Lemon Dream Cupcakes

Friday is treat night = I heart cuppie cakes. This is my adaptation of the basic vanilla cupcake from 'Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World', great book! I cut back on the sugar and margarine to make them, ahem, healthier. Also, I used whole grain spelt flour, makes for a dense cupcake but there were nooooo complaints here...

Makes 12 small or 8 medium cupcakes.

Be warned, these cupcakes are not terribly sweet so double the sugar and stick to white flour if you're looking for something a little more traditional. Keep in mind that icing will add to the sensation of sweetness. I cut back on the sugar intentionaly, you know, so I could have my cake and eat it too...

3/4 cup milk of choice
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup sugar of choice (try succanat)
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup margarine, melted and cooled
1 1/4 cups flour of choice (used spelt today)
1 Tbsp cornstarch
3/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 large lemon, peel grated and then juiced
few drops lemon essence, if desired

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a muffin pan or line with muffin cups. Mix milk and apple cider vinegar in a large bowl, and allow to sit for a few minutes to curdle. Curdle, you ask? Yep, this is the equivalent of buttermilk...works especially well with soymilk, as it thickens quite a bit. Add sugar, vanilla, lemon juice, 1/2 the lemon peel and lemon essence if using. Stir in the melted margarine, but ensure it has cooled beforehand or it 'cook' your milk. In a measuring cup, mix your flour, cornstarch, baking soda and powder, and salt. Whisk your flour into your wet ingredients, ensuring all lumps are gone. Pour batter into muffin pan, and tap bottom of pan on counter to ensure bubbles rise to the top. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick to the middle of the cupcake comes out clean. Let sit for a few minutes, and then remove from pan and cool on wire rack.

Once completely cooled, ice those puppies! I like to buy prepared icing - there are several vegan varieties already on the shelf in your local grocery store, and it really simplifies things when you're in a hurry. For this recipe, I mix 1/2 cup vanilla icing, the remaining lemon peel, a few drop of yellow food coloring and lemon essence.

Yummers!

Per cupcake un-iced, if making 8: 139 cals, 5g fat, 22g carbs, 187mg sodium, 2g fiber, 3g protein.  (PRO9%,CHO59%,FAT32%)

Per cupcake un-iced, if making 12: 92 cals, 3g fat, 15g carbs, 125mg sodium, 2g fiber, 2g protein.  (PRO9%,CHO59%,FAT32%)