Before summer gives way to fall, I just had to try the Black Velvet Cupcakes from Hannah Kaminsky’s Vegan Desserts. These cupcakes came out perfect! Moist. Fluffy. Yummy. It’s a baking miracle! It really is. You have no idea what horrible baking disasters have emerged from my oven in the past.
Located in the summer section of Vegan Desserts (the cookbook is divided by seasons), the recipe uses the ingenious idea of blackberries for the cupcake’s beautiful color. No artificial coloring!
Straight-forward and easy to understand, I, a noob baker, was able to follow the recipe without any problems. Although I was puzzled how to make the thirteenth cupcake. My pan only has twelve spots but the recipe said it makes thirteen. I just divided the batter among the twelve and crossed my fingers.
They came out fine. I frosted half of them and froze the other half for later enjoyment. My frosting technique could use a little work, actually a lot of work. It looks like it’s just plopped on top, but it tasted great. Way better than the vegan red velvet cupcakes from Sprinkles, because I made them myself!
To celebrate such a momentous occasion, I’m giving away a copy of Vegan Desserts.
To enter the giveaway:
Leave a comment in this post with your favorite seasonal dessert. Comment must be made by midnight PST on Sunday, September 18th; one entry per person. No purchase is necessary to enter or win.
One winner will be randomly selected (using random.org) from the comments received and announced in a new post on Monday, September 19th. Winner will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be randomly chosen. Prize awarded is the cookbook that I paid for with my own hard-earned money (approximate retail value $17.95). I did not drool on it.
Official Rules:
Open only to U.S. residents age 18 and over. Odds of winning depend on the number of entries received. Void where prohibited by law. Any tax is the sole responsibility of the winner. Winner releases Chow Vegan from any liability arising out of participation in this giveaway or the acceptance, use or misuse of the prize.
This post also contains an Amazon link, I get a few coins tossed my way if you click on the link and make a purchase of anything.
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favorite seasonal dessert is definitely sugar cookies during christmas. i don’t even like sugar cookies really but it’s just such a tradition bakin’ up a batch and decorating them with the fam!
Oh I have heard so much about this book! I would love to have a copy! I like strawberry rhubarb pies. So delicious and especially when warm! Thanks for the giveaway!
They really do look great- I’m so glad that the recipe not only worked for you, but lived up to your expectations for flavor! Thrilled that you would offer to host a giveaway, too. Thank you for all of your thoughtful words. :)
pie. a mix of whatever fruit is in season. with vanilla bean coconut milk ice cream.
I know it’s not original or anything, but I LOVE pumpkin pie and anxiously wait all year for fall. I’m pretty excited to say that I fooled my boyfriend’s family with a vegan version of the pie last year. :)
Thanks for the giveaway!
I love cheesecake, which is good in any season. :-). But I do really love it topped with local strawberries in the summer.
Anything pumpkin for fall, but I especially live pumpkin pie milkshakes!
I love chocolate zucchini cake which I make every fall. I’d love to win a copy of Vegan Desserts, The Bittersweet website is one of my top sources for cake recipes!
In winter my favorite recipe is a pumpkin cranberry bread. It is a tradition to be given out at the holidays, and we eat many over the winter months.
The cupcakes look simply lovely.
My favorite seasonal dessert would have to be some kind of fresh fruit/berry pie (or tart)…although I’m rather fond of holiday cookies. ;)
Chow, I think these look lovely. I know the thrill of which you speak when something comes out ‘right’. Abundant applause to you!
I will have to check this book out. How lovely of you to want to share it with your fans. x
I LOVE dessert, so this is hard to pick just one.
I guess I am going with pumpkin pie though. Partially because my husband loves it so much too, so I bake a lot of them for him every year.
I could pick pumpkin pie, because I love that, but I’d have to say leftover cranberry sauce served over vanilla ice cream. Congrats on making perfect cupcakes!
Apple pie is my favorite for fall. I love the way the house smells when baking! Thanks for the giveaway!
For the fall I make pumpkin cookies with dates,walnuts and maple frosting that are soft and delicious! I have wanted to try vegan baking and would love a copy of this book. Thanks for the opportunity!
I plan to buy this one anyway, but I’ll shoot. My favorite right now would probably be strawberry shortcake, but in fall I’ll switch to anything pumpkin-related.
**Pumpkin bars
**Blackberry cobbler
**Zucchini brownies
**Strawberry shortcake
Oh gosh! I can’t pick a favorite! :)
BLUEBERRY CRUMB BARS!!
Fall, chocolate chip pumpkin oatmeal walnut cookie
Winter, Fruit cake
Spring, Strawberry rhubarb crumble
Summer, Mint chocolate chip ice cream
my favorite seasonal dessert is probably cranberry sauce. LOL. i love the stuff for dessert. i also love pumpkin pie in the fall/winter. or shave ice for summer.
Ice cream in the summer and anything maple flavored in winter!
