Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Biscoff Frosting - VeganMoFo #6

 

I've been meaning to make something tasty with Biscoff spread for months, but never got around to it until today. I decided to make a dozen of these Vanilla Bean Cupcakes that I found on The PPK website this morning. It just so happens that I had 1 single vanilla bean left in my spice cupboard, so I took the plunge. I made some of the tastiest vanilla cupcakes I've ever had. My only complaint is that vanilla beans are so expensive or I'd buy them more often. If you get the chance, though, definitely make the PPK's vanilla bean cupcakes. Their recipe comes with a chocolate ganache topping, but I wanted to attempt a  Biscoff fosting instead.

The frosting gave me some trouble. I couldn't get it to be as firm as I wanted it, without getting really foamy in texture. I'll just have to keep working on it. Because it isn't yet perfected, I don't have an exact recipe. Here's what I used, though:

• about 1/2 cup Biscoff spread
• about 1 TB room temp vegan butter
• about 2 TB shortening (to make it creamy and hold its shape)
• about 2 cups powdered/confectioner's sugar
• about 3-4 TB almond milk

You just blend it all together with a hand mixer until nice and smooth-ish and to your liking. Mine tasted spectacular with the vanilla bean cupcakes. The texture was mostly smooth, but a bit softer than I prefer. After I piped the cupcakes, I let them set out for about an hour for the frosting to firm up a bit and hold its shape.

Here are some photos of the cupcake progress: