Tag: Cupcake

• Just One Won’t Do…

  Posted at 7:36 AM by Brittany, on January 27, 2014

  Sometimes I take so many photos that it’s impossible to choose just one.

  

  Each photo offers something different than the others. Even if the change is minuscule, it’s enough to change the photo all together in my eyes. Changing the position is enough to take shadows that were once there and erase them as if they never were.

  

  Note the subtle difference in these two photos. Both are taken from similar angles, however the direction of light has changed. The ridges of the frosting are much more apparent in the top photo, but the bottom photo has a softer overall feel to it.

  

  Above is another example of the light hitting the cake from the side, and below is another example of the light hitting the cake from the front. Lighting can make all the difference!

  

  I tend to take an excess of photos, and then struggle when it comes time to post them. I can never choose just one, I’m a bit of a perfectionist.

  

  Long story short is that I simply needed an excuse to post multiple photos of a single cupcake..because it was that good. It could have been because I hadn’t had a cupcake in months, or because sometimes cupcakes just taste better when someone else bakes them.

  Either way, I enjoyed every last crumb of this delicious cupcake. Just one didn’t do!

  

  Seriously though, don’t give me chocolate and expect me to keep my face clean.

  Q: Which angle of light do you like better on the cupcake?

  

  | 75 Comments Tagged Cupcake, Photography, Vegan

• Back to the Beginning

  Posted at 8:23 AM by Brittany, on January 20, 2014

  I’m not a natural born runner. When I first started running I got excited when I accomplished one mile without stopping, working my way up until I finally ran my first 5K race. I’ve also never been a graceful runner, more like a frantic monkey with an annoying tick on his rear. Everyone has to start somewhere.

  

  Then I ran my first half marathon, and my second..third…and fourth.. and suddenly 3 mile runs were a sad excuse for a workout. I started to believe that if I didn’t run at least 5 miles in one period of time it was a waste, and my workout would suffer.

  

  Not only did I worry about miles, I started to obsess about time. Always wanting to improve and get faster. Overall, I don’t see anything wrong with this. As humans we should want to improve and better ourselves in all aspects of our lives, but not at the expense of our happiness. I started to loathe my runs, and I stopped running all together.

  

  A few months ago I wrote a post about switching up my workouts, with hopes that I would fall back in love with running. While stepping away from running was beneficial, I ended up mentally stepping away all together and not fully enjoying any run I would do. Running felt forced, and relationships should never feel forced, in any aspect of life.

  

  Lately I’ve had a strong mental desire to run, but anytime I started I wanted to stop. I’ve decided it’s time to go back to the beginning, and run the way I did when I first started. 3 mile runs are better than no runs. If I enjoy the miles that’s what matters. Along with taking the stress away from the miles, I’ve forced myself to slow down my running pace. This is much easier said than done! Fellow runners can relate.

  

  Over the last couple years I worked my way from 11 minute miles..to 10 minute miles..to 9 minute miles, with a few runs in the 8 minute pace. I’m very proud of this, and I proved to myself with a bit of hard work and motivation the increase is possible. Now that I know I am capable of running “faster” it’s easier to settle back into a 10 minute mile and still hold onto my confidence as a runner, because we all know every runner thinks about pace.

  One day my comfortable pace may be a 9:00 min mile, but for now I only foresee quicker runs happening during races, and on days that I’m feeling wild. I’m going to listen to my body and base my pace strictly on how I feel -fast or slow.

  

  My favorite reason to run, endless cupcakes.

  Long story short: my overall goal is to feel just as accomplished with a slower shorter run as I do with a shorter faster run, or a longer run. A run..is a run.. is a run. Plain and simple.

  

  Will run faster for money.

  Q: How do you feel about the constant need for improvement?

