Vegan Rum and Raisin Cupcakes

I'm really beginning to love vegan baking. I was a bit scared at first but once you learn a few basic rules there is really no stopping you. I've tried to make things that don't require lots of single use ingredients. It seems like a waste of money to go and splurge on something for one recipe which will get thrown out before it can be used up.

I was going to tell you how difficult it is finding vegan ingredients in my small town but in fact, there's a little shop in the town centre that offers a wide range of vegan ingredients as well as a plethora of other random foodie things. The shop is almost heavenly for me but the staff seem somewhat uninterested. Maybe if I become a regular customer I'll feel more welcomed. Anyway, it means that I'll be able to grab vegan cream cheese and silken tofu for further vegan baking exploits. It's the small things that amuse me...


Back to these here cupcakes. This was the last remaining cupcake of the batch. I grabbed a couple of quick shots before scoffing it myself. They were delicious. They were golden and sweet with a nice hint of warming rum and the sticky raisins added a lovely texture. The raisins did sink to the bottom a bit as the cake mixture is quite runny but that was fine. I decided not to ice these as I was transporting them 25 miles (and I didn't want to run to the shops for more ingredients) and they had to sit in my bag for quite a while. I don't think I lost too much without an icing but maybe next time I'll glaze them or frost them in a more interesting way.

The intended recipient (Hi Jhon!) was very appreciative and scoffed the lot on the long drive home after the gig. He also asked for the recipe which is pretty much the most flattering thing you could ask me for. So in honour of Jhon, I post this recipe, please don't be scared of the number of ingredients, they all come together very easily. As ever this recipe is taken from the amazing Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World which is available from Amazon below, I have added my own notes and alterations.

I've converted this recipe from US cups into metric measures.

Ingredients:
110g raisins (I used crimson raisins which are slightly sharper than the darker ones
2 tbsp rum (I used Sailor Jerry as always)
190ml soy milk
1tsp apple cider vinegar
80ml sunflower oil
170g granulated sugar
1 tbsp black treacle
1 tbsp rum (again, Sailor Jerry)
1 1/4 tsp vanilla
140g plain flour
2 tbsp cornflour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Method:
In a small bowl combine the raisins and rum together and leave to stand for around 30 minutes stirring occasionally.
In a large bowl mix the soy milk with the vinegar and set aside for a few minutes to curdle.
Whisk the oil, sugar, treacle, rum and vanilla into the soy milk mixture until well blended.
Sift in the flour, cornflour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg into the wet ingredients and stir until combined.
Fold in the rum soaked raisins.
Fill 12 lined muffin cups 3/4 full making sure to get some raisins in each cup.
Bake in a preheated oven 180C for 18-20 minutes. They will be golden brown and deliciously scented when you pull them from the oven.
Allow to cool on a wire rack if you can resist them!