Vegan Visitor – After being asked to create a muffin of childlike proportions for the Muffin Monday Round-Up, I was left thinking back, with one memory only.
After attending countless birthday celebrations as a child, cake memories tend to blend together; all but one at least. Funny enough, I couldn’t dare tell you who’s birthday it was, or how old we were, but I, and I’m assuming every other kid there, hadn’t ever been served anything like this before.
Before us, my friends and I, were presented a bright blue plastic pail of DIRT – with worms…
Temporarily paralyzed by our bewildered excitement, we eventually dug in. Oreo Cookie crumbs, chocolate icing, pudding, devils food cake, you name it, if it was dark, gooey and made from chocolate it was in there. The best part? Intertwined in the mess of cocoa, stretchy, fruity, gummy worms.
Now the worms aren’t vegan, but I’ve found “Fruit Squiggles“. The same as flat fruit leather, this stuff has been reshaped to be more exciting for kid snacks and mudcake creations alike.
Recipe and photo reprinted with the permission of the Vegan Visitor.
CUPPA MUDCAKES
1/2 package Silken Tofu
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
1/3 Cup Vegan Margarine
1/3 Cup Cocoa
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
3/4 Cup All Purpose, Unbleached Flour
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1/4 teaspoon Salt
Line a muffin tin with papers.
Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.
In the bowl of a food processor or electric mixer, cream the tofu then add the vanilla.
In a saucepan, melt the margarine and add the brown sugar. Once everything is melted, whisk in the cocoa, until it’s smooth and thick.
Add the chocolate to the tofu mixture; blending well.
Mix in the sifted flour, salt and baking powder until just combined.
Pour by tablespoon fulls into the prepared muffin tins and bake for about 18 minutes or until the muffins are puffed and spring back when touched.
Cool on a rack completely prior to icing.
Makes 6.
VEGAN CHOCOLATE ICING
1/2 Cup Margarine
2/3 Cup cocoa powder
2 Cups powdered sugar
1/3 Cup Soy milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
Melt the margarine in a small bowl, I microwave it.
Transfer to a mixing bowl and add cocoa and stir well.
Add powdered sugar and soy milk, then beat on medium for about a minute, or until it’s a spreadable consistency.
Stir in the vanilla extract.
TO DECORATE
Chocolate Icing
1 Cup Oreo Cookie Crumbs
Fruit Leather
Ju-jubes
Licorice
Gummy worms or fruit leather “squiggles”
(What ever else you have on hand to get creative with, have fun!)
Top the cupcakes with the chocolate icing and dip them into the Oreo crumbs.
Slice the ju-jubes into crescents and other petal shapes or use a cookie cutter for the fruit leather to create other garden-esq shapes.
Stick the worms in and out of the Oreo “dirt”.
Think garden and have fun!
