Vegan Spice Bundt Cake with Maple Glaze and Pears

Let's play a game before we start. The owl in this post was actually an accident, so let's see if you can find him!

Sorry for the delay in posting! This cake was actually consumed by my family last weekend, but I've been in the process of packing up my entire house because I am moving next week. Thus, I have put off posting (and now, sadly, must put off baking until I get unpacked) for lack of time/energy. But I will finally have hot water in my kitchen! Woohoo! So excited.



I made this cake as a dessert to our family's early Christmas dinner this year. We celebrated the weekend before because our entire family was actually together. This is more rare than a natural food at McDonald's.



Perfection from the oven!



Came out beautifully. I was very worried about this part! It's so nerve wracking.



Here's the final product. Nothing glamorous, but really delicious nonetheless. Recipe below!

P. S. Did you find the owl?

Ingredients:

3 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
2 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 cup (2 sticks) vegan butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup molasses
2 cups almond milk
4 medium-sized Bartlett pears
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup water
1/2 sugar
2/3 cup powdered sugar
4 Tbsp pure maple syrup

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, sift dry ingredients together. Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix butter and sugar together until smooth. Add apple cider vinegar, vanilla extract, and molasses. Mix until well incorporated. Add the flour mixture and mix until combined. Add the almond milk. Mix until there are no lumps left in the batter.

Liberally grease a bundt cake pan. Pour the batter into the pan, up to about 1/2 inch from the top. I like to put the pan on a cookie sheet just in case the cake pan overflows. That way you won't have a mess in your oven. Bake for about an hour and 15 minutes, or until a long toothpick comes out clean from the center of the cake.

Meanwhile, peel, core, and dice the pears. In a heavy sauce pan, combine pears, sugar, water, and cinnamon. Bring to a boil and then turn down the heat and let simmer until the water has turned into a thicker syrup. Remove from heat and let cool.

Also meanwhile, in a bowl, prepare the maple glaze by combining the powdered sugar and the maple syrup until smooth. Add more syrup by the teaspoon if the mixture seems dry, lumpy, or too stiff.

Place on cooling rack still in the pan for 15 minutes. Then flip upside down and take the pan off the cake. Let cool completely. Once the cake is cool, drizzle the maple glaze over it. Cut slices, and serve with pears on top.

Vegan Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

So I jumped the gun a teensy bit for Thanksgiving. Fall is my favorite season, mostly because it involves pumpkin desserts! As a kid, I reveled in pumpkin pie and got as much of it as I could while it was still in season, and was always heartbroken when the holidays had come to an end and pumpkins were no longer incorporated into every dessert imaginable.



In this vein, I decided to make pumpkin cupcakes. While I love pie, it is a pain in the ass to make, especially to make photogenically. Besides, there will probably be pie on Thanksgiving, but probably not cupcakes.



These came out wonderfully moist and deliciously spiced. The "cream cheese" frosting is very rich, so use sparingly. (I didn't realize just how rich it was, so in these pictures I loaded it on!)



They were a mouth-watering predecessor to the Thanksgiving feast. Hope you all enjoy and have a good holiday!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup pumpkin
1/2 almond milk (or soy milk)

1/2 cup Earth Balance butter at room temperature
8 oz. vegan cream cheese at room temperature
2 Tbsp pure maple syrup
1 pound confectioners sugar

Additional cinnamon for dusting, optional

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Sift together the dry ingredients. (This does not include sugar.) Set aside.

Mix oil and sugar together. Add apple cider vinegar, vanilla, and pumpkin. Mix until incorporated. Mix in flour mixture until a smooth batter forms. Add the almond milk and mix until incorporated.

Pour into greased cupcake tin so that all tins are equally filled. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the middle of each cupcake comes out clean.

Let cool for about five to ten minutes, then transfer to cooling rack.

While they are cooling, prepare the frosting. Mix butter, cream cheese and maple syrup until smooth. Add confectioners sugar and mix until smooth. If frosting looks too soupy, add more confectioners sugar by the quarter cup until desired consistency is reached.

Frost cupcakes and sprinkle with cinnamon, if using. Devour immediately.

Questions and comments are always appreciated!