This vegan friendly cupcakes were inspired by the book, Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, which is full of wonderfully tasty recipes for vegans and non-vegans alike. The original recipe calls for all-purpose flour, but my version uses white whole wheat flour. It adds a bit more fiber and tastes great.
Orange Cream Cupcakes
For the Orange Cream Filling:
- 1/4 cup calcium-enriched plain soy milk
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 3 Tbsp. cornstarch
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- zest of 1 orange
For the Cupcakes:
- 1/3 cup canola oil
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 3/4 cup calcium-enriched soy milk
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1-1/3 cups white whole wheat flour
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1 Tbsp. orange zest
For the Chocolate Ganache:
- 1/4 cup soy milk
- 4 oz. dark (60% cacao) chocolate, cut into small pieces
Make the pudding first.
Place soy milk, orange juice, cornstarch, sugar, and vanilla in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk together until mixture starts to boil. Turn heat down to low and stir continuously until mixture thickens. Once it reaches the consistency of a pudding, remove from heat and add the orange zest. Transfer to a glass bowl and let cool completely. Once cool, move to the refrigerator for an hour.
Now make the cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a muffin tin with nonstick spray or line with cupcake liners. Whisk together the oil, sugar, milk, orange juice and vanilla with 1 tablespoon of the flour. Sift together the remaining flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, one third at a time, stirring until the batter is smooth after each addition.
Fill cupcake liners two-thirds full. Bake 20-22 minutes until the top springs back when pressed lightly. Remove cupcakes from muffin tin. Cool completely.
Take orange pudding out of refrigerator and put into a gallon-size storage bag or pastry bag. Warm with your hands to make sure pudding is pliable, if necessary. Snip the end of the storage back off to make a tip. Make an indentation in the center of each cupcake with the handle of a wooden spoon (or your finger). Fill generously with orange pudding.
Make the ganache:
Heat soy milk over medium heat until bubbles just start to form around the edges. Remove from heat and whisk in chocolate. As soon as mixture is smooth, place a dollop in the center of each cupcake.
Makes 12 cupcakes.
Per cupcake: 226 calories, 8 g fat (2 g saturated), 0 mg cholesterol, 37 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 3 g protein, 4% Vitamin A, 11% Vitamin C, 11% calcium, 6% iron