I love your rendition of these cupcakes! Homemade anything is always better than something made with a professional touch. Truly, you gave these your own touch. That’s what makes these special. My favorite fall dessert: Praline Sweet Potato Pie
Favorite winter dessert: Turtle Cheesecake
Favorite spring dessert: Cherry Crumb Pie
Favorite summer dessert: Lemon Blueberry Sorbet Awesome post! Again, these look amazing! I so wanted to eat my screen!
Cobbler, pie–anything baked with fresh fruit.
Anything coconut…pie, ice cream, cake, as is….
YUM!
I love Hannah’s blog posts and beautiful photos! I have to make a berry cobbler like the one on the Vegan Desserts cover before the season ends.
thanks for doing a giveaway, i’d love to win a copy! my favorite seasonal dessert is nectarine and strawberry crumble with homemade ice cream.
Giveaways are great – and what a fun gift! Would love to have it.
during the summer i love ice cream. my brother got me an ice cream maker for christmas last year and i’ve been loving it!
We’re coming up on my favorite seasonal desserts – pumpkin anything! Cookies, bread, pie, etc.
Pumpkin Pie! first thing I had to Veganize!
Pumpkin Roll and Pumpkin Pie! This is my first year following a vegan diet, so I will have to find good recipes for both before the holidays!
Every Thanksgiving my aunt makes a sweet potato pie, and I’ve come to associate it’s flavor with late fall and the changing color of leaves. I’m going to try to veganize it this coming thanksgiving. :)
Pecan pie is probably my favorite!
For winter I am a huge fan of homemade vegan pumpkin bread, toasted and lightly brushed with some Earth Balance and honey! mmmmmh, best eaten after a yummy vegan chili in the middle of a blizzard! This book would *make* my collection, which lacks a really good vegan baking guide!
Gingerbread Men! Granted, I haven’t had a good, chewy gingerbread cookie in years (since before I went vegan and was vegetarian), but they’re still my favorite seasonal dessert.
At least once every summer, I make a point of making a cherry pie, and there’s nothing that gives me more pleasure. Also, for the fall/winter, this cake is incredibly easy to make vegan, and it’s one of the best things I’ve ever tasted: http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/11/gingerbread-apple-upside-down-cake/
I live near vegan treats…whatever she makes is my favorite seasonal dessert!
Strawberry anything!
I love vegan gingerbread cookies, especially when I make them with my kids!
The cupcakes look delicious! My favorite seasonal dessert is pecan pie. I have heard wonderful things about this book.
Pumpkin cheesecake! Yum.
Right now I’m loving peaches with walnuts and shaved chocolate.
The blackberry addition sounds lovely! Beautiful cuppies :)
My favorite seasonal dessert is pumpkin butter bars!! I LOVE making them in the fall, they’re so wholesome and delicious.
Pecan pie, of course; and my family especially loves chocolate pecan pie!
My favorite vegan, seasonal dessert is a raw, strawberry, “Parisian Love Crumble” which I found on YouTube. It only takes a couple of minutes to make, it uses very few ingredients, you don’t have to turn your oven on, and it’s delicious!!! Try it, I know you’ll like it as much as I do!
For fall, I have to have an apple pie and pumpkin too!
Pumpkin pie, hands down!
Pumpkin muffins and Apple pie…I cannot pick my favorite between the two. Those cupcakes look delicious!!!
I have to say I was puzzled when you said you didn’t know what to do with the batter for the “thirteenth cupcake”. The voices in my head were shouting, “JUST EAT THE BATTER!” Hahaha. ;)
Favorite summer dessert – tie between fresh fruit (berries, mangoes, melons, red grapes) or vegan ice cream
Fall – apple pie! For some reason, though, I just can’t bring myself to make one until it’s closer to Thanksgiving.
Winter – “Microwave Brownies for One” from vegweb… but I just eat it with a spoon straight from the bowl without cooking it. ;) Gotta love vegan desserts for that aspect alone!
Spring – cookies!
Thanks for having the giveaway! I love adding to my vegan cookbook collection… especially with cookbooks from people whose recipes I’m familiar with.
MMM … I love pie. It’s good for all seasons, if you just pick the right filling — apple, pumpkin, strawberry – it’s all good!
Pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving!
apple pie during the fall.
I love homemade ice cream in the summer – the first ice cream I tried in my ice cream maker was from Hannah’s bittersweet blog. Sooooo good.
Cherry crumble bars! Yum!
Berry parfait – very refreshing in summertime!
(Those cupcakes look awesome)
My favorite seasonal dessert is, like so many others, anything with pumpkin. I just love me some pumpkin pie, pumpkin cookies, vegan pumpkin milkshakes and ice cream. YUM. I also love that fall brings apples and pear as well. :)
I like to freeze fruit, then process it just before service to make sorbet. One ingredient – that easy!
Vegan pumpkin pie