Birthday Cupcakes

This was my Sunday project. It was Ella's birthday, so she got to choose what kind of cupcakes she wanted for her party. She flipped through Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World (which has pictures guaranteed to make kids of all ages drool), and while she wanted about fifteen different kinds, we ended up with these two - Banana Split and S'mores. While most of the cupcakes out of there have been fantastic, we haven't been too impressed with the banana split ones, so I just made some fancy banana bread with chopped up strawberries and chocolate chips. Pink frosting is a must have in the four year old crowd, so she got strawberry frosting on top with sprinkles, of course, and chopped dark chocolate. The S'mores cupcakes were a first, and a big hit. I've got a mechanical pastry bag now and as you can see, it's lots of fun! An unbelieveable amount of cake was consumed, the kids were running wild....a good time was had by all.

Banana Bread (or cupcakes if you will)

2 cups flour (normally do spelt, but for the kids I did use 1 1/2 cup all purpose and 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour)
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup grapeseed oil
1 cup sugar (I used turbinado)
1 cup mashed ripe banana
3/4 cup milk product of choice (soy, almond, rice) + 1 T apple cider vinegar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup chopped strawberries

Preheat oven to 375.

Mix milk with apple cider vinegar and set aside. If you prefer, you can also use buttermilk.

Combine all the dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Add wet ingredients and mix until well-combined. Add chocolate chips and strawberries (must confess I didn't measure exactly how much of each I used, so adjust to your own taste). Depending on what you want, pour into cupcake pan, 9x13, or a loaf pan. The cupcakes took about 20 minutes to bake, the bread takes closer to 25 minutes. Pull out when golden brown on top and toothpick or knife comes out clean.

Strawberry Buttercream Icing (based on Vegan Fluffy Buttercream Frosting from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World)

1/2 cup nonhydrogenated shortening (I used Jungle Butter, but have also used Spectrum's)
1/2 cup nonhydrogenated margarine (Earth Balance)
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup strawberries

If you are using frozen strawberries, let them sit out over night or for several hours before making frosting. When completely thawed, pour into blender with liquid in bowl and a splash of milk of choice. You will need between 1/4 and 1/2 cup strawberry juice, depending on how strong you want the strawberry flavor. You may need to adjust the amount of sugar you use if frosting is too liquidy. Set aside.

Beat the shortening and margarine in a medium mixing bowl until well combined. Add the sugar, vanilla, and some of the strawberry juice. Beat until starting to combine, then slowly add the remaining liquid. Beat for another 5-7 minutes until fluffy.

This makes plenty of frosting for piping, so if you're just going to spread it on, I would cut the recipe in half for a dozen cupcakes. Enjoy!