Elvis Cupcakes

I got this recipe from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World and just had to post it! These cupcakes are SPECTACULAR. The recipe recommends filling them, but I decided to skip that step and just frost them. Go easy with the frosting, it doesn't need that much. You can even cut this frosting recipe in half. Top with chopped peanuts or chocolate chips. I used a pastry bag to make the frosting extra fancy.


CUPCAKES:

1/2 cup mashed over ripe banana
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup canola or vegetable oil
2/3 cup rice or soy milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line your pan with paper liners.

2. Throw your mashed banana in a blender or or just smash it into oblivious with a fork. Just try to get the lumps out.

3. Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and sugar into a large bowl, mix well.

4. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the oil, soy or rice milk, vanilla, almond and mashed banana. Stir or fold the wet ingredients into the dry, but don’t over mix or you’ll get tough cupcakes. Small lumps are fine. Fill liners 2/3 full. Bake 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.


FROSTING:

1/4 cup margarine, softened
2 Tbs. shortening
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1 1/3 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup confectioners sugar, sifted
1-2 Tbs soy milk

With an electric mixer, cream together margarine and shortening until smooth. Add peanut butter and vanilla, beat until very smooth. Beat in sugar, mixture will be very stiff. Dribble in soy milk a little at a time, beating continuously until frosting is pale and fluffy.