Birthday Cupcakes for PETA!
Today is PETA’s birthday, and everyone knows that you can’t celebrate a birthday without cake! Thanks to the hard work of PETA members over the years, it’s now easier than ever to find vegan cake—or vegan cookbooks to make your own cake—nationwide. Major grocery stores carry accidentally vegan icing and decorations, all of which make cruelty-free desserts easier to come by than ever before.
Take just a moment to think back (or imagine) the state of vegan cuisine 28 years ago. Were there vegan bakeries in multiple cities across the country? Nope. Did fine dining establishments that serve a 100 percent animal-free menu exist? Nope. Did international fast-food chains offer veggie burgers and faux chicken? Nope.
Vegan cuisine has certainly come along way. Many no longer look at it as weird and boring and instead consider it just another tasty meal-time option. This is because of the hard work of organizations like PETA and our members, who have been pushing the envelope for almost 30 years.
So to celebrate, let’s have vegan cupcakes from the bible of vegan cupcake baking, Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. Of course, I couldn’t resist topping them off with a PETA logo and everyone’s favorite PETA character, Nugget.
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Happy birthday, PETA! And with the continued hard work of our members worldwide, I’m certain we’ll be celebrating many more to come.
Golden Vanilla Cupcakes
From Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World
1 cup soy milk
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt (increase to 1/2 tsp. if you’re using oil instead of margarine)
1/2 cup nonhydrogenated margarine, softened, or 1/3 cup canola oil
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. almond extract, caramel extract, or additional vanilla extract
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a muffin pan with cupcake liners.
- Whisk the soy milk and vinegar in a measuring cup and set aside.
- If using margarine: Sift the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl and mix. In a separate bowl, use a handheld mixer at medium speed to cream the margarine and the sugar for about 2 minutes until light and fluffy, but don’t beat more than two minutes. Beat in the vanilla and other extracts (if using), then alternate beating in the soy milk mixture and dry ingredients, stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl a few times.
- If using oil: Beat together the soy milk mixture, oil, sugar, vanilla, and other extracts (if using) in a large bowl. Sift in the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and mix until no large lumps remain.
- Fill cupcake liners two-thirds of the way and bake for 20 to 22 minutes, or until done.
- Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely before frosting.
Makes 12 cupcakes
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