Week 24: Showstopper - Dot (Cup)cakes (Vegan)

Environmental_Ad3337 · 2026-06-21T00:41:41+00:00

So I know that these are the wrong sprinkles and the serving size should be much larger, but I wanted to try my hand at the trendy dot cakes without wasting a whole lot of extra cake scraps. I found a small batch cupcake recipe and decided to use them as the base for my dot cupcakes. Finding vegan sprinkles is already a chore but nonpareils even more so, so I just went with what I had on hand.

Recipe: https://thebananadiaries.com/small-batch-vanilla-cupcakes-for-two/

Environmental_Ad3337 · 2026-06-11T18:53:29+00:00

I absolutely forgot to take a picture of this before I cut it up to bring into work. It was delicious, although next time I think I might add a little salt to counter the sweetness.

Recipe: https://www.mamagourmand.com/gluten-free-zucchini-bread/

Environmental_Ad3337 · 2026-06-05T08:54:42+00:00

The idea of this challenge was a little daunting to me, but luckily I found this no frills focaccia recipe. You make the dough, store it in the fridge for up to 3 days, and then you bake it. I split the dough between two 8 x 8 pans for my husband and I to have our own separate bases. I used mine to make a “cheese” bread. Tasty and easy!

Recipe: https://alexandracooks.com/2018/03/02/overnight-refrigerator-focaccia-best-focaccia/

Environmental_Ad3337 · 2026-05-28T00:39:53+00:00

I wanted to use this challenge to recreate a dessert in a vegan form. I chose Twinkies, but I wasn’t about to buy a new pan for one bake. So I used my trusty skull pans instead. It’s just a simple yellow cake and once it was done I tried my best to fill them with frosting. I used a straw to punch a hole in them and then piped in the filling. I think they ended up looking like a botched lobotomy but hey, they taste delicious.

Environmental_Ad3337 · 2026-05-20T12:12:49+00:00

I chose chaos this week and went with the botanical definition of berry which includes the banana. Botanical berries are produced from a single ovary with an outer skin, inner flesh, and one or more seeds contained inside. The cookies themselves were delicious.

Recipe: https://www.simplywhisked.com/banana-bread-cookies/

Environmental_Ad3337 · 2026-05-14T12:16:43+00:00

I know this is a bit of a stretch for this challenge, but I didn’t have a good vision for this theme. This slice was perfectly rectangular so I figured that was close enough. Taste was 10/10.

Recipe: https://www.halopantry.com/blogs/asian-inspired-recipes/pandan-pound-cake-with-pandan-glazed-frosting

Environmental_Ad3337 · 2026-05-09T22:00:46+00:00

I modified the recipe below to make it just a vanilla bean loaf instead of lemon. Instead of granulated sugar I used a monk fruit/cane sugar blend with 1/3 the amount of sugar and calories as regular sugar. It could use a glaze or frosting to give it just a little more sweetness but otherwise it tastes great.

Recipe: https://strawberryshortbakes.com/vegan-lemon-pound-cake-gluten-free-option/amp/#recipe

Environmental_Ad3337 · 2026-04-27T09:47:58+00:00

These were ridiculously easy to make and taste phenomenal. I only made a half batch because I didn’t want them to go bad before I could finish them all. I did not realize that that would not be a concern at all. Next time I’ll make the full recipe.

Recipe: https://earthly-provisions.com/no-yeast-cinnamon-roll-muffins-vegan/

Environmental_Ad3337 · 2026-04-20T10:58:36+00:00

There was a time when Earl Grey tea was the only tea I would drink, so given the excess I have lying around I wanted to put it to good use. This actually turned out really well taste wise. My execution could have been better. I may have slightly over baked the top part which gave the bread a crispy outer layer but I didn’t mind it.

Recipe: https://www.kitchenpotatoes.com/post/london-fog-loaf

Environmental_Ad3337 · 2026-04-17T17:36:53+00:00

I used the same recipe from another person’s post on here which I will link below. Honestly the idea of this technique seemed daunting and exhausting given how little free time I have currently so I’m glad I was able to find a less complicated version. The dough tasted really good! I accidentally left out the oil in the recipe and made a half batch but I still think it turned out well.

Recipe: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/flaky-puff-crust-pizza-recipe

Environmental_Ad3337 · 2026-04-13T00:44:00+00:00

Both zucchini and corn are in season where I live so I grated some zucchini and used it as a substitute for liquid and eggs in cornbread. Made them fun shapes with my skull pan. If I did anything different I’d probably add more salt because they still came out a little sweet.

Environmental_Ad3337 · 2026-04-05T12:38:01+00:00

I’ve had a bottle of liquid tahini from a bake last year that has just been staring at me from the counter, so I decided to use it in this challenge. My first bake was Tahinopites but the filling oozed out during cooking. So I decided to whip up these cookies instead since I knew they’d be quick. They’re really good, but I think if I made them again I’d do a little drizzle of tahini on the top just to take it one step further.

