until just combined. Do not over mix.
4.  Fill the cupcake liners about two-thirds full with batter. Bake standard sized cupcakes for 15 to 18 minutes (or mini cupcakes for 8-10 minutes), or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean with a few crumbs clinging to it. Cool the cupcakes completely before frosting.

Red Velvet Cupcakes!

It's fall! we're surrounded by colors: yellow leaves, orange pumpkins.. why not add some Red cupcakes to the list? Try our delicious and easy, vegan recipe!



Ingredients:

• 1 cup Non-Dairy Milk (Soy)
• 1 teaspoon Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1 1/4 cups All Purpose Flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons Cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1/3 cup Oil
• 2 tablespoons Red Food Coloring (make sure that it’s vegan)
• 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract

 

Directions:

1.  Preheat the oven at 350F/180C for 15 minutes. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners and grease it lightly.

2.  In a medium size bowl, mix together the milk and vinegar allowing it to curdle. This will take about 5 minutes.

3.  Meanwhile in a large bowl sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir in the sugar too.

4.  Once the milk has curdled, stir in the oil, food color and the extract. Whisk it well to combine.

5.  Make a well in the dry ingredients and slowly add the wet ingredients to it, stirring it until all the ingredients come together. Small lumps are okay. Take care to see that you do not over mix it otherwise you will not get fluffy cupcakes.

6.  Fill each muffin tin 3/4ths full of the batter.

7.  Bake it for about 16-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cupcake comes out clean or with very little crumbs is okay too. Mine were done after 17 minutes.

8.  Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let it remain there for 5 minutes. After that remove the cupcakes from the pan and let it cool completely before you can frost it.

 

International Peace Day

In honor of Peace Day, PeaceTreats, McGill's cupcake club sold green tea cupcakes (see recipe below). The first Peace Day was celebrated in September 1982: as of 2002, the General Assembly officiated September, 21 as the permanent date for the International Day of Peace. September 21 is also a Day of Ceasefire- personal or political. It's an opportunity to make peace in your own relationships as well as in larger conflicts of our time. Get involved in your community and celebrate the coming together for one day of peace! For more information see: http://www.un.org/en/events/peaceday/. There are 356 days until International Day of Peace, 2013 --Save the date!

Green Tea Cupcakes

Cupcake Ingredients:

1/2 cup soy yogurt

2/3 cup rice milk (or soy)

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup canola oil

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1 1/4 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

3 teaspoon matcha tea powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup sugar

Green Tea Glaze Ingredients:

2 tablespoon margarine
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/4 teaspoon matcha tea powder
1 or 2 tablespoon rice milk
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
drops of vanilla extract

Cupcake Recipe Instructions:
1. Preheat oven 350°F and line muffin pans with cupcake liners
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, rice milk, vanilla, oil and almond extract, beating well to blend in yogurt. Sift in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, matcha tea powder, salt and sugar. Beat until no more lumps remain. Fill liners two-thirds full and bake 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted through the center of one comes out clean. Cool on racks before topping with glaze.

Glaze Recipe Instructions:
With a fork, beat margarine to fluff, then mix in confectioners’ sugar and matcha tea powder to form a crumbly mixture. Slowly beat in 1 tablespoon rice milk, the almond extract, and the vanilla. If icing is too thick to spread, pour in additional rice milk a tablespoon at a time and mix until desired consistency is reached.

Recipe by Marie-Pascale des Rosiers, Picture by Liz Marsh