Birthday Fun with Vegan Cupcakes

Well this is my first non-Barefoot Books related post! I have every intention of continuing to do this every once in a while. I just wanted to share a wonderful little book with you all Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World by Isa Chandra Moskowitz! This book is almost entirely responsible for my ability to remain vegan over the last two years! 

Tonight I made the Easy Agave Nectar Vanilla Cupcakes for my son's 2nd birthday. The kids loved them and I was so glad to know that not only are they vegan but they are also sugar free! Agave nectar, for those who don't know, is a natural sweetener that is extremely low on the glycemic index. It has become increasingly popular over the last few years and now it can be found easily in virtually any supermarket. I use it in my coffee and in baking. The only thing is that you measure it equal to sugar so if something calls for a cup of sugar you use a cup of agave nectar. That's great for small amounts of sugar but larger amounts can change the consistency of your recipe b/c the agave is more like honey and sugar is obviously dry. Also, agave is considerably more expensive than sugar so just keep that in mind. However, this recipe calls for 2/3 of a cup of agave nectar which is more than manageable and it produced moist, yummy, not-to-bad-for-you cupcakes (saying they're healthy might be stretching it a bit). 

For icing I made a variation on a couple of the icings in the book. My family requested chocolate so I bought the dairy free sour cream from the health food section at Martin's. At home I combined 1 cup confectioner's sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla, 1/4 cup cocoa powder and stirred. The consistency was a little thinner than traditional icing so I served the cupcakes upside down in a bowl with a dollop of icing on the bottom. The kids got to dip and things didn't get too messy. A good time was had by all! 

The great thing about eating this way is that I always feel less guilty, more creative, and more aware of alternative options. I like to eat so I need to have those choices. Even if you're not vegan check it out! You'll be glad you did.