We ended a recent vegetarian dining trip to Portland at the Sweet Pea Baking Company, a vegan bakery/coffee shop.
Mural on the wall @ SweetPea
I should have made this post sooner… This trip was a month ago. Things I liked: choice of soy, rice or hemp milk in my latte, gluten free options. Things I didn’t: the staff (wasn’t very friendly) and this cupcake…
German Chocolate Cupcake
The cake was very dry. So far, I’m not a fan of vegan icing. This one thing could possibly keep me vegetarian instead of vegan: no more buttercream. I’ve thought about trying Earth Balance, which is a vegan margarine that is extremely tasty, to make buttercream, but it’s $6 for a pound of the sticks. I like to believe that my butter comes from happy, well treated cows. I may be living in a dream world, but I like a tasty frosting! (I also realize that there is no way to make a vegan meringue for Italian Meringue Buttercream. I don’t think life would be worth living without that. I also imagine that my eggs come from happy and well adjusted chickens. In fact, some of my eggs did come from happy chickens…my friend Tanya’s…but I digress…)
The Cupcake Addict's Cupcake Collection 