vegetarian beer dinner

My oven is broken.

This would normally not be a big deal. Rarely do I make anything that does not cook in the microwave. But of course the broken oven situation would coincide with a beer cupcake situation.

This weekend was the third Vegetarian Beer Dinner hosted by blogger and friend Lauren of Veg:ology. I took the dessert course and promised to deliver beer cupcakes. I had no backup plan.

The day went something like this. Print off vegan cupcake recipe. Brainstorm how to get beer in the recipe without watering it down. Turn on oven. Make said recipe. Put batter in cupcake tins lined with my favorite recycled biodegradable cupcake liners. Open oven door. Yell, “EVAN!!!” Realize that the oven is not going to work. Pour batter from favorite biodegradable cupcake liners in to small tray that fits in the toaster oven. Say a prayer to the vegan beer cake Gods asking to please let this work and bake in the toaster.

To my astonishment, it actually worked. I served my beer “cake” with a vegan vanilla frosting, topped with crumbles of dark chocolate. The beer in the batter and served as my pairing was Duck Rabbit Brown Ale. It was just delightful.

A special shout out to all the other bloggers at the dinner.

Lauren, Veg:ology

Liz, I Heart Vegetables

Sarah, The Smart Kitchen

Adrienne, Hippie Itch

Check out their sites for their killer recipes. I would give you mine, but there is no chance it will ever work again. It truly was a vegan beer cake miracle.