Maple madness!

Roomie and I made some spicy maple candied nuts (cashews, pecans and hazelnuts) inspired by Bazu's recipe on Where's the Revolution?


Mini gingerbread cupcakes with maple buttercream frosting are the perfect reward for the friends who trekked out in the sleet (!) for our housewarming party this weekend. These are insanely addictive. I used the cake recipe from VCTOTW and the JOVB buttercream using 1 tsp. of maple extract and 1/2 tsp vanilla. I actually made the gingerbread cuppers about a year ago with the original lemon frosting and I messed them up pretty good--how I was able to get a vegan cake to dry out or Isa's frosting to go runny I do not know, but lets all be glad my vegan baking skills have improved so very, very much. Oh, and if you can find it near you, use the Reed's brand candied ginger, and add a little extra to the batter. Also, don't even *think* about tasting the batter, because you may not actually make the cupcakes when you end up eating half the bowl...