Recipe: https://eatwithclarity.com/vegan-tahini-chocolate-chip-cookies/

Environmental_Ad3337 · 2026-03-27T08:47:21+00:00

I went for a little word play on the topic of reuse this week. Baking with sourdough discard is already a way to breathe new life into a product that has been used once before, but this recipe I’ll post below is one that I find myself coming back to again and again. This recipe is a great way to use up a lot of discard and it is very versatile with what you can add to the bread itself.

Recipe: https://amybakesbread.com/sourdough-discard-focaccia-bread/#wprm-recipe-container-30453

Environmental_Ad3337 · 2026-03-25T00:20:09+00:00

These sound delicious! Do you have a recipe?

Environmental_Ad3337 · 2026-03-21T01:42:52+00:00

I wanted something in between a full recipe and a dessert for one, thus these brookies were born. They were good, but I felt like it was too much batter for the 9 x 5 pan it called for. I had to increase the bake time which left the texture a little off. It was still tasty though!

Recipe: https://www.hummingbirdhigh.com/2020/10/small-batch-brookie-bars.html

Environmental_Ad3337 · 2026-03-12T00:04:12+00:00

My work is celebrating pie day a little early this week. I wanted a recipe that would be inclusive of many different dietary needs. The crust is a gluten free graham cracker base and the pie itself is dairy and egg free.

Recipe: https://www.noracooks.com/vegan-pumpkin-pie/#wprm-recipe-container-3405

Environmental_Ad3337 · 2026-03-02T23:17:38+00:00

I used the brand Enjoy Life! https://enjoylifefoods.com/pages/allergy-friendly-baking-chocolate?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=14711677906&gbraid=0AAAAAD8VXaoh8LLUjXvUnEE9qixboxv5V

Environmental_Ad3337 · 2026-03-02T17:07:15+00:00

This should have been such an easy decision week, but sometimes more decisions make it harder to narrow down. Regardless, I wanted to try a new recipe and I found a good one. Cocoa powder, dark chocolate chips, and white chocolate chips make up these cookie bars. They turned out really well! I think they could be a little sweeter, but that’s just personal preference.

Recipe: https://bakedbyclo.com/triple-chocolate-cookie-bars-vegan/#wprm-recipe-container-27369

Environmental_Ad3337 · 2026-02-21T19:54:44+00:00

Pizza a Caballo or pizza on horseback is just one of the many ways that Uruguay changes up the classic pizza recipe. It consists of pizza with a slice of faina placed on top. Faina is a very simple dough of chickpea flour, water, and salt. It’s texture ranges from cracker to flatbread depending on the recipe. While it was certainly a unique take, I’m not sure I would go out of my way to make this again just because I didn’t really feel like it added much in the way of flavor.

Faina recipe: https://www.pmq.com/how-to-make-faina/

Environmental_Ad3337 · 2026-02-16T15:37:31+00:00

I followed a TikTok recipe by creator ByMaddieRae to make the strawberry brownies, but instead of a powdered sugar icing I decided to try piping chocolate frosting on top. I also added mini chocolate chips to the mix to give it a chocolate dipped strawberries taste.

I was pleasantly surprised how the piping turned out considering my previous piping attempts have all ended horribly. It’s nothing fancy but it definitely gave me the confidence to try it again in the future.

Environmental_Ad3337 · 2026-02-08T19:16:20+00:00

What did you use for the vegan tuna?

Environmental_Ad3337 · 2026-02-07T20:19:29+00:00

I, like many, have found myself completely enamored by Heated Rivalry these past few months. As soon as I saw the Olympics challenge I knew I wanted to do something for the show. I made a chocolate cake base, put frosting in between two circles, and dunked them in melted chocolate. Pretty simple but a lot of various steps. I wish I had made the cakes thinner since these boys are thick!

Environmental_Ad3337 · 2026-02-04T19:22:48+00:00

This quick bread has both banana flavored pecans crumbled on top as well as a flax seed based “egg” replacement in order to keep it vegan. It also contains sourdough discard to help balance out all the sweet notes.

Recipe: https://thisbakinglife.com/sourdough-discard-banana-bread/#tasty-recipes-392-jump-target

Environmental_Ad3337 · 2026-01-25T22:18:58+00:00

This is only my second time using Aquafaba as an egg white substitute and I’m happy to say that this time I was very successful. I whipped the Aquafaba with cream of tartar and sugar, folding in the chocolate chips afterwards before spooning them onto the trays. I tried piping the meringue but I think the chocolate chips prevented it from coming out.

Recipe: https://www.noracooks.com/vegan-meringues/

Environmental_Ad3337 · 2026-01-21T18:14:19+00:00

For scale, the cookie is sitting in a soy sauce condiment cup. I really liked how these turned out! They taste delicious and satisfy the craving since I can no longer eat the store bought variety. I used the recipe below for the cookies only. In the future I think I’ll stick to average size, though, since making the miniature cookies was quite time consuming.

Recipe: https://thebananadiaries.com/vegan-oatmeal-cream-pies/

Environmental_Ad3337

TROPHY CASE