I was looking through instagram last week when I came across a beautifully golden forsythia blossom syrup from Colleen Codekas, dotted with yellow blossoms I recognized from a large shrub we have along our driveway. I had no idea it was edible until I saw Colleen’s post about it, and dove right into the recipe on her blog Grow Forage Cook Ferment (which is an AMAZING resource for gardening, seasonal recipes, herbs, and the like). I’ve been on a lemon kick lately, so I included some zest in the recipe here to add that vibrant-yet-delicate lemon flavor to the mix, and the result is a bright and springy floral syrup, adapted from Colleen’s lovely recipe.

I love how crazy bountiful the array of edible goodness from nature is—even neighborhood shrubs that you thought were just there to be pretty have healthful + flavorful benefits for you, too! It will still be a few weeks before any blossoms appear on our lilac shrubs, but I’m very excited to make more lilac syrup with them once they’re here. That syrup and this one are SUCH great additions to any tea for a touch of sweetness and a floral kick.

This past winter felt very long and isolating, so seeing the flowers opening up, the ground becoming green instead of brown, and the rainbow of plant life bursting forth all around the city feels so, so good to see. The longer days and sunshine sure are helping with the happy vibes floating around our household, too! It’s been so nice to be able to sit near the living room window and knit with just the natural daylight pouring through until 7 pm. What a treat!

I hope you’re enjoying the spring so far, and that this lovely forsythia syrup recipe gives you something fun to do with the bright and sunshine-y forsythia blossoms in your own backyard 🙂 And P.S. If you’re wondering about the adorable tiny daffodils in the frame, they’re a new variety I planted this past fall and I am OBSESSED with them! They’re called ‘avalanche’ and I got them from Old House Gardens—they are sooooo fragrant and each stem sends out a spray of tiny, delicate, vibrant blossoms. They’re highly productive, and I definitely recommend them!

These vegan carrot cake cupcakes have all of the goodness of traditional carrot cake, in an adorable, single-serve package! They’re the perfect treat for springtime, and they’re also great for birthdays and other celebrations.

With Easter Sunday rolling around this weekend, I thought it might be a good time for vegan carrot cake.

There’s no shortage of carrot cake on this blog. I have a pumpkin carrot cake, which I love to make in the fall. And then there’s my favorite vegan carrot cake, which is a traditional version that has some special touches (I like to grate my carrots on a microplane for a lighter cake).

Much as I adore carrot cake—it’s probably my favorite type of cake, if I had to choose—making and frosting a layer cake can feel like a lot of work.

That’s where these vegan carrot cake cupcakes come in! All of the goodness of carrot cake, but with a little less fuss over decoration. They’re adorable, delicious, and perfect for springtime celebrations or birthdays.

The formula for a perfect vegan carrot cake (& carrot cake cupcakes)

My obsession with carrot cake has encouraged me to discover methods for getting it just right—without dairy or eggs. Here are some of the tips I’ve accumulated through many carrot cake bakes:

Grate your carrots finely

There’s certainly something to be said for a very dense carrot cake. But Coral Lee’s tip to grate the carrots for carrot cake on a microplane (or the fine side of a box grater) has been a complete game changer for me. The result is a carrot cake that is, in Coral’s words, spared “the salad-y texture.”

Since reading Coral’s recipe and adapting it for my own favorite carrot cake, I’ve fallen in love with fine grating tip. I always grate my carrots on the smaller side of my box grater now. You could also use a microplane zester.

If you don’t have the patience for the fine grating, that’s OK. There’s nothing wrong with bigger pieces of carrot in carrot cake! But the finely grated carrot is really worth a try. It makes carrot cake—and these vegan carrot cake cupcakes—moist and rich, but with just enough fluffy, cake-like texture.

Don’t go overboard with mix-ins

Another tip that Coral Lee gives in her article, which I’ve now taken to heart, is not to overload carrot cake with nuts and dried fruit. I like my carrot cake to have raisins and walnuts. However, I think less is more when it comes to the amount. Too many mix-ins, and the cake texture gets lost.

For these carrot cake cupcakes, I skip the raisins and use only 1/4 cup of chopped walnuts. I think this amount is just right! Feel free to use chopped pecans in place of walnut, or you can skip the nuts altogether.

Use a mix of brown and cane sugar

Brown sugar adds moisture to baked goods. I think it’s perfect for carrot cake, but I like to use some cane sugar, too. The cane sugar helps to (once again) preserve the cake’s lightness, while the brown sugar gives it a lovely, moist interior.

I’m often asked about reducing sugar in my recipes. Reducing is OK in a small amount (about 1/4 cup), but sugar adds moisture to baking. So if you omit a significant portion, be aware that your cake might be dry, dense, or both.

Keep it traditional

Carrot cake is pretty glorious as it is. So, no need to change it too much. I keep things traditional with a vegan cream cheese frosting and cake ingredients. There’s nothing like a classic.

