Cupcakes are a favorite for many. However, most people think that a vegan lemon cupcake is high in calorie. This is not true. I will share with you a low-calorie vegan lemon cupcake recipe that you can indulge in without feeling guilty.

The Ingredients

• ¾-cup non-dairy milk
• 1-tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 flax egg (optional)
• 2-cups oat flour
• ½-cup rice flour
• ¾-cup organic sugar (or use maple syrup)
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. baking soda
• A pinch of salt
• ¼-cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup coconut oil (or any vegetable oil you prefer)
• Grated lemon rind
• Thinly sliced lemons for garnishing

Note

You can use all-purpose wheat flour for this recipe, but I promised you a healthier version, right? Oats flour does not bind well on its own, so you have to mix with rice flour. If you can’t find rice flour in your local store, you can make yours at home. It’s easy. Just soak some rice grains overnight and grind them in your usual grinder (or even a coffee grinder) in the morning to a floury consistency.

Alternatively, if this is too much work for you, just mix the oats flour with all-purpose wheat flour in the same proportions. However, if you don’t have a problem with cupcakes falling apart, go ahead and use pure oats flour. Just remember to purchase the gluten-free version.

The flax egg helps to bind the flour further and creates a spongy effect. We use flax eggs to replace chicken eggs in our vegan recipes. You can make them at home or buy them from your local store.

Vegetable oil is our vegan replacement for butter. Several non-vegan cake recipes prefer vegetable oil too instead of butter. This is because oil makes them light and fluffy while butter tends to make cakes dense. So that’s a win-win for our vegan lemon cupcake recipe.

The Procedure

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a stand mixture, sift in all the dry ingredients and mix well. Now add all the wet ingredients and whip on medium speed for just a minute or two. Avoid over-whipping at this stage, or else your vegan lemon cupcake will be gooey.

Scope the mixture in lined cupcake pans and bake for 10-15 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

Let them cool before your garnish with lemon slices and serve.

An Interesting Twist before Serving

Another twist to these vegan lemon cupcakes is adding lemon curd.

To make lemon curd, boil 1-cup lemon juice, 1 lemon rind, a pinch of salt and ¼-cup sugar in a heavy bottom pan. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Add a tablespoon of cornstarch mixed with a tablespoon of non-dairy milk. This is the thickening agent. Whisk until the mixture thickens.

If it’s too thin, you can add more cornstarch. If it’s too thick, add more milk. But remember the mixture thickens further once it cools.

Now add 2 tablespoons of vegan butter and stir to dissolve. Sieve the mixture into your storage jar and let it cool. You should have a stable cud consistency once it’s cooled and you can pipe it onto the vegan lemon cupcakes before serving.

Pumpkin smoothies are delicious. We spice the traditional smoothie to make a refreshing vegan pumpkin spice smoothie. This is an easy to make recipe, and I will make use of locally available ingredients this season. Let’s get started!

The Ingredients

• Pumpkin – The Orange Squash is perfect for this recipe
• A banana – To act as the smoothie base
• 1-cup non-dairy milk – I prefer almond milk although coconut milk and soymilk will do just fine
• ½-cup ice cubes
• 1-tablespoon maple syrup to sweeten

The spices:

• 1/8 tsp allspice
• ¼ tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp vanilla
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg

Procedure

Pre-boil the pumpkin until tender and puree. We will use just 1 cup of this puree in our recipe.

Add the rest of the ingredients in the blender and puree until smooth.

Garnish with freshly ground cinnamon and enjoy your vegan pumpkin spice smoothie.

This recipe serves two. You can double or triple the ingredients quantities for additional servings.

For That Extra Oomph

I like to add chopped nuts for a crunchy texture. Walnuts and pecans go particularly well with pumpkin.

Feel free to experiment with different spices but don’t go overboard. Pumpkin is rather mild in taste, and too much spice will overpower the flavor. In addition, If you’re on a diet, you don’t have to use a sweetener especially with the sweeter pumpkin varieties like butternut. Ideally, maple syrup offsets the cinnamon and nutmeg spice to create a balanced flavor.

If you have trouble with the resulting pumpkin flavor, add a tablespoon of instant espresso powder. You might not distinguish the ingredients in your vegan pumpkin spice smoothie afterwards.

To garnish, add a scoop of whipped coconut cream. It looks just like the non-vegan whipped cream, and it tastes even better.

Finally, for extra probiotics, you can add plain dairy-free kefir.

