Maple Vanilla Cupcakes

I’ve known my best friend Kacy since we were 6 years old. She is truly one of the most amazing people I’ve ever known. She is humble, intelligent and down right hilarious. She is getting married soon and has graciously asked me to be her matron of honor. I’m so excited for her and to be a part of it all. I just hosted her bridal shower this past Saturday and here are some pictures of all the fun and the desserts I served. The MOST popular dessert by far were my No-Bake Mint Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars!

Here is the gorgeous girl herself….stunning right?

Unfortunately, not everything went according to my plans or vision in my head….does it ever? I had planned on making a large 12×18 sheet cake. Well, I underestimated how much batter I would need since I’ve never made a cake that large. Therefore, I had to act quickly and made my tried and true maple vanilla cupcakes instead. I didn’t have enough time to start all over for the cake. These are by far my favorite cupcakes I have ever eaten. Everybody loves sweets and these are perfect for a party. They are full of maple flavor and vanilla. I like them better than chocolate cupcakes any day, if you can believe that!

Her wedding colors are yellow and dark gray. Regarding the cupcakes, I wrote this recipe a few months ago so this one isn’t oil-free. I didn’t have enough time to test it and rewrite it oil-free. I try to make everything oil-free now or at least very little. This recipe however is absolutely delicious and it is for a special occasion, not something we eat everyday.

Recipe:  Makes a large batch of  two dozen tall cupcakes or 2 1/2 short cupcakes

Ingredients:

3 cups flour

1 1/2 cups coconut palm sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt

3/4 cup pure maple syrup grade A

3/4 cup grapeseed oil (for a less fat version, you can use half applesauce and half oil)

1 1/2 cups coconut milk

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 1/2 tablespoons Madagascar vanilla extract (makes an exceptional vanilla flavor)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two muffin pans with decorative paper liners.

Sift all the dry ingredients in a large bowl through a mesh strainer and whisk well. I like to use my hands to really mix them well. In a small bowl, add the milk and lemon juice and stir and set aside for 5 minutes. This will create “buttermilk”. In a separate medium bowl, combine the remaining wet ingredients and lightly beat with an electric mixer, until thoroughly mixed. Add the “buttermilk” to the other wet ingredients and stir. Now add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and beat on low, just until combined. Do not over beat! Pour the batter into the lined muffin pans about two-thirds full. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let them cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then transfer the cupcakes onto cooling racks to completely cool before icing.

For the icing, I don’t have a recipe, nor did I measure. I literally just threw 4-5 vegan buttery sticks (room temperature) into a large metal bowl. I then added a couple cups of vegan powdered sugar and beat until fluffy and added more until it reached the right consistency. I also added some vanilla extract and a couple tablespoons of almond milk. Beat for several minutes until light and fluffy.

Tip: You can make the icing the day before an event and store in the fridge. Then just re-beat the icing to fluff up again before icing your cupcakes or let it soften to room temperature and pipe out with your favorite piping tip. I personally like to bake my cupcakes the day of an event so they are fresh and fluffy. Just store them in the fridge.

Her wedding theme is gray and yellow with a rustic elegance theme. So, this is what I came up with. She LOVED it!

These red couches at the clubhouse really put a damper on my style!

The centerpieces are glass vases filled with raffia and wood branches for the rustic part and sparkly beaded yellow stems for the elegant part. Placed on gray tablecloths and burlap with scattered pieces of rhinestone and yellow flowers complete the look. I would have loved to use crisp white linens for the tablecloths, but I did have a budget to maintain.

I love the modern look of gray and yellow.

I made the maple vanilla cupcakes, 4 ingredient peanut butter cookies, mint chocolate chip cookie bars and also served chocolate chips made with rice flour. I found these chocolate chips at the store in the shape of actual chips. They were delicious. I had also planned on serving my strawberry mousse shots, but yet again, another plan that failed. I dropped the entire bowl on the floor. It was SO delicious too. I will be posting that recipe soon after I make some more.

The favors I made. They are mason style mini jars filled with yellow sand, vanilla candles and accented with gray thank you stickers and yellow ribbon. Much better than candy favors!

This I had made for the beautiful couple. It was a great surprise that she loved. My goal through all of this was to make her happy. She was a happy girl that day and she deserves it all!

To look at the last party I did, click here!