Can the carrot cake cupcakes be gluten free?

Most definitely. I’ve made both my favorite carrot cake and these cupcakes with gluten-free, all-purpose flour (King Arthur’s is my go-to), and they turn out beautifully. You can definitely modify the recipe with your own favorite AP, GF flour blend.

Vegan cream cheese frosting

The cream cheese frosting that adorns the carrot cake cupcakes is my favorite dairy-free frosting ever. I like it even more than traditional buttercream frosting. The cream cheese gives it just the right amount of tanginess to offset all of the sweet richness of butter and sugar.

I’ve tried this frosting with a few different vegan butter sticks and cream cheeses. My default is Earth Balance sticks and Tofutti cream cheese. They work well, and they’re relatively affordable. (I like to use Tofutti in baking—like my classic vegan cheesecake—and save fancier, more expensive vegan cream cheese for toast or bagels.)

That said, I’ve also used Miyoko’s butter, Kite Hill Cream cheese, and a host of other butter/cream cheese combos in the carrot cake cupcake frosting. I haven’t had any big flops yet. Use the butter and cream cheese options that you like and have access to.

Preparing and storing vegan carrot cake cupcakes

Whenever I make either cupcakes or cake, I tend to work over the course of two days. I make the cake portion on the first day, give it the night to cool, and make the frosting/decorate on the second day.

You certainly don’t have to devote two days to these cupcakes if you’d rather work all at once. Just be sure to let the carrot cake cupcakes cool completely before you frost them. It’ll take at least two hours.

The cream cheese frosting can be prepared a day in advance of decorating. However, it needs cold storage and will stiffen up as it cools in the fridge. So, if you make the frosting in advance, be sure to warm it to room temperature and then rewhip it a bit to help make it fluffy again.

The decorated cupcakes can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days. If you’d like to store them longer, I’d recommend freezing them—cake, frosting, and all!

Vegan cupcakes for the win

If this recipe has you craving vegan cupcakes, here are some more recipes to explore:

• Vegan apple cider cupcakes
• Chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting
• Chocolate avocado cupcakes and frosting
• Vanilla lemon cupcakes with lemon buttercream frosting
• Raw, vegan carrot cake cupcakes

Though it was always a favorite, carrot cake has taken on a new meaning for me during the pandemic. I made it in Instagram stories during the first spring of lockdown, hoping it would comfort others as much as it was comforting me.

When my mom celebrated her birthday last May, she requested carrot cake. I made it and then walked it fifteen blocks to her apartment, worrying that I’d drop it the entire time. I handed it off to her outside her building—we were still too cautious to see each other indoors at the time—and then sang her happy birthday and watched her enjoy a slice over Zoom that night.

Carrot cake was one of those recipes that gave a sense of familiarity and joy to an otherwise scary, unsettled time. I assign it a special kind of love and fondness as a result. These vegan carrot cake cupcakes are my latest favorite way to savor it. And I’ll bet they’re a little easier to carry and deliver to friends than a giant layer cake!

Enjoy, friends.

xo

The post Vegan Carrot Cake Cupcakes appeared first on The Full Helping.

Big homemade weekend breakfasts are one of my favorite things ever and no weekend breakfast is complete without homemade biscuits. These butter biscuits are my “basic” biscuit recipe that I’ve been using for years. They’re quick, simple, and perfect alongside some fried eggs and bacon. Slather on some butter and honey, or maybe your favorite jam, and enjoy your morning. That’s breakfast heaven. 

Originally posted 7-27-2010, updated 3-31-2021.

What are Butter Biscuits?

Butter biscuits are a tender, flakey quick bread that is often served with breakfast, or sometimes as a side dish with other meals (similar to what is known as a scone in the rest of the world). I’m calling them “butter” biscuits because this recipe uses butter in the dough, unlike my Freezer Biscuits, which use heavy cream. Both recipes make great biscuits, but the method and texture of the final biscuit are different. These butter biscuits are a bit more sturdy than the cream biscuits and will hold up better to something heavy like sausage and gravy. 

The Biscuit Method

This recipe uses a cooking technique called The Biscuit Method. This technique involves working butter or another solid fat into flour. When fat is combined with flour in this way the fat prevents the flour from forming a gluten matrix (like you have with kneaded bread), which leaves the dough quite soft and tender. To keep your biscuits as soft and tender as possible, you’ll want to avoid kneading the dough and work with it as little as possible as you shape and cut your biscuits. You can read more about the mechanics of the biscuit method here. 

Use Buttermilk for More Flavor

The recipe below uses a buttermilk substitute (milk + vinegar or lemon juice) because I don’t often have buttermilk on hand. But if by rare chance you do have buttermilk use that in place of the milk and vinegar and you’ll have the most delicious biscuits ever. While buttermilk substitutes provide the same acidity as buttermilk, they don’t quite have as much flavor.