  

  | 52 Comments Tagged Cupcake, Garmin, Running, Workout

• Not How I Used to Be

  Posted at 4:04 AM by Brittany, on December 13, 2013

  I am constantly in awe of how my life has changed over the last 10 years. I have completely settled into a life of coffee, early mornings, and NPR stories before work. I guess this is what the generation ahead of me would call growing up. Waking up early allows me to see the ice flakes on my windows before the day light melts them.

  

  I almost can’t believe I used to sleep until noon when I was in my early teens. Such a shame. Along with my natural alarm clock waking me up before 7, my decorative taste has matured as well. I find myself being drawn towards rustic, earthy, neutral items, and I constantly day dream about decorating whenever I wander stores.

  

  So simple, yet so wonderfully decorated.

  I’m discovering that my idea of a successful day is going for a walk with a thick jacket and wool socks. Wandering the market and enjoying a free cup of coffee. Daydreaming about decorating my own space, and brainstorming new craft ideas. Waking up before the sun, just to hear the stillness of the dark sky. Exchanging a smile with a stranger I’ll never see again, or stopping to savor a moment of quiet with a hot cup of tea.

  

  I’m quite content with the small things I find joy in, and have made it my mission to find something joyful in each and everyday. Chatting with a Starbucks customer about running, or buying someone in need a foot long sandwich, both provide equal feel good. Savoring a cupcake slowly, because these days I’m not sure when I’ll have another one.

  My older body doesn’t handle sugar quite like it used to, which has led me to another sugar detox. After one too many donuts and cookies this was necessary. It’s been four days and I thankfully haven’t had to shank anyone. Sometimes I get angry without my cookies. Christmas morning it’s game over and I plan to face plant into a pile of cinnamon rolls.

  

  Snack bowls instead!

  Balance is bliss, and one day I will find my balance when it comes to cupcakes…maybe.

  Q: What’s something that has changed for you over the last decade?

  

  | 59 Comments Tagged Cupcake, Random, Vegan

• Apple Spice Cupcakes…Turned Muffins

  Posted at 7:48 AM by Brittany, on August 28, 2013

  The other day I started to bake some cupcakes, because you know..I didn’t get enough last weekend. In my defense, the cupcakes my mom brought me just didn’t hit the spot. DON’T get me wrong, they were unbelievably delicious, but a lemon cake with raspberry filling is so… last summer. (Disclaimer: I’d never turn down a cupcake regardless of flavor.)

  I am foaming at the mouth for fall to hurry up and get here, so to honor my favorite season I got spicy in the kitchen with cinnamon, and nutmeg. Bring on the fall spices! Sadly, the maple “butter” cream icing I attempted to make turned into a soupy mess, which means these went from cupcakes to muffins faster than you can say, “vegan butter is a b*^ch.”

  Apple Spice Cupcakes/Muffins

  

  For the apples

  • 3 peeled and cored apples, diced into cubes
  • 1 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1 tblsp flour
  • 2 tblsp brown sugar
  • 1 tblsp coconut oil

  Toss your apples in the spices and flour. Over medium heat, heat the brown sugar and coconut oil until slightly bubbly. Add in your apples and cook until caramelized, most of the liquid has been cooked off, and the apples are soft. Remove from heat and let cool.

  For the cupcakes

  • 1 cup almond milk
  • 1 tblsp lemon juice
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 3/4 cup raw sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg

  Mix together the almond milk and lemon juice and let sit for a minute to curdle. Then add in the oil, sugar, and vanilla. In a separate bowl combine your spices, flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Once combined, add to the milk mixture.

  

  So much apple goodness

  Preheat your oven to 350F. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners. I used the ADORABLE liners my dear friend Lily sent me a while back. Fold the cooled apples into the cupcake batter and fill your liners almost to the top. Your kitchen will smell like FALL!

  I am a bit depressed that the icing didn’t turn out, I had some high hopes for these cupcakes. Muffins are good too though, and sometimes trying to turn a non vegan recipe into a vegan one just doesn’t work. Live and learn. Overall these were still delicious and I ended up eating them with a GLOB of PB on top. I will make these again!

