<p>Here is the recipe for Vegan “Chocolate” “Ganache” from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World:</p>
<p>1/4 c margarine
1/4 c Crisco
1/2 c cocoa powder
2 1/2 c confectioner’s sugar
3 t soymilk
1 1/2 t vanilla</p>
<p>Cream the shortenings and gradually add everything else.</p>
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<p>I don’t actually have to make this to know what it tastes like. The two ingredients of ganache are chocolate and cream, so a recipe for “ganache” which has no chocolate and no cream gives me pause.</p>
<p>I also looked at the recipe for Basic Vanilla Cupcakes. I had to stop and compose myself after I read the part saying that the cook could use canola oil, but might want to use margarine instead because of its “buttery flavor.”</p>
<p>There are a lot of good reasons to be a vegan, but better cupcakes is not one of them.</p>
<p>I’m sorry, that was not what I was thinking of, and the recipe I was thinking of is not available in the preview. Here it is:</p>
<p>Rich Chocolate Ganache topping</p>
<p>1/4 cup soy milk (or almond/rice/coconut/etc)
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup</p>
<p>Heat milk, stir in chocolate and syrup until melted.</p>
<p>I was remembering this recipe because it was simple with few ingredients, but turns out great, and I can see why the one you found isn’t like that. Apologies for not checking further!</p>
<p>Also, I don’t think anyone said better cupcakes, just not inherently awful.</p>
<p>CF, there was a good reason DD made the berry topping - berries, rhubarb and agave for sweetness. Crisco and healthy do not belong in the same sentence. 
Btw, vegetable oil is used in some yummy cake recipies instead of butter or margarine.</p>
<p>Whew, that does sound better. Especially if one used coconut milk. That could be very delicious.</p>
<p>OK, I’m watching *DC Cupcakes *on TLC right this moment, and I HAVE A HUGE PROBLEM WITH THEM!!! No one on the show wears hair nets or hats while making these cupcakes! Come on, the owner has hair dangling all over the sweet crations she is assembling! Ewww… Haven’t you guys seen folks who work at Costco food courts? The guys have nets even on their beards!!!</p>
<p>The only episode I watched of that, they were freaking out about how nobody but them could do their “signature swirl.” And now every time I walk into any cupcake shop ever and see it I have to wonder about those women. lol</p>
<p>BunsenBurner, I totally noticed that in tonight’s episode! Yuck. And I thought making those tiny firemen hats looked hard, lol.</p>
<p>That was my problem with DC Cupcakes - you could have made their talking about the “signature swirl” into a drinking game, LOL! It didn’t look that difficult unless you had never used a cone of frosting before to pipe frosting!</p>
<p>And I never meant vegan was better, just that it can be done very well (and poorly) just like “regular” Oh and 99% of margarine is NOT vegan - there are vegan butter products and spreads which taste like something in between the 2 but are truly vegan. And we have egg replacements (ener-g) that work very well in my chocolate chip cookies. I also use a vegan shortening instead of crisco although crisco can be used. For the most part I lost my sweet tooth when I went vegan but sometimes when the urge strikes or we are making a birthday treat, it’s nice to have great options </p>
<p>The funny thing is I have a GC to Georgetown Cupcakes that I got 2 years ago and i went vegan a month later and never used it - and keep forgetting to carry it wth us for others in my family to use when we happen to be nearby and the line isn’t around 3 blocks - my H bought it so it would exactly cover the cost of 3 cupcakes - by the time we use it hopefully it will still cover the cost of one :)</p>
<p>Never thought about the hair nets and DC Cupcakes but now that you mention it…eww. I think the head baker (forget his name) is usually wearing one. Likely the owners don’t do a lot of actual baking unless the cameras are rolling?
Someone I know has been asked several times to be on Cupcake Wars but after agonizing has turned them down more than once. I support that decision because I think that the participants can’t control the editing, etc. You may end up getting portrayed in a way you wish you hadn’t…</p>
<p>The head baker on DC Cupcakes bugged me a lot too - I agree on Cupcake Wars - I think many of them get a different impression then they would if you knew them and actually sampled their cupcakes. Especially when they are given some crazy ingredients. I wonder if Georgetown Cupcake sisters will ever do Cupcake Wars.</p>
<p>Ha ha… and on DC Cupcakes, you just knew that anytime they gave “Mommy” a job, things were going to end in disaster! The second she had to deal with two kinds of batter, I was like, “noooo!”</p>
<p>LOL exactly jambaby! We tried so hard to like the show but it wasn’t worth the effort! The line though now is at least 3 times as long as it was before the show!</p>
<p>The egg substitutes go very well in baking. I have a niece who is fatally allergic to eggs (will die if you fry an egg in the same room as her, much less feed it to her) and so just about all our baking has converted to egg-free. I am a purist when it comes to baking and don’t like to use anything but the real thing because I can easily taste the difference, but the egg substitutes aren’t much of an issue at all. I would imagine that vegan cupcakes could be pretty good if done right. They have a vegan option at my Cupcake Station but I’ve never tried it.</p>
<p>I am sure business is booming for them now… Crazy! They seem perfectly nice, but the show itself just doesn’t work for me.</p>
<p>There are always vegan dessert options in my dining hall at school - they’re actually not too bad! They once had chocolate chip cookies that I swore were way too good to be vegan (ha). The vegan brownies I’ve tried are really, really dense, but they do give you a nice chocolate fix.</p>
<p>OK, so I’ve got the vegan icing recipe-- the chocolate melted in coconut milk. Now, what’s a good vegan cupcake recipe? An oil-based recipe would be good; I’ve tried various margarines including vegan, and they are all awful tasting so I will not buy any. As it happens, I have some Ener-G egg substitute and need to use it up, so that’s fine.</p>
<p>I’ve not jumped on the cupcake bandwagon. I prefer cake slices to cupcakes - better ratio of layer of cake, thinner layer of icing, layer of cake, layer of icing. I can never get that perfect bite with a cupcake. </p>
<p>My D just switched to a gluten free diet so there won’t be much cake of any kind around the house.</p>
<p>^You do know that a gluten free cake is not unattainable, right? Gluten free is not nearly as restricting as it used to be, especially if you know where to shop. I had to go on a gluten free, casein free diet for a while and was extremely upset until I realized there were very few things I couldn’t still have, I’d hate for someone to not know they have options still.</p>
<p>Yes, I know that gluten free cake is available. She hasn’t searched for any yet. I have read that Chelsea Clinton is serving a gluten free cake at her wedding.</p>
<p>Cardinal Fang, my suggestion is still the oil version of those vanilla cupcakes. I know you didn’t like the margarine idea but was the oil-only one okay?</p>
<p>OK, oil-only vanilla cupcakes with the chocolate/coconut glaze. I’ll try them out on my nieces and nephews when I visit in two weeks, and report back.</p>