BETHy Crocker

Once upon a time, friends and family called me Bethy Crocker. I LOVE to bake and my name is Beth (for those who don't know that), so it just made sense. I was famous for pumpkin rolls, sugar cookies, giant chocolate chip cookies, brownies, no-bake cheesecakes (my husband dislikes the baked kind), lemon bars, you name it. Most recently, the husband loves my pumpkin scones. Fast forward five years and here I am nursing an infant with a milk-protein sensitivity along with an egg sensitivity. No baked goodies for this mama. Or so I thought...


A couple of weeks ago I was baking pumpkin scones for our Sunday School kickoff breakfast and I actually couldn't remember how to make them - it had been that long! Disgraceful!  I feel very strongly about my need for something sweet and decadent that TASTES good. I was doubtful I would find such a thing - desserts with no eggs, butter, or milk that actually taste good? No way. But, yes, there is a way! And I will share it with you in hopes that I can help some other mother (or anyone, really) out there who is feeling desperate.


This first recipe I found randomly on the internet, I do not know to whom the credit belongs (and I do not know if that's proper English). These cupcakes are delicious and the icing, well, it's amazing. I made a few changes because I didn't have some of the ingredients on hand. I also didn't have the last cup of icing sugar I needed on hand, so I walked up and down my street asking for "a cup of (icing) sugar" while both children were napping. I had no luck. I mixed all the icing stuff together and added the last cup of sugar a few hours later. No big deal. But all of that is neither here nor there. Here's the recipe: 


Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

For the cupcakes:

1 1/2 cups unbleached white flour

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup expeller pressed oil (I used olive oil)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar 

1 cup water (room temperature)

I also added some non-dairy, mini semi-sweet chips, just for fun

Preheat your oven to 350°. Put the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt into a bowl and whisk well to combine. Mix the oil, water, vanilla, and vinegar together in a separate bowl. Pour the liquid mixture over the dry ingredients and stir until just blended. Line a cupcake tin with paper liners. Fill each one 3/4 of the way. Bake for 18 - 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

For the frosting:

1/4 cup non dairy butter (I used 1/2 C. original Crisco for this and the shortening below)

1/4 cup palm shortening 

1/3 cup creamy peanut butter

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 cups powdered sugar (make sure you have 2 cups :) ) 

2 tablespoons rice milk 

Beat the non dairy butter and palm shortening with a hand held mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add the vanilla and peanut butter and beat until very smooth. Add the sugar and beat again until combined. With the beater still running, dribble in the rice milk, a little at a time until the frosting is fluffy. Using a pastry bag and large tip, decorate the cupcakes. Enjoy! (I ate 7 of these babies in 36 hours time. They were either really good or I was really desperate. Or, perhaps, both.)  

Look at me - posts on photography, recipes, suckling infants - I could be the next Pioneer Woman! I am from Oklahoma, after all. (By the way, if you don't know who The Pioneer Woman is, you're missing out! Check her out -- The Pioneer Woman). Now I'm off to figure out how to move this post to my "recipes" page and to find my picture of these delicious cakes. I almost never make a recipe that doesn't have a picture to go with it.