Neapolitan Cupcakes

I had a request from a family member this week for a dairy free cupcake so I checked here first and realized I have only posted two cupcake recipes.  I saw a neapolitan bunt cake from Julia that looked good.  I don't know if you remember, she also made the s'mores cake I  converted a while back.  YUM!  Well, since I was supposed to be making cupcakes I converted her recipe and made them into cupcakes.  I also used chocolate frosting, because I can never get enough chocolate, and did a few with lemon glaze.  They were really good both ways but the chocolate was a bit overpowering.  The lemon allowed the strawberry to come through a bit more.  Of course, you could use the strawberry glaze as well. Hope you like them.

OK, first off I needed 3 mixing bowls, 3 cereal bowls, and 6 mugs to make this so make sure the dishes are done!  Because there are 3 batters involved I mixed the dry ingredients in the mixing bowls, the wet in the cereal bowls, and used one mug for egg replacer and the other mug for the buttermilk replacement (soymilk + vinegar).  I probably used more dishes than I really had to but let me tell you, having everything measured out before hand let me mix the batters and get them into the pan quickly.  Since the vanilla and strawberry cakes both use baking powder and vinegar, the batter stiffens up and you have to get them in relatively soon after mixing.

Strawberry Cake
1 c. flour
1/2 c. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
3 tsp. ener-g egg replacer + 4 Tbsp water
1/2 c. canola oil
1/2 c. strawberry puree ( I thawed some frozen ones and blended them)
1/4 c. soymilk + 1/2 Tbsp. vinegar (let sit for 5 min.)
1 tsp. red food coloring ( if you want the pink color)

Vanilla Cake
2/3 c. sugar

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup flour

1/4 c. canola oil
1 1/2 tsp. ener-g egg replacer + 2 Tbsp water
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. soymilk + 1 Tbsp. vinegar (let sit 5 min)

Chocolate Cake
1 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 c. flour
1/3 c. cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp. ener-g egg replacer + 2 Tbsp water
1/2 c. soymilk + 1 Tbsp. vinegar (let sit 5 min)
1/2 c. water
1/3 c. canola oil

Preheat your oven to 350* F and line two muffin pans with papers.  The first thing I did was get all my ingredients ready, like I talked about above.  Then I mixed all the chocolate cake ingredients until there were no lumps left in the batter, and put a spoonful into the bottom of each tin.  I then mixed all the strawberry ingredients and plopped a spoonful in the middle of the chocolate.  It spread out on its own, so just give it a second.  Finally, I mixed the vanilla and placed a  spoonful on top of the strawberry.  I baked mine for 19 minutes.  Next time I make these I am going to fill the muffin tins vanilla first, followed by strawberry, then chocolate because the chocolate batter is the heaviest and I think it will sink in and make a swirl.  Anyhow, it will taste the same either way.

I have three options for frosting, so take your pick, or do like me and use them all.  Here they are

Strawberry Glaze
2 c. powdered sugar
1/4 c. strawberry puree
milk substitute

Mix the powdered sugar and strawberry puree.  Add in just enough milk sub. (soy, rice, whatev) to get the right consistency.  I dipped my cupcakes into the glaze.

Lemon Glaze
2 c. powdered sugar
splash of lemon juice

Pour the powdered sugar into a bowl and add in the lemon juice a little at a time until you get to the consistency of a glaze.  Dip the tops of your cakes into the glaze.

Chocolate Frosting
4 Tbsp. earth balance buttery spread
1/2 c. soy or rice milk
2 Tbsp. canola oil
2 tsp. vanilla
1 lb. bag of powdered sugar
1/2 c. cocoa powder

Mix all the ingredients by spoon until it is thick, then with an electric mixer to get all the lumps out.

I used a sandwich bag and cut the corner off to put on the frosting because I was in a hurry.  When my husband came home he pointed out the frosting had taken on a less than appetizing appearance.  If you live on a farm you know what he was referring to so I apologize and promise no more Ziploc frosting.