Chai cupcakes...Happy Birthday Geoff!!

One of my best friends, Geoff, turned 21, so a bunch of us (I want to say 15?) headed to Banff for a weekend of skiing and, well...21st birthday celebrating! I made a huge batch of chili as well as quinoa and beans so that I had food to eat and share. There was enough left over I subsisted almost entirely off it for the following week. I don't think a birthday is complete without cupcakes, though, and Geoff specifically requested chai. I've done a couple variations on this recipe and I think this might be my fave so far (in part because it doesn't have soy yogurt like the original, which a) is expensive and b) always requires a trip to the store).

I used the golden vanilla cupcakes recipe from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World as my base. I used some homemade chai I so very conveniently had in the fridge instead of milk. If you don't happen to have chai lying around, add some nutmeg, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, and a tiny pinch of pepper. I added a little extra nutmeg and cardamom because I love them so. For the icing, I used a vegan buttercream (which I never ever ever measure, I just taste and check texture as I go - only real tip, don't add too much milk because it's way easier to thin than thicken) and added the aforementioned spices but without the pepper and with cocoa. I didn't measure I just did little pinches of each and tasted.

I iced them in purple and teal and piped swirls on top. I would just like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the Jewish dietary laws! Kosher certification makes vegan life much easier (though I'm probably going to get fat thanks to the Kosher jelly beans at Bulk Barn). The Wilton dyes are Kosher and thus don't have any cochineal or lovely ingredients like that (bugs are not Kosher). So yay!

Since I've posted art before I think I'll continue the trend. I told Geoff I would paint a picture of Notorious B.I.G. for him for his birthday. I plan to ultimately do it on a 1 foot by 1 foot canvas but I decided to practice on the tiny dollar store canvas first. Biggie needs to be, well, bigger. I made his face too skinny and the eyes aren't quite right. For a first attempt, though, I'm happy!

Stay far from timid

Only make moves when your heart's in it

And live the phrase the sky's the limit