I Was Working In My Lab.... Red Velvet Brain Cupcakes.

With it being so close to Halloween I'm really getting into the mood to bake for the dark day. I've heard of these cupcakes before but I saw them again today on Anne Thornton's new show on the Food Network called, Dessert First. Since it was my day off I had to give them a try and it was easy to turn her recipe vegan. They turned out better than I thought they would and really looked like brains. I'm going to keep an eye on her show from now on for more good stuff. 

Red Velvet Brain Cupcakes

2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour 
1 1/2 cups of sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cocoa powder 
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup applesauce 
1 cup rice milk (with 1 tablespoon lemon juice)
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
2 teaspoons red food coloring

Frosting 
1/2 cup earth balance, softened
4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup soy milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Red and Black food coloring

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Sift the flour, sugar, baking soda, cocoa powder, and sea salt together onto a piece of waxed paper. Mix the applesauce, rice milk, lemon juice, oil, vanilla, vinegar, and food coloring in a standing mixer. On medium speed, beat until well combined. Turn down the mixer speed and slowly add the dry ingredients, mixing until totally smooth, about 3 minutes. Line a cupcake tin with the liners. Fill the cupcake liners 2/3 full with the batter and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool the cupcakes in the pans for 5 to 10 minutes, then remove them from the pans. Cool completely on wire racks before frosting.

 In a standing mixer, on medium speed, cream the earth balance until smooth. Turn down the mixer speed and slowly add the powdered sugar, salt, soy milk, and vanilla and mix until smooth and creamy. Add a drop each of red and black food coloring and mix into the frosting to make it a pinkish gray brain color.

Fill the pastry bag half full with the frosting, and pipe out into a squiggly pile on half of each cupcake top, then pipe the frosting in a squiggly pile on the other half of the cupcake top, making 2 brain hemispheres. BRAINS!!!