The turnout was a large, but manageable crowd of really great people. I was so pleased to see that nearly every guest contributed a cocktail, dish or dessert. There was a great variety of dishes with everyone's unique approach to the theme, which made eating everything a little more interesting. I had planned on making a drink, a dish and a cupcake. Unfortunately my schedule that week became much busier than I expected it to be so I had to cut out my drink, luckily we had a bartender in the house for the potluck who was sporting Jack Sparrows and Dark Knights (<---excellent, maybe Carlos will post the recipes he created if we hound him enough). For my dish I prepared bloody beet burgers with a pineapple ketchup, and while they weren't my recipes I'm still beaming with pride over them. For my dessert I made a Black Sesame Cupcake with a simple Rice Milk glaze sprinkled with Pop Rocks, and once again I found myself returning to Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World as a reference.
While researching unusual ice cream flavors I came across a recipe for Black Sesame Gelato. Upon further reading I discovered that the tiny black seed was indeed quite popular in desserts across many asian countries and Black Sesame ice cream was a common favorite in Japan, and was likened to the taste of peanut butter. I knew there was a recipe for Peanut Butter Cupcakes in Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, and figured I could make some easy substitutions. A few weeks before the plans for our gathering really started taking shape, I attempted the first batch and they turned out better than I ever expected! I grated some lemon zest into the glaze which complimented the rich sesame flavor nicely, and called it a success.
Makes 12 Cupcakes
DRY
1 cup plus 2 tbsp flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
WET
3/4 cup unsweetened rice milk
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 tsp ground flaxseeds
1/3 cup oil
2/3 cup sugar
1 tbsp molasses
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup tahini (use black tahini if you want, I'm sure it help the color of the cake and the taste is probably fantastic, but regular tahini is much less expensive)
1/4 cup black sesame seeds, ground in a coffee grinder to a mealy consistency
Line a muffin pan with cupcake papers, spray with non stick spray and preheat your oven to 350*. Mix the rice milk and the vinegar together in a bowl, let it sit for a few minutes to curdle. Sift all the dry ingredients together. Combine all the wet ingredients together in a bowl and mix with a handheld mixer for 2 minutes. Add the Dry ingredients in three batches, waiting until almost no dry flour is seen before adding the next batch. Fill liners 3/4's of the way full, then bake for 21-23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Once removed from the oven let the cakes sit for 10 minutes before taking them out of the pan, let them finish cooling on a rack. Top with the rice glaze (combine 1-2 tbsp Rice Milk with one cup of Powdered Sugar, whisked together, adding more sugar or milk when necessary in order to reach your desired consistency), sprinkle with Pop Rocks, Lemon Zest, or Candied Lemon Zest and enjoy!
I might try digging a well in the cupcake and hiding the Pop Rocks inside, just as a little surprise.
Here are the recipes for the Pineapple Ketchup (I think the addition of mint would add a nice touch) and the Veggie Beet Burger I used for my dish. Both are excellent, however I did add twice the amount of rice and a few minced chipotles in adobo to the burger recipe, they're modeled after the best veggie burgers on the planet from Northstar Cafe in Columbus, OH. With one of PETA's top 10 vegan restaurants listed in the country (Dragonfly), a fabulous vegan bakery (Pattycake), and the veggie burgers from Northstar Cafe (ask for no cheese), Columbus is not just a vegan friendly town but a must stop on any Vegan's road trip through the Midwest. Much Love, O-H!
