I was pleasantly surprised when I woke up this morning! The predicted morning thunderstorms were nowhere in sight which meant that I could get outside for exercise. I had a very windy 5 mile run and thought it was going to pour on me at one point, but then the sun peeked out and the wind was gone with the wind! The only water I encountered was the sweat pouring out of my skin on this humid morning.
After the run, I did 4 sets (10-15 reps each) of both push-ups and lunges. I’ve been trying to sneak in mini strength sessions lately in addition to Whittle My Middle because I find it much easier to sneak in strength work as opposed to longer sessions. Mini sessions are a good trick if you tend to get bored with strength work. The same goes for cardio too.
Today feels like The Friday Dance because we have a VIP coming tomorrow…OSGMOM is coming to visit us for several days!
Yay for moms :)
Tomorrow, I’m driving up North to meet mom at Grandpa and Diane’s and then we’re going to meet my Grammy and Harry for lunch before heading back home. On Saturday, we’re having a family get together at our place with my Aunt Jenn and family. Good times. I still need to figure out what I’m making for dinner Saturday though!
Oh, and there will be lots of this going down…
and this…muhauha.
Last night, Eric was gathering old furniture for furniture pick-up day when I spotted this green antique chair that he planned on throwing out…
That’s when the crazy old lady in me surfaced and my heart skipped a beat.
I don’t know where the chair came from, but I knew that it had many more years of life in it!
Eric saw my eyes light up like a Christmas tree and he said, ‘I KNEW you would want to keep that chair!!!!’
Duh.
Like I said, many productive years of life left…
Repurposed for a pretty green background for cupcake photos:
In other good mood news, I finally had a successful recipe after a week of disasters. And I mean a week of disasters. I didn’t show half of the flops I had this week because it was just too painful to watch.
I finally I struck sweet [whole-wheat] cupcake gold…
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Vegan Whole Wheat Chocolate Cupcakes with Cinnamon Infused Frosting
Adapted from my Favourite Vegan Chocoate Cupcakes, which was adapted from the famous eggless chocolate cake recipe.
Yield: 12 cupcakes.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup non-dairy milk (I used Vanilla Almond milk)
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar (or distilled white)
- 1 cup sugar (I used natural cane sugar)
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder, sifted (I used Dutch-process)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4-1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)
- 3/4 tsp kosher salt
- Cinnamon Spiced ‘Buttercream’ Frosting (see below)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F and line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
2. With an electric mixer, beat together the following ingredients in a large bowl (non-dairy milk, apple cider vinegar, sugar, oil, vanilla) for a minute or two.
3. Now sift the dry ingredients (flours, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt) into the wet. Mix well, until all clumps are gone.
4. Spoon the batter into prepared cupcake pan, about two thirds full for each cupcake. Bake for about 24-26 minutes at 350F, or until the cupcake slowly springs back when pressed with a finger. Transfer to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before frosting.
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I love this vegan cupcake recipe with all my heart and I think that it rivals any non-vegan chocolate cupcake! My Aunt Jenn first introduced me to the famous eggless chocolate cake recipe and I’ve been hooked on them even before I became a vegan.
Today’s Modification:
For this adaptation, I wanted to use whole wheat pastry flour instead of all-purpose to make it a bit healthier. Instead of 1.5 cups of all-purpose, I used 1 cup of whole wheat pastry flour and 1/2 cup of all-purpose. I was worried if I used 100% WWPF it wouldn’t work. Maybe next time I will try the full 1.5 cups!
The cupcakes turned out FABULOUS!
They are a bit nuttier tasting than the all-purpose ones, but not in a bad way at all. I will DEFINITELY be making them with WWPF from now on!
I decided to make a cinnamon-spiced ‘buttercream’ to go along with the cupcakes. I love the combo of chocolate with just a hint of cinnamon.
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Cinnamon Spiced Buttercream
Adapted from my Gingerbread recipe.
Yield: About 1 & 1/4 cup frosting.
Ingredients:
- 3 cups organic icing sugar (confectioners)
- 1/4 cup Earth Balance (I use soy free)
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon (or more to taste)
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2-4 tbsp non-dairy milk, as needed to achieve desired consistency
- Pinch of kosher salt, optional
Directions:
1. With an electric mixer, whisk the Earth Balance and vanilla until smooth and soft. Add in 2 tbsp of non-dairy milk and mix again.
2. Gradually, add in the icing sugar slowly, adding more milk if necessary. Mix for several minutes until it is light and fluffy. Add in your desired amount of cinnamon and salt to taste. I use a stand mixer and let it mix for about 5 minutes or so. Makes about 1 & 1/4 cup of frosting.
