Vegan Cupcakes!!

Vegan cupcakes rock!! There are so many reasons for this. Here are six:

1 is that they don't affect animals in any way, which is pretty cool. Although I am not a vegan, I love animals, and I sometimes get vegan-envy.

2: they taste awesome. I've only tasted the vegan cupcakes I have made, but I can honestly say that they taste better than many of their non-vegan counterparts. So far they have been light yet moist enough, and flavorful. They don't give you that "wow, that was rich" feeling that some buttery cupcakes do. Although I like that feeling, it is nice to lighten things up, especially in the summer. While the frosting does have more of a bakery taste than a homemade taste because shortening is used instead of butter, it also has a guilty-pleasure feeling because it reminds you of a Twinkie or a birthday cake with oodles of white fluffy bakery frosting.

3: They are simple to make. Because most of the recipes don't require the creaming of butter, just mixing up the flour, oil, and other ingredients is a relatively simple task.

4: They are healthier than non-vegan cakes. In the recipes I have used, the cakes are made with healthy canola oil and the icing made with non-hydrogenated shortening, which are better fats than butter.

5: Vegans tend to be cool. For example, if you read the bible of vegan cupcakes: Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, you'll know what I mean. The authors, like their cupcakes, are full of flavor.

6. Vegan cupcakea are so loved, there is even a Flickr photo pool just for them.

These are my six reasons for loving vegan cupcakes. As I make more of these, you'll see this list grow. Above are two photos of vegan cupcakes I have made from the VCTOTW book. At the top is are the vanilla cupcakes with vanilla "buttercream" frosting. MMMMMMMM.....Next is a crimson velveteen cupcake, the vegan version of red velvet, with "cream cheese" frosting. I think this frosting, made with soy cream cheese actually tastes better than real cream cheese. So, get the book, try them out, and eat more vegan cupcakes : )