Cookbook Challenge Day II

Yesterday was the start of the cookbook challenge & I continued today with another three recipes. First out of the hat was Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World. Amazing. I was very pleased with this start to the day! The random number generator picked me page 107 the Coconut Lime Cupcakes but as I'd already made these (I've made quite a lot of recipes from VCTOW!) I had to pick again. This time the generator directed me to page 89 where I saw the recipe for Apricot-Glazed Almond Cupcakes.

This actually might not have been a recipe I'd have made if it hadn't have popped up in the challenge, I haven't had the best results baking with soy yoghurt in the past & I'm very much a chocolate girl when it comes to baking cupcakes for myself.

I'm so glad the recipe generator picked these cupcakes though. They're unbelievably good & I think I've actually been convinced that there is a cupcake better than a chocolate cupcake! These remind me of an apricot version of a cherry bakewell, one of my favourite pregan desserts that I still haven't gotten around to veganising...partly because a cafe just around the corner from my house sells a vegan version! I picked toasted almonds for the topping just because I thought they'd be more fun than regular almond slices & I really enjoyed decorating a cupcake with something other than buttercream for a change.

The second cookbook of the day was Kelly Peloza's The Vegan Cookie Connoisseur. This was shaping up to be a very good day indeed! The recipe the generator chose was the Vanilla Thumbprints & it looked like a great easy recipe. I also liked that the baking with jam theme was continuing.

This is one of my newest cookbooks & whilst I've spent a lot of time flicking through it & bookmarking recipes this is actually the first recipe I've baked from it. You can use any jam you like in the cookies & I picked raspberry. These cookies are so fucking delicious that I actually had to stop Nick eating them straight from the baking tray because I was running out of cookies to photograph! They're also super simple to make & don't use any complicated ingredients. The only thing I did differently to the recipe was that I pressed them down a tiny bit before baking the second tray because my first batch were a little rounder than the picture in the book.

I was amused when the third recipe of the day came up as the Prosecco Spritzer from The Urban Vegan. Apparently the universe doesn't want me to eat any real food today! Whilst I do drink alcohol I certainly do not drink expensive prosecco on my own on a Tuesday afternoon so I decided to make this drink with soda water & cranberry juice rather than the suggested prosecco.

Nick has the day off work today & he doesn't ever drink alcohol so the non-alcoholic option was a good way for him to join in with the fun too. I definitely like this drink, in fact I am about to pour myself a second, and I will happily make the alcoholic version one day.

Today has definitely been a fun day but I do currently have a bit of a sugar buzz after eating two cupcakes, 8 cookies & a glass of cranberry & soda water. I think I might need to go & find myself something sensible to eat! See you all again tomorrow!