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I opted not to make frosting turds this time. ;)
Here’s a shot without my diffusion disc:
With diffusion disc (notice the shadows are gone)
Dolled up with a couple antique china plates that I picked up at the antique market:
The cupcakes tend to freeze well, so I popped them into containers and froze until the frosting got firm (about an hour or so). Then I added some plastic wrap over top of the cupcakes, sealed the container, and placed them back in the freezer. They will stay nice and fresh until the dinner party on Saturday!
By the way, a HUGE thank-you for your comments and emails yesterday regarding my gluten-free baking challenge. You sure know how to help a girl out! I’m sure that many other readers will benefit from all the information too. I’ll be sure to keep you posted with my GF + vegan trials and tribulations over the next few weeks.
Whew, I feel extra chatty today.
This Chatty Cathy needs to get back to work!
I love finding little hidden gems in my house! Loving how you show/tell a bit more about your photography :)
That spiced buttercream icing is the best I have ever had, vegan or otherwise. I made the gingerbread for an camping trip (don’t worry, it was classy camping, we had a hot tub) and everyone loved it!!
aww thanks Leanne!
I love chocolate and cinnamon together almost as much as I love chocolate and peanut butter together! These look fabulous! If I weren’t eating gluten-free right now…I’d bake them!
Mmm, those look beautiful. I’ve been in such a baking mood lately and yet everything has been flops for me too :( Well, not entirely, most everything tastes great, but I had bread stick to pans(a whole batch of 4 loaves stuck to their pans :( ) and then a larger loaf got stuck in my dutch oven which meant I had to bake the second one in a weird pan. And some raw goodies turned out weird. It’s been a funky week. I should give these cupcakes a try, they look fantastic. And I love that there are no weird ingredients in them, just everything that I already have in my cupboard :D
OMG these look amazing! They look perfect too! Perfectly even and round! Love pretty food! And cinnamon buttercream!?!?! I need you to be my personal chef!
BAH! I want that chair!!! :) SO excited for you to get to visit with your mom!! I could go for a green smoothie followed by wine myself!
YUM! Love chocolate and cinnamon together! :D
LOVE LOVE LOVE that green chair!
Those cupcakes look divine & I LOVE your spiced buttercream; it’s one of my favourite frostings!
Looks delicious! :-)
Glad you are spending some QT with Momma OSG!!
Those cupcakes looks amazing! :)
I work in real estate and get to see a ton of houses; recently, I got the the chance to view an interior designer’s home…it looked like it belonged in an IKEA magizine, I kid you not haha. She had an old red chair done up just like yours set as the focal point of the entrace, turning old things into new is clearly in style :):)
Oh girl that chair is so cute! I love the color! Perfect backdrop for your cupcakes…but really, I dont knownif there could be a BAD backdrop when cupcakes are involved!
That chair is so cute! It would look adorable either indoors or outside with a potted plant on it. I think I’ve been reading too many Martha Stewart Living magazines… :P
I’d keep the green chair, too!!
Ahhh that chair is so cute!! I definitely have a crazy old lady inside me too! LOVE quirky bits of furniture like that! Men just don’t get the value of these things! Thank god were around! ;) And those cupcakes look lovely too! Think I may have to try them this week! :)
Lahhhhhhve. Now you should make a gf version! ;)
Repurposed for a pretty green background for cupcake photos = YES!!!!!!!
And I love it in the pics!
And this diffusion disc…what is this wonderous gadget you speak of that I don’t own?! I think I better get my amazon account and credit card ready b/c I have a feeling I need it, pronto. The difference in the photos is remarkable!
When I’ve done modeling and photo shoots, sometimes photographers will put up what they call a “beauty disc”…it softens your face, lines, skin imperfections, etc so I wonder if it’s the same principle.
The cinnamon buttercream…omg I could just DRINK that.
And a week of flops…I made something that I know what to do to tweak it and was able to salvage it for photos but it was literally CRUMBLING apart as I was done with the photos. Like, I didnt get them taken a moment too soon. Flops. Yes. Life of a cook :)
I love that you make mistakes and fess up to it. It makes it double fun to celebrate (and drool) over your successes! ;)
I had a quiet chuckle over your chair. . . my husband loves holding on to things and “repurposing”. I’m the one left trying to sneak stuff out of the house for neighborhood recycle/clean-up days. Blog — 1 / Eric — 0. I feel Eric’s pain. And I hope you know just how much that man loves you for putting up with holding onto beat-up old chairs! There — go give him an extra gluten free cupcake!! ;)
Clarification: only your “success” gluten free cupcakes will work as a reward. So I guess you will keep Eric and the rest of us in suspense until then. . .
haha love the photos on your new-old chair! =) This looks and sounds abs divine!
xoXOxo
Jenn @ Peas & Crayons