SUMMER SUNFLOWER CUPCAKES
There’s nothing like beautiful big summer sunflowers or summer sunflower cupcakes!
Inspiration for baking up a batch of sunflower cupcakes came this way:
I woke up this summer morning to find a bright beautiful bouquet of sunflowers gracing my kitchen table. My son, Zack (also a Hampton’s vegan) had been out and stopped by a farm stand in East Quogue, NY. When he saw rows of sunflowers for sale he couldn’t resist picking up a bunch to bring home. I love that!
Summer sunflowers are one of the many things that define the season out here. They are just the thing that inspired our summer sunflower cupcakes.
Signs of summer in the Hamptons (besides sunflower cupcakes)
Some of the other sure signs of summer around the Hamptons are more traffic, fund-raisers for a variety of good causes, celebrity sightings, sand in the shower, sand in the car, and sand just about everywhere. And a lot more shops and restaurants are open than at any other time of year. It’s fun to finally go out to eat a little more often.
Hamptons restaurants with a water view. They’d be even better with sunflower cupcakes!
But I digress.
So anyway, I especially love to eat outside. And even more than that, I love to eat outside by the water. Some fun restaurants to try around the east end of Long Island include Cowfish in Hampton Bays and John Scott’s Surf Shack In Westhampton Beach.
Cowfish
This waterside restaurant has a very yummy hummus with pita bread appetizer but just ask them to hold the cheese they put on top.
Fridays are great to sit outside by the water, have a drink and an app, and watch the boats go by on Shinnecock Bay, while a band plays. Plus, they have a tiki boat that travels back and forth to their sister restaurant, Rumba!
John Scott’s Surf Shack
John Scott’s Surf Shack is a favorite with my son and his friends. And it’s a great stop after a day at the beach for a come-as-you-are, kick-back kind of place. It’s on the bay side of Dune Road, across the street from the ocean.
For vegans, their menu is limited. So it’s fries or a salad and not much else. But they do list a veggie burger and when I called to ask if it is vegan or vegetarian she checked, returning to say it is vegan. Yay for vegan veggie burgers at John Scott’s Surf Shack!
My summer homework
So, I will continue to explore local restaurants in the name of vegan research. Because somebody’s gotta do it. 😉 And I will report back often. I will also request vegan options at all the places I frequent and (fingers crossed) more and more places will see the need and follow suit. I’ve seen many restaurants adding vegan options lately so I’m encouraged, but there’s still a long way to go.
I still do most of my eating at home and that’s ok. I like to go out for the atmosphere and to experience a night out and, okay, a fancy cocktail too. Then come home to summer sunflower chocolate cupcakes for the perfect ending.
If you want to add a little summer flair to your dessert table, here is a little cupcake recipe that brings it. I hope you have a great week and I will report back with my restaurant research and a new recipe soon!
If you don’t feel like a chocolate-based summer sunflower cupcake, then try our very vegan vanilla cupcakes, instead!
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Summer Sunflower Cupcakes
Ingredients
cupcakes
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar organic
- 1 cup vegan mayo
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup cold water
Frosting
- 1/2 cup vegan shortening I use Spectrum or Nutiva
- 3 – 3 3/4 cups vegan powdered sugar any organic powdered sugar is vegan
- 1 – 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 3 – 6 tablespoons soymilk or other non-dairy milk
- yellow food coloring like Watkins all vegetable food color or use a pinch of turmeric
- 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (to represent seeds in the center) like enjoy life chocolate chips
Instructions
CUPCAKE DIRECTIONS
- Line a cupcake tin with paper liners. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a small bowl mix together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a large bowl beat together sugar, mayo, and vanilla.
- Beat the flour mixture into the wet mixture in thirds, alternating with the water until blended.
- Divide the batter evenly among cupcake tins.
- Bake for 22-24 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for 3 minutes in tin on a wire rack. Then remove the cupcakes from the tin and finish cooling them completely on a wire rack.
FROSTING DIRECTIONS
- Cream shortening in a large bowl.
- Add sugar and beat well.
- Add vanilla.
- Add milk a little at a time, beating well until desired consistency.
- If necessary, add a little more milk if too thick or a little more powdered sugar if too thin.
SUNFLOWER DESIGN DIRECTIONS
- To create a sunflower design you will need a piping bag or decorating press with a petal tip. See the image in the notes.
- Lightly frost each cupcake with a thin layer of frosting.
- In the center of each cupcake score a circle with a toothpick or knife point about the size of a quarter or a little smaller to use as a guide.
- Mix in yellow food color to the rest of the frosting to achieve the desired shade.
- Spoon frosting into a piping bag or decorator press with a petal tip
- Starting at the outside circle, squeeze out a petal all the way to the edge of a cupcake. Continue this all the way around the circle.
- Now put another layer of petals on top of the first layer and end just a little shorter from the edge of the cupcake so some of the first layer still shows.
- When two layers are completely around the cupcake, fill the middle section with the mini chocolate chips to represent the seeds.
Notes
tips for frosting sunflower cupcakes