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Atomic Fireball Cupcakes with Whipped Topping

What you need: 

2 tablespoons + 1 1/2 teaspoons egg replacer powder
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons warm water
1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon coconut milk
1 tablespoon vegan cream cheese, sour cream or plain vegan yogurt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup bread flour
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
5 teaspoons ground cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon lemon juice

What you do: 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare 15-17 cupcake wrappers. Using a hand blender, in a small mixing bowl, beat the egg replacer powder, cream of tartar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, cornstarch and warm water until foamy, about 2-3 minutes. Set aside.
2. Using a hand blender, in a large mixing bowl, beat the oil and sugar well. Add coconut milk, vegan cream cheese, and vanilla extract; beat well. Add in the egg replacer mixture and beat well to incorporate.
3. Sift in all remaining dry ingredients (bread flour, all purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, baking soda, baking powder, ground cinnamon, and ground cayenne). Mix by hand until there are no lumps. The batter will be relatively thick, but should still be scoopable by spoon.
4. Add in lemon juice and mix by hand until incorporated. Scoop by spoon into prepared cupcake wrappers, filling about 2/3 full. Bake 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
These are a spicy kick in the mouth! They are just how I like them, and remind me in all the right ways of the candies they were replicating. If you think they might be too much for you, tone down the cinnamon and cayenne a little bit, and find out what works for you. The whipped topping cools them down significantly.
Bread flour has a very high gluten strength and protein content of compared to other flours, and I used it here to compensate somewhat for the structural integrity that comes from the whipped egg whites in the original recipe. Cake flour, alternately, has the least amount of protein or gluten among flours. So, you can try swapping this out and let us know how it works for you, but the recipe as is gave me a really nice consistency cupcake.
For a topping, I was originally going to go for something marshmallow-y like the original. I decided against it, and I went with a very slightly modified version of Isa Chandra Moskowitz's "Rad Whip," which you can find on her blog, here: http://www.theppk.com/2011/04/rad-whip/ . I modified it by adding 2 additional tablespoons coconut oil. Her recipe gives a phenomenal "Cool Whip" texture, and I wanted something just a little firmer since I wanted it to stay on the cupcakes as a stand-alone topping. (Alternately, I think any fluffy, cool, vanilla topping would probably work to balance the heat of the cupcake, such as 1/4 cup vegan margarine + 1/4 cup vegan cream cheese + 2 teaspoons vanilla extract + 3 1/2- 4 cups powdered sugar.)
Source of recipe: I was inspired by and veganized a recipe from "Cupcake Bakeshop" blog: http://cupcakeblog.com/?p=74

Preparation Time: 
15 minutes, Cooking time: 20-22 minutes
Cooking Time: 
20-22 minutes
Servings: 
15
Recipe Category: 

SO HOW'D IT GO?

***Important Note***

After my batch of these was peer reviewed, it turns out they are a lot spicier than I had experienced. I ate my test cupcake straight out of the fridge, and it was cold, and I think the spice-factor was a bit subdued. I also ate mine in a few large bites, as opposed to nibbling on it.

Everyone else ate theirs at room temperature, and about half of the people could not finish them. Maybe even more than half.

So I would dial back the cayenne and cinnamon, especially your first time around. Let me know what you did for quantities, and how it turned out!

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