  Q: Do you get bummed when you have kitchen failures? I’ve gotten a lot better in time, I used to have internal melt downs. Failures are now excuses to bake again! 

  

  | 65 Comments Tagged Cupcake, Fall, Recipe, Vegan

• Let’s Get Saucy!

  Posted at 7:33 AM by Brittany, on August 26, 2013

  Sometimes my mom takes on the shape of an angel, a cupcake carrying angel.

  

  Yeah, this totally happened.

  Bottom two are mine, but the others deserved to be in the picture too because they are gorgeous. Especially middle left. Lets take another look from a different angle.

  

  I don’t know if I should admit to people how amazing I feel inside just looking at cupcakes like this. There is an ART about cupcake decorating that just gets me excited. You know what else gets me excited..secrets..inner secrets.

  

  Food porn as its finest.

  To balance out the cupcakes I’ve been inhaling eating, I am also making myself decent meals. I’ve really started to fall back in love with the concept of taking the time to cook.

  

  Cous cous, avocado, tomato, and pistachios over a bed of Swiss chard.

  I bring bowls like this to work with me to prevent me from cracking out on too much coffee. It’s all about balancing the caffeine with real food, or so I tell myself. This snack takes no more than 10 minutes to throw together, but is so much heartier than a PB&J.

  Insanity is still insane, and running is going fine. I have felt a bit tired these days, but I think it’s because I’m not eating enough cupcakes..that’s obviously why (however these cupcakes fueled my 7 mile run this weekend at a 9:42 pace per mile.) I’ve also been ravenous at times due to the extra calories I am burning, which helps give me motivation to continue making myself some solid dinners.

  

  I had a recent craving for gnocchi, because I think it had been at least a year since I last had it! One day I will make my own from scratch, but for now the tricolored gnocchi from my local market does just fine. Paired with roasted beets, roasted Brussels sprouts, and sauteed asparagus for a complete meal. Let’s get a close up of that saucy gnocchi.

  

  I made a walnut cream sauce to lather on top. For those of you that love the heavy cream based sauces I encourage you to try making a nut based sauce, it will change your life.

  Walnut “Cream” Sauce 

  • raw walnuts (or sub in any nut-cashews are my favorite, but this is what I had)
  • water
  • garlic powder
  • salt
  • lemon juice

  -This is somewhat of a DIY recipe, basically you will need equal parts water and nuts. Combine the two in your high powered blender, or food processor and blend. For a thicker sauce, add more nuts, and for a thinner sauce add more water. Experiment with whatever consistency you prefer. I used about a cup of nuts/water for two people.

  -With the seasonings I used about 1/2 tablespoon of garlic powder, and about 1/2 tsp of sea salt. I squeezed in half of a lemon (completely squeezed, you will need to drain that lemon dry.) Blend again. The fattiness of the walnuts balance these flavors perfectly.

  With the leftover sauce I plan to make more veggie/grain bowls and continue gettin saucy!

  Q: What’s your favorite sauce? SALSAAAA and mustard find their way onto most things I eat, but I am always a fan of nut sauces! 

  

  | 80 Comments Tagged Cupcake, Insanity, Recipe, Running, Vegan

• A Much Needed Foodie Adventure

  Posted at 1:35 PM by Brittany, on August 16, 2013

  My soul feels rejuvenated after a full day of amazing eats, and even better company. You know your day is going to be great when it starts out with a view like this.

  

  Vegan cupcakes galore at my favorite bakery. I behaved and ate brunch before I got a cupcake, although my meal was more of a snack/treat.

  

  Corn cakes with the most amazing vegan cream sauce and fresh berries. I cannot wait to go back and get a real meal. Any excuse to get more cupcakes…and a ginger molasses cookie.

