Asian Inspired Cupcakes

Merry Christmas Eve!

I made my way safely to Seattle, without too much airport insanity, and was quickly put to work by my lovely mother to create some cupcakes for Christmas dessert.
For the past couple years my family has come up with fun themes to prevent Christmas dinner from creeping into monotony with the same old turkey & potatoes. This year the theme is, "Sushi, Sake, and Battle of the Woks!"
Here's what I came up with for Dessert.......

-Chocolate, Sesame, & Green Tea Cupcakes
-Vegan Vanilla & Almond Cupcakes with Red Bean Filling

(The great thing about baking at home is the white wine......)

Red Bean Filling

It's hard for me to pick a favorite between the two, but if I had to, I would say that the vegan cupcakes win the battle. They completely took me by surprise with how delicious they turned out. I have to admit that I'm not prone to a lot of vegan baking, but as an early Christmas present my vegan cousin gave me the "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World" cookbook and I haven't been able to stop reading it! Although this particular recipe is a Kumquat original, I took much inspiration from the cookbook, and would definitely advise picking up a copy, you'll be amazed at how delicious a vegan cupcake can be.

Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!

Big Heart,
Keavy