Vegan Almond and Apricot Cupcakes

{Guest Post} – Vegan Almond and Apricot Cupcakes by Pavani of ‘Cook’s Hideout’

Celebrating the true blogging spirit of gold old days this festive season….I have come up with this idea of ‘Christmas and New Year Bakes’. I have called few of my time fellow food bloggers to come and share their favorite Christmas Bake recipe with you all. I am overwhelmed to receive this love from you all for this event. To continue this beautiful series today our guest is Pavani of ‘Cook’s Hideout‘ who is sharing with us these wonderful Vegan Almond and Apricot Cupcakes. Pavani thought ‘Cook’s Hideout’ as an apt name for her blog as kitchen is where she loves to hide and cook. Do drop by at Pavani’s blog for much more interesting recipes. Thank you Pavani for being part of this event and bringing in these delicious cupcakes.

It’s holiday season and it’s time to share some love and delicious food with family and friends. So when Lubna asked me to do a Guest post for her ‘Christmas Bakes’ — virtual potluck, I said yes right away. She has a wonderful blog Yummy Food and she has tons of amazing dishes. Also she and I come from the same state which is quite a coincidence.

Lubna wanted a baked dish to celebrate the holiday season. So I made these Vegan Almond and Apricot cupcakes. These moist and fluffy cupcakes have a nice little sweet surprise in the middle. They are then glazed with apricot glaze and finished with some crunchy sliced almonds.

Vegan Almond and Apricot Cupcakes

Makes 10 Cupcakes

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup + 2 tbsp. All purpose flour
• 1½ tsp. Baking powder
• ½ tsp. Salt
• 1/3 cup Almond Meal/ flour
• 1/3 cup Canola Oil
• ¾ cup Sugar
• ¼ cup Soy or Coconut Yogurt
• 2/3 cup Almond milk (can also use soy milk or rice milk)
• 1 tsp. Vanilla extract
• 1 tsp. Almond extract
• 1/3 cup Apricot Preserves

FOR THE APRICOT GLAZE:

• ½ cup Apricot Preserves
• 1 tbsp. Water
• 1/3 cup Sliced Almonds

PREPARATION:

• Preheat the oven 350ºF. Line a muffin tin with paper cupcake liners.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine oil, sugar, yogurt, almond milk, vanilla and almond extracts.
• Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt. Mix until the batter is smooth. Add the almond meal and mix until combined
• Fill each cupcake liner with the batter. Using a ½ tsp measuring spoon, add apricot preserves to the center of each cupcake. Tap lightly on the preserves to get them mostly level with the cupcake batter.
• Bake for 24~26 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the side of the cupcake comes out clean. Another way to test the doneness is touching the top with the fingers, it should spring back.
• Transfer to a wire rack and cool.
• To make the Glaze: Place the apricot preserves along with water in a small saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil and boil for 1 minute. Stir well and set aside to cool slightly.
• To Assemble: Once the cupcakes are totally cool, brush the glaze on the top of the cupcakes. Sprinkle a single layer of almonds over the tops. Let cool before serving.