  After a walk, skip, and a jump it was already time for lunch/another snack before dinner. The last time I had a legit vegan pizza was almost three months ago. Vegan pizza by the slice? YES, sign me up. The only thing missing from this pizza was potatoes.

  

  I don’t think they could have squeezed anything else on there if they tried. This slice gave me just enough energy to partake in some shopping, and some berry picking.

  

  I need pie…now. OK OK, now for my favorite meal of the day..summer is almost over and I had yet to make burgers. Better late than never right!?

  Black Bean Sweet Potato Burgers 

  

  • 15 oz black beans drained and rinsed
  • 1  med/large cooked sweet potato
  • 1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn
  • 2/3 cup finely chopped onion
  • 2 large garlic cloves, finely minced
  • 1/2 cup cooked quinoa
  • 6 tblsp rolled oats
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • black pepper to taste
  • 1 tsp cayenne
  • 1 tblsp olive oil

  

  1. Preheat your oven to 375F, once you finish cooking your quinoa and sweet potato.
  2. Mash half of the beans in a bowl until paste-like.
  3. Add in the rest of the beans and give a very light stir/mash to combine.
  4. In a separate bowl, mash the sweet tater, but you don’t want it creamy.
  5. Stir in the salt, pepper, cayenne, and olive oil, until combined.
  6. Mix in the onion, garlic, corn, black beans, quinoa, and ground oats, until just combined.
  7. Taste, and adjust seasonings to your liking.
  8. Form into balls, between your hands and flatten into 1/2”-3/4” thick patties.  This should make 8 medium/large patties.
  9. Place on a pan lined with parchment paper [or lightly greased pan] and bake on each side for 15min, flipping once, half-way through. Finish and serve!

  I topped mine with tomato, roasted red pepper, avocado, swiss chard, and BBQ sauce. As always I make my burgers and sandwiches so tall I can barely fit my mouth around them.

  

  Bon Appétit!

  Oh and I saved the best for last..somehow I managed to save the cupcake I got at brunch for after dinner. Seven hours after purchase I sunk my teeth into the most gorgeous sight.

  

  Lemon Lavender..swoon.

  Q: What does it take for you to recharge after a long week? Good food, and great company did it for me this week! 

  

  | 45 Comments Tagged Cupcake, Recipe, Summer, Vegan

• Bloggers

  Posted at 8:43 AM by Brittany, on July 12, 2013

  Can I just say how much I love blog friends? There are a few people I have become very close with in the last year, just from blogging and reading each others blogs. Text messages, phone calls, vacation plans, and even unexpected gifts have taken place!

  

  The best gifts are the ones that are personal. If you know me, you know I love to bake (specifically cupcakes) and I LOVE CATS! HELLO cutest cupcake liners I have ever seen! This amazing gift came from one of my FAVORITE bloggers Lily. I love this girl so much I am planning to attend her wedding next year with another favorite blogger, Megan! It takes a blogger to understand the bonds we form from all over the world, and it’s a bond I wouldn’t trade for anything. Not even cupcakes! THANK you again Lily, this made my day!

  Megan and I met in real life two months ago when she was visiting Seattle, and we became instant BFF’s. I am so excited to road trip it to Michigan with her next March!! Any other bloggers in the DC/Virginia area should HOLLLERRR for a giant blogger party meet up!

  

  My best friend sent me this picture on NYE, it made my day life.

  Happy Friday everyone!!

  Q: Who’s coming over for kitty cupcakes!?

  

  | 56 Comments Tagged Blog, Bloggers, Cats, Cupcake, Running

• Hot Hot HOT!

  Posted at 7:13 AM by Brittany, on July 8, 2013

  The temperatures have been (finally) rising in Washington and we are away from 50-60 degrees and into the 80 degree range. This is nothing for some of you, but for me I die. I die at night when I can’t sleep because it’s too hot, I die in the day when I get into my car and can’t breathe until my AC gets going, and I die when I try to run while it’s still 80 out.

