Blackberry "Zinger" Coconut Lemon Cream Cupcakes

Somehow I found myself stuck in a "taste" moment. This particular moment my mind locked onto was the Zinger snack cake by Dolly Madison. If you've never had the pleasure of one of these, let me describe what I recall: red raspberry coated yellow cake rolled in coconut, filled with yummy white creamy frosting. Got it? I used to be able to consume, well, A LOT of these in my very-skinny-track-running-metabolism-of-a hummingbird-always-on-the-move younger days. If someone were to ask me, What are your earliest taste memories?--I'd have to say, the grape jelly my grandmother made, the marachino cherries from my grandmother's martinis and the Zinger would probably top the list. (Oh. . . and powdered donuts--my mother's number one go-to for a fortified nourishment snack.) I swear, it's a wonder I've lived as long as I have without collapsing suddenly. Anyhow, my vegan sweet tooth demanded I make these now. And so, I got busy trying to collect all of my memories together to whittle down the basic necessities of what I might need to re-create said snack: vegan. I also spent a considerable amount of time researching what I could of other people's interpretation of this delightful treat. Apparently, I am not the only one who longed for this memorable snack treat!

I have some blackberry preserves left over from my canning frenzy last summer. I needed to use them up quickly. About a year of shelf life is all that is recommended in all things "canning". I didn't imagine I'd be eating a PB&J sammich for lunch for the next two weeks straight, so why not put my preserves to good use?  Grant it, I believe the jammy coating that encased my Zinger memory was probably not of the homemade goodness my version contains, but I was not about to try anything too crazy here. I knew I needed fruit jam, some coconut, and a terrific yellow cake base--that's when I decided a lemon-flavored cupcake would suffice--and in truth, made this even better!

I apadted a Martha Stewart lemon cupcake recipe to create this vegan version.Then I made a lemony sort of frosting to not only top the cupcakes, but to use as a filling. Seriously, no filling would be unacceptable here.

My blackberry preserves provided the perfect sort of "zing" I was looking for in adding that yummy fruit goodness. Then you then need the coconut topping--not a Zinger without it. I once again used my Texas-sized cupcake maker for these. You could use the average-cupcake pans, but be sure to watch the time--and bake yours for less time than what I've indicated here.

Blackberry "Zinger" Coconut Lemon Cream Cupcakes

(Adapted from Martha Stewart's Glazed Lemon Cake recipe)

1 1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 stick unsalted vegetable margerine (or 1/2 cup)

1 cup Florida Crystals Sugar (or regular sugar will be fine, too)

1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk

3 teaspoons of Ener-G Egg Replacer mixed with 4 tablespoons of warm water (or equivalent of 2 eggs)

1/2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

juice of 1/2 a medium-sized lemon

zest of whole lemon--reserve half for the cupcake batter, half for the frosting

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon almond extract

Preheat oven to 350. (My mixture makes 8 large cupcakes!) Lightly spray your cupcake pans of choice--I used large, Texas-sized. I always prep my 'egg' substitute at this point--whether you use ground flax seed or my version--(my steady partner in all things vegan baking) Ener-G Egg Replacer. Mix three teaspoons of egg replacer with four tablespoons of water--whisk well, then set aside. I also always prep my buttermilk mixture together: mix soy milk with the vinegar and set aside. Next, in a medium mixing bowl, add your dry ingredients: flour, baking powder and salt and whisk together until well combined. Next, in a large bowl, take your veggie margerine and cut it into pieces, then add your sugar to this and blend until creamy. Add the juice of half a lemon and zest of half a lemon to this. Zesting the lemon first is a good idea--zesting a half a lemon after it's been sliced is not that easy. Add your egg replacer and buttermilk mixture and extracts to this creamy mixture. Mix well to combine. Now, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in three batches. Mix with your blender for just about a minute until mixture is fairly smooth--but don't overdo this! Next, fill prepared cups about half full of mixture. If you have empty cups, fill them about a third full with water before baking. Bake cupcakes for about 25 minutes. Check after 20 minutes by inserting a toothpick in the middle to see if it comes out clean. If so, the cupcakes are done! Allow to cool completely in the pan before removing to frost. (Don't forget to carefully pour off the water from the empty cupcake shells!)

Coconut Lemon Cream Frosting with Blackberry Jam

4 tablespoons vegan butter (Earth Balance)

4 tablespoons vegan shortening (Earth Balance)

2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon almond extract

zest of half a lemon

1/2 cup blackberry jam

1 cup shredded coconut (either sweetened or unsweetened--it's a personal choice)

Place the butter and shortening in large mixing bowl and cream together. Next, add about a cup of powdered sugar then mix well. Add the remaining ingredients except the coconut. Mix well to combine and until you get a pretty stiff frosting. This may require an addition of more powdered sugar--your own call on this. Next, spread about a tablespoon of jam on top of each cupcake. This will make frosting the cupcake a bit of a challenge--no matter, use my frosting-in-a-baggie trick and you'll be just fine! Next, to fill the cupcakes--I took a sandwich baggie and cut a small hole in the corner. Next, I filled the baggie about 1/3 of the way full with frosting. I then poked a hole in each cupcake with my pinky finger--or you could use the end of another smallish item--to make a hole in the middle for filling. Next, fill each cupcake with a bit of frosting--you don't need to go nuts on this part--just fill until the frosting reaches the top of the cupcake. Then I frosted the top of the cupcakes using the same method--keeping the frosting in the baggie. I just swirled the tops with more frosting over the cooled cupcakes, then sprinkle with shredded coconut. Enjoy! Store in an airtight container at room temperature or in fridge.