Peanut Butter Cup-cakes

By Giselle Wedemire

Gluten-free vegan baking is a feat I rarely ever attempt because it generally seems like a gamble.

While I live in a household of mixed culinary influences and dietary needs, I seldom branch out and make baked goods that are both vegan and gluten-free. However, Santa left me a super cool gift in my stocking this Christmas. Enter Ecoideas chocolate cake mix.

Both vegan and gluten-free, this convenient mix combines the best of both picky worlds with packaged goods that are super easy to prepare. The mix was fool-proof, with only three steps in its set of instructions: 1. pour mix into bowl, 2. add two cups of water, 3. bake at 375 for 35 minutes. It really couldn't have been any easier, though I do have one caveat for those interested: don't try the raw batter. The taste is overpoweringly....green, I guess you could say. (Kinda like chlorophyl-filled dirt. I honestly couldn't believe that I was sampling what was soon to be a dessert.)

Funky batter tastes aside, I powered through and made the cake mix into a dozen and a half delicious cupcakes. While they baked to perfection, I thumbed through my copy of Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World and  whipped up a batch of Peanut Buttercream, since I'd been craving peanut butter and chocolate and Reese's peanut buttercups are no longer a viable snack-time option for me. 

Once out of the oven and left to cool down, I performed pastry surgery by cutting out quarter-sized circles from the tops of each cupcake and filled each doughy depression with a dollop of icing, reassambled the cupcake, and added one last dollop on top for good measure.

Et voila, peanut butter cup-cakes -- the perfect combination of chocolate and peanut butter for vegans and celiacs alike!