  

  The heat just ZAPS my energy, but I am really loving the fact that this is my “slower” pace lately. My slower pace used to be 10:30-11:00 miles, but for the last month it’s been 9:30-9:40 miles. I can feel the difference when I am running slower, but even this “slow” pace is fast for me. I talk about pace too much, but only because I get so excited!

  

  Check out that vein in my hand…

  The real test will be when I start running longer distances again, but I am still content with my 3-5milers. On top of melting out of my own skin, I am 90% positive I had a slight case of strep last week. Aside from having someone in a lab coat swab my tonsils and smear my mouth bacteria on some agar agar, I let the symptoms describe themselves. My tonsils were the size of ping pong balls, my throat keept me awake at night it hurt so bad, and there were small white bumps on my throat. So gross, and def strep symptoms. I rode it out though, and tried at home remedies like ACV and honey with cayenne.

  I mentioned in my last post that I just can’t hang when it comes to eating ice cream on a hot day, but give me a cupcake and I will pummel through walls. Even poorly frosted cupcakes get a chance. This frosting melted into a sad puddle, but was delicious!

  

  Much less heavy than ice cream, but still satisfies my ferocious sweet beast. I also like my brownies and cakes cold, so they get put into the fridge immediately. Along with cold cakes my diet has been consisting of cold fruit and cold grains. Starbucks just started selling the most epic salad, and it just so happens to be vegan!! I am so obsessed, man I love my job.

  

  

  Gorgeous layering!

  The dressing is delicious, but way too oily so I only use a skosh, just enough to give the kale some flavor. I’m a plain grain eater anyway. Well done Starbucks, well done.

  While I enjoy the heat in moderation, I have to admit that I am already looking forward to the fall months. October is my favorite month of the year, and I’m already day dreaming about all the pumpkin and cinnamon I will be consuming around Thanksgiving. Too soon?

  Q: How do you handle the heat?? I’m a big wimp, I like 65F and sunny..anything more and I wine like a squeaky door handle. I don’t know how my family in Arizona handles the 120F months. Too hot, TOOOO HOT! 

  

  | 63 Comments Tagged Cupcake, Garmin, Hot, Running, Summer, Vegan

• Virtual Vegan Potluck: Classic Chocolate Cupcake

  Posted at 12:24 AM by Brittany, on May 11, 2013

  When I first started to brainstorm what dessert I wanted to bring to this potluck, I knew I wanted to do something epic. Bigger and badder than the the rest. Something unique, something with an interesting ingredient, something with…beans. So that’s what I did. I made some black bean chocolate cupcakes with a peanut butter frosting, and they both failed so miserably. I salvaged the “cupcakes” and turned them into a brownie like mixture (waste NOT) but the frosting was toast. Into the garbage it went. Time to reevaluate.

  I decided to go with a classic chocolate cake, and make a vanilla frosting. I’ve made vanilla frosting before with Earth Balance vegan butter and it was delicious. I didn’t have enough on hand and decided to test the Gods by using coconut oil instead. Mistake number two. I knew coconut oil with a vanilla frosting tasted like..well..coconut oil. I love coconut oil as much as the next vegan, but I don’t enjoy the flavor of it on it’s own. Frosting number two down the drain. I was starting to loose my patience, but I had to finish these.

  Finally, I decided to top my classic chocolate cupcakes (which turned out GREAT) with a classic chocolate frosting. OH and a homemade PB cup. After a 9 mile run in the hot sun, and 3 hours of baking in a hot kitchen, I was more than willing to stick with a classic. I’ll get wild in my kitchen another time.

  

  Classic Chocolate Cupcakes

  For the cake:

  • 1 cup vanilla almond milk
  • 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/3 cup cocoa powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup raw sugar
  • 1/3 cup melted coconut oil
  • 1.5 teaspoons vanilla

  Preheat oven to 350F. Line muffin tin with 12 cupcake liners. In a bowl whisk together the almond milk and the apple cider vinegar and set aside for a few minutes to allow to curdle. While you wait for the mixture to curdle, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl and set aside.

