Cheers!

That's right! I made cupcakes with beer!



It turned out really delicious! So much so, that Clint already asked me for the topping recipe. His girlfriend, Danielle, gave me the recipe for the cupcakes (which, in turn, is taken from the book Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World) so he didn't need it from me. However, I did modify it a little bit: I put 1/4 cup of oil instead of 1/3 cup, and 1/3 cup of beer instead of 1/4 cup. I think it was a good substitution, don't you?

I topped it with chocolate mousse, also from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World. It was so good! What I made was enough for the cupcakes and a few more generous servings of mousse desert.

Vegan chocolate mousse:

• 15 oz extra firm silken tofu (I actually used regular soft tofu from Fresh & Easy)
• 15 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips - melted
  
• 2 T maple syrup (I only used 1, and added about 3 heaping t of powdered sugar, because I was afraid the mouse won't be firm enough to stand on top of the cupcakes)
• 1 t vanilla
• 1/4 c soy milk (I put a little less, and substituted the rest with Irish Cream (not vegan, but can be easily veganized at home, or just left out) just because I have some from making the suggested Irish Cream frosting from the cupcake recipe link above. BTW, if you do it, put a lot more than 2 T, otherwise it won't taste like Irish Cream at all. I put around 6 T the second time I made it).

Blend tofu and milk in blender until smooth, add syrup, vanilla, and melted chocolate and blend more until smooth, creamy and delicious.

** although these cupcakes are vegan, my version of them is not - both because of the Irish Cream and because of the beer I used (I understand Guinness is not vegan, because part of the manufacturing process involves using some fishing by-product. Well, that's the last time I by this brand! Now I need to think what to do with the 4 bottles I have left...). These two items could be easily substituted, or completely omitted in the case of the Irish Cream.