"There is a time in the last few days of summer when the ripeness of autumn fills the air."- Rudolfo Anaya
Camping was
such a foreign concept to me after moving to Canada. No, but seriously. The
idea of eating and sleeping—practically doing everything—outdoors, possibly for
more than a day, was, well, creepy. Or maybe I grew up scared of the night,
especially spending time in the wilderness. Have you been to Asia’s wilderness?
Talk about the sublime, probably not the same as Friedrich or Turner had in mind. Sure, our
parents took us hiking, but not once did they decide that we’d sleep in a tent
all crammed together, praying that mosquitoes won’t drain our blood overnight. Right,
there’s glamping now (let’s not even
go there).
Did I
eventually warm up to the idea of camping? No, not really. You can make me
climb mountains and hike and whatever else you want, but it better be with the
assurance that we’re turning back before the sun sets and we’ll be in our warm
beds at night. I’ve gone camping once or twice and my experience was anything but
fun: mosquito bites everywhere. Let’s just say I was ready to swim in acid
because, man, mosquito bite allergy is no easy feat. Will I do it again?
Probably. Maybe not soon.
You see,
the only part of camping that has enticed me was the campfire shenanigans.
Singing songs. Making a campfire. Or failing at it miserably. Telling ghost
stories. Stargazing. Sharing blankets. Making s'mores. Lots of it! Hoping that fingers won't get burned.
For years now, I've wanted to bake anything s'mores-related. A cake? A cookie? Brownies with graham crust and marshmallows? Finally, I jumped and took the plunge: s'mores cupcakes it is.
I don't make cupcakes often (very, very rarely), so I did some Google-digging and was inspired by this recipe by Pickles 'n Honey. The recipe below already includes my modifications (I've made a few.)
Come to mama!
Vegan S'mores Cupcakes
Makes 12 cupcakes
Ingredients:
- 1 cup almond milk
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted (make sure all ingredients are at room temperature)
- 2 tbsp unsweetened applesauce
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- Crumbs of graham crackers, as topping
- 6 Dandies marshmallows, cut in half
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a muffin pan with coconut oil/vegan butter.
In a large bowl, make vegan "buttermilk" by whisking together apple cider vinegar and almond milk. Let stand for a few minutes until the mixture curdles.
Add sugar, oil, applesauce and vanilla to the buttermilk.
Sift in the flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix to combine until well incorporated.
Pour the batter into the muffin pan, about 3/4 full. Top with graham cracker crumbs.
Bake for 18-20 minutes. Halfway through, top with marshmallows.
When baked, let cool completely. Don't remove from tin until completely cool. Let stand for at least 30 minutes.
Enjoy! xx
- 17:10
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