Sugar High Friday - Mysterious Cupcakes

When I heard that Fanny was hosting Sugar High Friday and devoting it to cupcakes, I knew immediately that I'd participate. I first met Fanny when she commented on these Caramelized Pear Cupcakes with Blue Cheese Frosting that I published only a few weeks after I started this blog and we've been pals ever since.

Fanny's enthusiasm and joy for pastry (and art) always inspires me, so I knew she'd make something special for her own SHF. Not surprisingly, these S'more-inspired beauties look amazing. Even more incredible when you realize she's from France and learned about s'mores from a book (!) which suggested you would make them in the oven (!!). I really want one of her cupcakes.

My own entry came out better conceptually than edibly. I was thinking about red velvet cake, a Southern classic which is enjoying a sentimental renaissance among people who surely have never set foot south of the Mason-Dixon line. It is typically made with vast quantities of red food coloring, but it occurred to me that you could get the same color with beets. Turns out I'm about 60 years too late; according to Wikipedia they did it that way after World War II.

Anyhow, with the beet idea in mind, I figured I'd go to a completely savory cupcake. I made a typical olive-oil based cake batter, choosing the extra-virgin option and using minimal sugar and lots of lemon juice, and added pureed red beets. The frosting is made from Laura Chenel goat cheese, in exactly the same way you would make a cream cheese frosting, and they are topped with tiny jewels of red and yellow beet.

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They didn't quite come off as planned. The cake was rather dense, and needed more beet flavor to balance the chevre. Part of that was I just rushed and didn't beat the egg whites enough, which are the only leavening. Rather than cooked beet puree, maybe it would work better to shred the raw vegetable like you would for a zucchini bread. It would have to be very fine to cook adequately. A bit of rosemary in the batter would add a nice complexity too.

I think these could be reworked into a pretty awesome little bite, made in mini-cupcake tins. It would be fun to serve them as a first course to mystified diners, wondering why you are giving them dessert first.

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Published on September 14, 2008.

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Jim Fowler commented on Why I'm A Vegetarian, Dammit:

Thanks for honest and thoughtful writing on this subject. I am very like you but not as eloquent... Jim

renato commented on Why I'm A Vegetarian, Dammit:

When I say umans, I'm meaning HUMANS.

renato commented on Why I'm A Vegetarian, Dammit:

I've always seen myself as a "potential vegetarian" or an omnivore with vegeterian tendencies, or whatever, but that was never something I gave thoughts about.

Since childhood I've prefered salads and vegetables over meat - with the exception of fish. But you know, living with people who eat meat all the time, you end up eating meat too, even not liking it at all.

Well, I went to Argentina, my favorite neighbour country (time to say, I'm Brazilian). In Argentina all they eat is meat. They are much more carnivores than omnivores. So, that was ok for me, cause since then I didn't have any concern about eating meat, except its taste. But one week of it made me so sick.

When I returned to Brazil I thanked so much God or the deities or the powers of nature (you see, I have no standard religion) for the incredible amount of vegetables we have here - I believe it doesn't compare to anywhere in the world. Fresh vegetables! I decided to stop eating meat. Many of my friends were going vegetarian at the same time. Thanks to the Universe and its forces, or to simple coincidence. And most importantly, add to that that my pet dog was run over by a bus and I could see all that suffering and trauma in her eyes. And my own despair. There came the realization that there are feelings between us umans and animals. "Do animals have feelings?" is not a necessary question for me, since I have feelings towards them, and that's enough. For your curiosity's sake, she recovered very very well. Dogs are so resistant!

I do very ocasionally eat fish and seafood - so I'm actually pescetarian, which is a specific kind of omnivorism. But meat... since I made my decision I tried meat one more time, but it tasted quite rotten, like a dead thing (which indeed it is). I can't stand the smell of animal fat anymore.

Hard to put up with people that think you'll die or get terribly sick if you don't eat meat. So to deal with it I started reading a lot about vegetarianism, and related issues. You know, a little database to try to argue with meat lovers. Most of the texts I've found are just ideological pamphlets, just too irate to be valid. Yours, Michael, is one of the few that address the issue in a nonpassionate, tolerant way. It made me realise that a diet is a matter of choice and should be adressed in a simple, natural way. It's as simple as choosing a pair of shoes to wear (assuming you're not a girl), especially when you feel good about it.

Sarah commented on Why I'm A Vegetarian, Dammit:

My reasons are similar to yours, but slightly different. I just find the idea of eating the flesh of another living creature, a creature that can feel pain, and has free will, simply barbaric. We're all connected, I don't see a tremendous difference between eating a cow and eating a human, both disgust me beyond belief. I don't think we should be feeding ourselves on death, it just seems wrong. Armed with this, I can combat any possible circumstance people hypothetically construct for meat eating.
It frustrates me when people demand explanations for my choice, and mock me for my lifestyle, thank you for writing such a well voiced and intelligent article that helps to combat the antipathy many meat eaters seem to feel towards vegetarians.

Michael Natkin commented on Why I'm A Vegetarian, Dammit:

Thanks Amber! I started when I was 18, so I remember well how much flak you take at that age. For what it is worth, it gets a lot easier as you get older and the people around you are more accepting.

Spa Flyer commented on How to Make Fluffy Couscous - Easy Couscous Recipe:

Wow, thanks for the tip. I only recently discovered cous cous and just love it. I was curious why it was fluffy sometimes, and not others, and thought it was the water. I think now it was the depth or narrowness of the various bowls I was using. I'll use my big, flat roasting pan next time. Thank you!

frantic foodie commented on Why I'm A Vegetarian, Dammit:

Michael, love the way you wrote this one, was a vegetarian for 5 years. You should print this and wear it on your forehead, that way people won't even have to ask

Amber commented on Why I'm A Vegetarian, Dammit:

I've been a vegetarian for 4 years. I'm only 17, so I seem to get more flack from meat-eaters about my decision. It's always pretty hard for me to get my point across to people who ask because I tend to get angry or flustered and I just drop the subject before I start crying or yelling. This article explains exactly why I made my decision and continue to live by it. So, when people ask me from now on, I do believe I will tell them the URL to this article. Thank you, and I will also be checking out this website from now on.

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