Green Velvet Cupcakes with Rainbow Frosting
These green velvet cupcakes are super moist, incredibly tender, and topped with a sweet and tangy cream cheese frosting. These cupcakes will get you in the St. Patrick's Day spirit! You can even brighten them up by coloring your frosting in rainbow colors.
WHAT IS ST. PATRICK'S DAY, AND WHY DO WE CELEBRATE IT?
St. Patrick's day is the day to observe the death of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. It is a cultural and religious celebration held on March 17th of each year. People today in the U.S. use this day also to honor the Irish heritage and its rich culture and traditions with parades and festivities all over.
But why do we wear green? The St. Patrick's Day tradition to wear green became popularized by Irish immigrants in the United States. They believed that wearing green made them invisible to leprechauns—the classic fairy creatures who pinch anyone they can see.
OUR TRIP TO IRELAND
I thought I'd use this blog post to share a bit of the trip my husband and I had in Ireland. After we got married on September 19, 2015, we took our honeymoon to Ireland. We traveled all over the southern half of Ireland, from Dublin to Kilkenny to Killarney to Galway.
In Dublin, we visited the St. Patrick's Cathedral. This cathedral was built in honor of the patron saint, St. Patrick. The tradition states that Saint Patrick baptized the first Irish Christians on this site 1500 years ago.
After a fun little history lesson, now back to cupcakes and baking in the kitchen!
HOW TO MAKE GREEN VELVET CUPCAKES
Start by mixing your vinegar in your almond milk and set it aside to create buttermilk consistency. Then whisk your all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder. These cupcakes only contain two tablespoons of cocoa powder, but it's just enough to give you that hint of chocolate.
Then you'll start mixing your wet ingredients. With a mixer, beat the sugar and vegetable oil until combined. Next, add the applesauce and vanilla extract and mix until just blended. Then, you'll alternate mixing in your flour mixture and vegan buttermilk to the mixer. Start by adding one-third of your flour mixture, then add half the vegan buttermilk. Next, add another one-third of the flour mixture, the remaining vegan buttermilk, and the remaining flour. When alternating, always start and end with the flour mixture.
Before it is all blended, fold in your dairy-free sour cream and green food coloring. Line your cupcake pan with liners and bake at 350 degrees F for about 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. This recipe makes about 18 cupcakes.
RAINBOW CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
Be sure to let your butter and cream cheese come to room temperature. If you don't, then you could be left with clumps, and that's no good! Beat butter and cream cheese with a mixer. (I prefer to use my stand mixer and beat the paddle attachment). Scrape down the bowl and beat again for an additional minute. Scrape down the bowl again and sift in the powdered sugar. Once it starts to come together, add the vanilla extract. Continue to mix for about two minutes to ensure it is smooth and creamy. Do not add any additional liquids or dairy-free milk!! This will cause the frosting to be too soft and won't hold its shape when piping onto the cupcakes.
Separate your cream cheese frosting into six bowls and add gel food coloring to achieve Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, and purple. Wrap each color in plastic wrap before adding all colors to an extra-large piping bag. Then pipe onto cupcakes. Refill the piping bag as needed until you use all the frosting.