  Once your mixture is curdled, pour in the sugar, melted coconut oil, and vanilla. Mix together until foamy. Once foamy slowly pour (in two batches) the dry ingredients into the wet and mix until there are no visible lumps. Evenly distribute the mix into 12 cupcake liners. The liners should be about 3/4 full. Bake 18-20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

  

  For the icing:

  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil
  • 1/4 cup vanilla almond milk
  • 3/4 cup cocoa powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

  I mentioned earlier that coconut oil does not work well with vanilla frosting. It does however work with the chocolate. The cocoa powder is strong enough to overtake the flavor of the coconut oil.

  In a medium-large mixing bowl, using an electric hand mixer, mix the powdered sugar with the coconut oil. Add the almond milk, cocoa powder and vanilla, and continue to mix until smooth.

  

  For the PB cups I simply melted some chocolate chips and lined the bottom of a small cupcake liner. I stuck the base layer in the freezer for about 20 minutes. Then I put a layer of peanut butter (fresh ground works the best to bind the chocolate together) and put back into the freezer for 20 minutes. Lastly, I melted more chocolate chips and covered the top. No measurements with this, I just eyeballed. If you make too much…who am I kidding there could never be too much.

  These cupcakes were shared by many, including Megan when we had our blogger meet up! Her birthday was two days after our meet up so I baked these for her to drown her sorrows in..she turned a quarter of a century! Kidding…

  This post is one of many in a virtual potluck, to see more vegan treats visit the blogs before and after mine by clicking the buttons below.

  
  

  

  | 80 Comments Tagged Chocolate, Cupcake, Dessert, Vegan, Virtual Vegan Potluck

• Sometimes

  Posted at 11:26 AM by Brittany, on April 29, 2013

  Sometimes I take pictures that make me feel really freaking awesome. I pretend I am a professional feline photographer for a feline magazine. I call this, “Dreaming of a better life.” In reality though, he is really spoiled and comes home within 20 mins of being let out.

  

  Sometimes I edit pictures that make me feel really freaking weird.

  

  This is what my cat would look like with a human face. Or so I assume. I couldn’t decide on which one to post so I posed three different versions. I think I like the goober, simply because it best describes my inner personality.

  Sometimes I fight my cravings for cupcakes and satisfy my sweet tooth with something easy and quick. It’s never the same, but the sugar rush is similar.

  

  Adult version of ants on a log. Minus the log. Sub chocolate for raisins  So really this is nothing like ants on a log..scratch that all together.

  Sometimes I surprise myself with a good run. 6 miles at a 9:31 pace is about a minute faster than my average pace. I’ll take it. Still undecided if I am going to run my third half marathon next month though..I take it day by day with my knees.

  Sometimes I get wild and give into my cravings for what I really want and build myself ONE cupcake. If I make more than one, I eat more than one. Problem solved-bake one.

  

  No recipe for this yet, it still needs some tweaking. It did satisfy my craving though..so job well done funfetti like cupcake. I made a sprinkle cupcake to celebrate the missed birthday of my blog. Oops..I forgot that last week was my two year blog birthday. I can’t believe it’s already been two years. I should have known with a first post like this I would be here for a while. The weirdness hasn’t changed, I can tell you that much.

  Sometimes my family makes me smile.. OK more like a lot of the time. My younger sister has started an art blog. If you like to draw and want to participate in her contests check her out over at: Order of the Pencil. YAY! I wish I could draw, but really my skills are as bad as a monkey trying to sing. My talents include twisting my arms to look like Frankenstein and making faces that would frighten small children. I’ve been blessed.

  Q: What’s your “sometimes” for the day?

  

  | 64 Comments Tagged Cats, Cupcake, Family, Peanut Butter, Random, Running, Vegan

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