"Make Your Own Pizza"...Potluck.

I can't take credit for this pizza. It was Emilie's, but it looked darn good.

Pot luck this week was a more intimate affair. Only nine of us came out for the "Make-Your-Own-Pizza" extravaganza. As usual Marissa, our host and entertainment guru at large, set us up with a feast and we provided snacks and sides: S&S.

Here are the ladies demonstrating how the assembly line works

Annaleigh played with Rachel while her perfect pizza was baking.

Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes with Mocha Mouse

This was my first time baking Vegan cupcakes! The process was painless and no one knew they were any less sinful than my usual sweets. The advantage: Our allergy afflicted guest could have dessert with the rest of us :) Now it's that sweet. The chocolate cupcake recipe comes from Chow (love 'em!), the mousse was my own and so was the buttercream.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup vanilla soy milk
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder, Dutch-processed
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Line a cupcake pan with paper liners. Preheat oven to 350°F.

Whisk together the soy milk and vinegar in a large bowl, and set aside for a few minutes to curdle. Add the sugar, oil, vanilla extract, almond extract and beat until foamy. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In two batches add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and beat until no large lumps remain.

Fill the liners 2/3 of the way full. Bake 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

• * After the cupcakes have cooled use a small serrated knife to cut a cone from the top of the cupcake. Insert the knife into the top of the cupcakes on a slight diagonal. Moving the knife back and forth, cut around in a circle. Take the top off of the cupcake, remove some of the cake inside and set aside until you're ready to fill them with mocha mousse.
• Mocha Mousse
• 1 cup Toffuti Better Than Cream Cheese
• 1/2 cup earth balance
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp amaretto flavoring
• 1 packet of instant coffee or a tablespoon instant espresso powder dissolved in 2-3 T of water
• 3-4 cups confectionary sugar
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• Beat together Toffuti Cream Cheese and Earth Balance until smooth
• Add in vanilla, amaretto flavoring and coffee. Mix until all ingredients are well combined
• 1/2 a cup at a time, beat the confectionary sugar into the mixture.
*Fill the cupcakes with the mocha mousse. Chill in the refrigerator until you're ready to frost.*


Chocolate "Butter"Cream
1 cup earth balance
1/3 cup cocoa power
1 tsp vanilla
1 bar melted dark chocolate
2 cups confectionary sugar
vanilla soy milk
1. Beat the earth balance until smooth
2. Add in cocoa power and vanilla. Mix until combined
3. Melt chocolate in the microwave on High in 30 second intervals. Beat the melted chocolate into the earth balance mixture
4. Add confectionary sugar 1/2 cup at a time.
5. Add vanilla soy milk until you reach your desired consistency.




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