Pistachio Rosewater Cupcakes with Rosewater Glaze

Ideally, these would have involved pink food coloring, and perhaps a sprinkling of chopped pistachio on top. Why? Because, especially when it comes to sweets, people can sometimes only taste what they see. If it's not pink, they might not taste the rosewater. So if you don't have pink food coloring on hand, either, just make sure to mention the flavor combo to your friends often as they scarf these delicious cupcakes.



Another winner from Isa and Terry's classic Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World, these are vegan and sensational, based on a classic Indian pairing.

Ingredients

1/2 cup vanilla soy yogurt
2/3 cup soy milk
1/3 cup canola or vegetable oil
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons rosewater
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with 12 cupcake liners.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the yogurt, soy milk, oil, sugar, and rosewater. Sift in flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix until large clumps dissapear, then fold in pistachios. Fill liners three-quarters of the way.
Bake 20 to 22 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely before frosting.

For the glaze, cream 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar with 1 tbs earth balance, then mix in a little rosewater and soymilk (tiny bits at a time so you don't thin it out too much). And a little pink doesn't hurt, either.

These are adorable, and not even snobby omnivores will know they are vegan.

Mocha Chip Cupcakes

Oh yeah, these were good. Originally designed for my friend Maria's birthday party way back in May (the lady enjoys coffee), I reprised them recently for a July 4th BBQ. The secret of intense coffee flavor is instant coffee - crappy to drink but amazingly handy in baking - which also gives the cupcakes a beautifully deep, dark color.



Mocha Chip Cupcakes

Ingredients

(Makes about 24)

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup hot water
1/4 cup instant coffee granules, plus more
3/4 cup milk
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners, or ready your silicone cups, and set aside. Dissolve 1/4 cup instant coffee into 1/2 cup hot or boiling water, and set aside. Make sure this isn't too hot (we want warm, not steaming) by the time you use it in the recipe.
2. Sift together cocoa powder, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. Add eggs, coffee mixture, milk, oil, and vanilla, and mix until smooth, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of bowl to assure batter is well mixed. Fold in chocolate chips (I used incredily tasty Trader Joe's milk chocolate ones).
2. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups, filling each about 2/3 full. Bake until tops spring back when touched, about 20 minutes, rotating pan once if needed. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely, and top with lots of coffee buttercream frosting, and a chocolate covered espresso bean if you're feeling fancy.

Coffee Buttercream Frosting

Dissolve 1 tsp instant coffee into 1 tsp vanilla extract. Beat a stick of butter into a cup of powdered sugar, adding dashes of the coffee gloop until it's a nice color and consistency. You may need to add more powdered sugar as you go, too.



And save a cute one for yourself - because these will be gone very quickly!



Adapted, as many of my cupcakes are, from Martha Stewart's simple 1-bowl chocolate cupcakes.