Mission: Vegan

I know if done right, vegan baked goods can taste incredible. Back home, at my favorite vegetarian/vegan restaurant, they make a really good chocolate cake and vanilla frosting. I have no idea how they do it without milk, eggs, and butter, but they do. And sure, there are hundreds of bakeries with vegan goodies that even a carnivore would eat. However, after eating the vegan baked goods at my school's cafeteria, my faith in vegan baking was waning.

Seriously. The vegan muffins that appear on weekend brunches taste as sickly as they look. (maybe that's an over exaggeration, but they don't taste nearly as good as a normal muffin)

So, after a promise to a vegan friend that one day I would bake treats he could eat, I found a vegan banana muffin recipe and a daunting task: make it edible.

The first time I ever baked something vegan was at Jenny's house way back in high school. She didn't have some non-vegan ingredient in her house, probably eggs, so a bunch of us decided instead of going out to get the ingredient, we would just make a vegan dessert and settled on peanut butter bars. They turned out flaky (in a bad way) and tasteless.



These muffins worried me at first. The batter looked watery and tasted too floury but I followed the recipe so there wasn't much else to do. I popped them in the oven and as they were baking, they rose to HUGE heights! Totally thought I filled the muffin tins too high with batter but after they were finished baking and had cooled, they were perfect. And a little funny looking. I did happen to run out of cupcake liners but the muffins came out of the tin without struggle and with a tan. The tops of the muffins were a pale cream and the sides were a golden brown. Silly looking, but the taste? You wouldn't even know it was vegan. They were moist and banana-y and delicious! It's a recipe I would use over and over again.

And my vegan friend approved. Those muffins barely lasted 48 hours.
Yo, cafeteria. You better step up your game because vegan muffins can taste pretty damn good.

oh so hipster martha stewart.
<3

And they come with wheels!

I think this article speaks for itself.

Who could resist a cupcake on wheels?!
Insane.

<3

Cookins!

Oh, look! Cookins!

So, yes, after making delicious Silver Palate cookie dough (it's my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe) and then placing it in muffin tins, all was not lost. Honestly, there's something awfully disappointing about a bad batch of baked goods, but luckily, cookies baked in muffin tins was a success. Like the brownies, you end up getting a denser, bigger portion of the original baked good. They turned out great and tasted just as they should, although a few of the cookins (cookie+muffin = cookin) had tops that were sunken in. But that just got me thinking that they need either a scoop of ice cream on top or some frosting to patch the hole. Or, you know, those are always good test trys. You know: the cookie that doesn't look as nice and neat as the others so it becomes the first one you eat, just to make sure it tastes alright.

A success. Which is good since I'm still too lazy to buy cookie sheets. In time, in time but until then, I will probably continue to bake in that tin.
I also don't have a mixing bowl. That's why the cookie dough was prepared in a pot. A very handy, trusty pot. We filled the tins about halfway full of dough and they baked a bit longer than the normal 8-10 minutes, but not much.
Totally recommend this recipe.

cookie muffins?!

Can you bake cookies in cupcake tins?
Possibly yes.
The answer...in a few moments.

edit: Yes you can! More soon. <3

the first of many !

Yo. I'm starting a baking blog since baking in dorms is crazy enough as it is. It should be documented. And everyone likes pictures of tasty food! Like that one down below! See it?



So it was one of those days where everything seems to go wrong. Just pile after pile of awkward moments and news you don't really want to hear heaping up inching in closer to where you're sitting.

Yeah, wasn't the best day I've had.
And Casey, I don't think it was the best day for her either.

But hey, on the bright side, I had plenty of free time at night and rather than wallow and worry the only logical thing to do...was bake! With Casey! And eventually, we enlisted the help of Paul. Which of course, is the best, baking with friends.

I still don't own baking sheets yet and I wanted to make the Silver Palate cookies I love and always make at home when I want good old chocolate chip cookies. So cookies were sort of out of the question unless I wanted to borrow cookie sheets from Abby again. I was wondering how cookies would bake in cupcake tins but then settling on baking brownies in the tins instead. (This is how my thought process is...definitely repeated the words "cookies" and "baking sheets" way too much).
Anyways.
Brownie bites, of course!
Big brownie bites. Huge. Definitely not bite sized. Cupcake sized.

I'm also low on baking supplies but luckily! thankfully, I had enough for chocolate brownies because if I didn't...it would be another unfortunate moment to fall on top of the pile of my day.
Because the most disappointing thing after baking a bad batch of whatever is when you start to bake and realize you're missing one ingredient. But no! These brownies prevailed.

And tasted delicious.
Look at those satisfied faces.




I rarely make brownies (too boring) but I can't deny the amazingly simple satisfaction of biting into one after a day like that. Always a good idea. Casey dusted them with powdered sugar and they were done. Next time, if I make cupcake sized brownies again, I think serving them with a scoop of ice cream on top or on the side would make a really nice addition. Maybe I'll add coffee to the mix and make mocha brownies.

And the other best part of baking? You know, after a successful batch of treats that taste good?
Sharing.
It's the best part, handing out your hard work to friends who take a bite and smile.
Because maybe their day wasn't all to great, either.

Today has been better. Quiet, but good. And lazy. I did end up eating another brownie-in-the-form-of-cupcake after lunch today. It was a good decision.

Listening to IndieFeed slam poetry, thinking about baking, and not doing homework.
Like I said. A good day.

Entry one: done.
baked before class.