A Very Belated Valentine's Post

I wanted to share some lovely treats that I made this Valentine’s Day. The first are the chocolate stout cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World with cream cheese frosting from that same book with a dusting of cocoa powder instead of the crumb top (I just figured that would be more decadent.) Note; boys love things made with beer. They just do. Don’t question it, just learn how to make these or beer potatoes (I’ll have to do those in another post).

The second treat is a classic bit of pastry that I made for my Valentine’s dinner. I used the recipe for a fruit tart from The Joy of Vegan Baking. The shortbread crust is genius! The pastry cream is delicious, and the fruit choices were fabulous (thanks, me!). In case you can’t distinguish, I used clementines, kiwi, strawberries, and raspberries.
For pairing, you might couple the cupcakes with a nice creamy stout (there are many vegan ones), or you could go with a robust dessert wine such as a tawny port. I also recently tried a Muscat that was aged in Rye barrels that would go nicely. The tart would do well with a demi-sec sparkling wine. The tart is not a terribly sweet dessert, so a lightly sweet demi-sec would go beautifully with it.