The Nutritional Value

Pumpkin is rich in vitamin A and C, complex carbohydrates, calcium, iron, anti-oxidants, and dietary fiber. They don’t contain any fats or sodium which makes them a healthier option. To harness even more of this pumpkin goodness, dry the pumpkin seeds and roast them. Then grind the roasted seeds and add this powder to your smoothie. You can use the powder in other meals as well. Pumpkin seeds are higher in nutritional value than soybeans according to this research.

Bananas are rich in potassium, fiber, vitamin C and B6, phytonutrients, and various antioxidants. Like pumpkins, bananas don’t contain any trans fats or sodium.

The spices we used in this recipe have several benefits in the human body:

• Allspice is ground pimento tree berries. The berries are harvested while still unripe and sundried before grinding. It is native to the Caribbean islands and, therefore, some people call it Jamaica pimento. Traditionally, allspice was used to ease indigestion, to relieve intestinal gas and abdominal pain. Allspice is a powerful antioxidant with anti-inflammatory and antifungal properties. Studies show that it also has cancer-fighting and antiviral properties.
• Cinnamon is made from the bark of Cinnamomum tree. It is rich in antioxidants, which help our bodies to fight diseases.
• Vanilla is also rich in antioxidants. However, be careful when buying commercially processed vanilla. If possible, buy the vanilla bean pods and use them in your recipes.
• Nutmeg is a spice originating from Indonesia that is rich in essential volatile oils like safrole, myristicin, eugenol, and elemicin. These have anti-inflammatory properties hence ideal for treating joint pains.

The Bottom Line

I’m certain that you can now appreciate the nutritional value of our vegan pumpkin spice smoothie. Feel free to experiment with other ingredients but stick to the basics.

Tiramisu is an Italian dessert made of several layers of cheese and ladyfingers alternated. Traditionally, the ladyfingers are soaked in espresso while the cheese is usually a decadent mascarpone cheese mixed with eggs and sugar. Our vegan Tiramisu recipe will feature all these but in their vegan counterparts. And if you’re tired of using cashew nuts try our vegan cheese cream recipe instead, or buy vegan cheese cream from your local groceries. Let’s get started.

The Ingredients

• 4 shots espresso
• 2 tablespoons coffee liqueur, rum, brandy, or Kahlua (or any alcohol you prefer but this is optional)
• 2 cups cashew nuts – Parboil until tender (10 minutes or so)
• 1/4 cup coconut or Almond milk or any non-dairy milk you prefer.
• Agave nectar
• Vanilla extract (optional)
• Coconut cream
• Vegan sponge cake
• Cocoa powder to garnish

Preparation

Mix the espresso with alcohol and taste. If it’s too strong for you, dilute with water. Keep aside.

To make the vegan cheese alternative, puree the cashew nuts with non-dairy milk. Add agave nectar to sweeten and vanilla extract for the flavor.

For the whipping cream, use coconut cream. Whip it for a few minutes until it forms soft peaks. If it’s too hard, soften it with a little coconut milk or just water.

To make the ladyfingers, cut a vegan sponge cake into even strips. In my case, I cut them in uniform round shapes because my serving bowls are circular. Just play around with what you have. You can even cut the cake in square blocks. You don’t necessarily have to cut into strips.

Now combine the cashew nuts mixture with your whipped cream, fold in gently, and set aside.

Time to Assemble the Vegan Tiramisu

Dip the sponge cake in the espresso mixture and layer them neatly in your serving bowls. Evenly spread the cashew nuts and whipped cream mixture. Repeat this process one more time and put the tiramisu in your fridge to set.

To Serve

Sprinkle evenly with cocoa powder, garnish with your favorite berries (I love raspberries) and any herb, and serve while cold.

More Tips

If you don’t have an espresso machine, you can use instant espresso powder. Alternatively, use any strong coffee you like but not too strong, because it can be overpowering. You can also use vegan match latte instead and enjoy its numerous health benefits.

Do not soak the cake for too long in the espresso mixture. They will become soggy. You still need their crunchiness in the end. Just dip them for a second to coat them evenly. Alternatively, layer them in the serving bowls and brush gently with the mixture.

Make this dessert a day in advance. You have to let it sit in the fridge overnight at least before serving (the longer, the better).

Sprinkle the cocoa powder just before serving. If you sprinkle earlier, it might turn into a paste.

So there you have it. Try this vegan tiramisu recipe and let us know what you think.