Butter Biscuits are Freezer Friendly

If you have a smaller household don’t skip this recipe just because it makes 8 biscuits! You can either freeze the baked biscuits or freeze the unbaked biscuits to cook later. To freeze the unbaked biscuits, simply freeze them on a lined baking sheet until solid, then transfer to a freezer bag. Label, date, and freeze up to three months. to Bake from frozen, simply add a few minutes to the baking time. 

To freeze the baked biscuits, allow them to cool completely to room temperature. Place them in a freezer bag and freeze up to three months. Thaw at room temperature or microwave for 15-30 seconds.

 

How to Make Homemade Butter Biscuits – Step By Step Photos

Before you begin, freeze 6 Tbsp butter for 30-60 minutes to make it extra cold and solid. This makes it easier to grate into the batter. When you’re ready to start making the biscuits, begin to preheat the oven to 425ºF. In a large bowl, combine 2.5 cups of all-purpose flour, 1 Tbsp baking powder, ½ tsp baking soda, and ¾ tsp salt. Stir until they are well combined.

Use a cheese grater to grate the semi-frozen butter into the flour mixture. Once grated, use your hands to work the butter into the flour until it kind of resembles cornmeal. 

Combine 1 cup whole milk and 1 Tbsp vinegar (or lemon juice). Alternately, you can use 1 cup of buttermilk. Pour the milk into the butter and flour mixture.

Stir until it forms a cohesive dough. Be careful not to overstir. Don’t worry if there is a little flour left on the bottom of the bowl. If the dough is too sticky, you can add a little flour in the next step. 

Place the dough onto a floured surface and press it down into a large rectangle. Fold the dough in on itself into thirds, like folding a letter. This helps create a few layers in the biscuits. Finally, press it down into a rectangle once again, this time about ½ to ¾-inch thick.

Use a biscuit cutter or a drinking glass to cut the biscuits out of the dough. The glass I’m using is 3-inches in diameter. When you’ve cut all you can from the one piece of dough, gather up the scraps, press it down into a rectangle again, and cut a couple more. I got 8 biscuits out of my dough.

Place the biscuits on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. If you want the tops to get extra browned, you can brush a little milk on top.

Bake the biscuits in the fully preheated 425ºF oven for 15-17 minutes, or until golden brown. 

Enjoy warm, slathered with butter and drizzled with honey or a dollop of your favorite jam!

The post Homemade Butter Biscuits appeared first on Budget Bytes.

This Iced Vanilla Latte is an easy-to-make coffee shop drink with espresso served over ice, added vanilla syrup and half and half cream.

Knowing how to make iced coffee at home is a must-have luxury, so you definitely should know how to make an Iced Vanilla Latte too. Think about all the money you’re saving by making your own pumpkin spice latte, cold brew coffee or chai tea latte. The coffee shops are great for convenience sometimes, but it’s also incredibly nice to learn how to make coffee drinks yourself so you can enjoy them at home as much as you want.

Ingredients needed for Iced Vanilla Latte:

• granulated sugar
• water
• vanilla extract
• ice cubes
• hot espresso (or coffee)
• half and half cream

How to make Vanilla Syrup for coffee:

It’s super easy to make your own homemade vanilla syrup for coffee. Add 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water to a saucepan. Heat to boiling, stir until sugar dissolves. Let the sugar syrup cool completely. Then add 1 tablespoon vanilla extract to the cooled sugar syrup to create vanilla syrup. This can be used to make a regular (hot) vanilla latte too. This recipe for vanilla syrup will allow you to make about 10 beverages. Just store it in the refrigerator, and it will keep for up to one month.

How to make an Iced Vanilla Latte:

Add ice to a tall glass. Pour 2 shots of hot espresso over the ice cubes. The ice cubes will melt a little bit. That’s okay!  You want the strong espresso to get diluted slightly.

Can you make espresso in a Keurig?

Yes! You don’t have to have an espresso maker to brew espresso. If you have a coffee maker that uses K-cups or pods (like a Keurig), you can use espresso pods instead of coffee pods. We happen to have the Keurig Coffee, Latte and Cappuccino Maker at my house, and we love it. And in a pinch, you can just brew some coffee and make this recipe with coffee instead of espresso.

Add a couple of tablespoons of the vanilla syrup to the espresso.

And the final step of making an Iced Vanilla Latte is to add 1/4 cup of half and half cream to the glass. This is the fun part because you get to see the swirling that happens in the coffee as you pour it in.

Stir it all together.

See how easy it is to make an iced vanilla latte at home?  Enjoy your beverage with my copycat Starbucks Vanilla Bean Scones or some Blueberry Cream Muffins.

The post Iced Vanilla Latte appeared first on Recipe Girl®.