Caramel-penuche frosting: cup granulated sugar

3 tablespoons nonhydrogenated vegan margarine

1 tablespoon mola.s.ses

cup soy creamer or soy milk

2 tablespoons plain or vanilla soy milk powder

Pinch of salt

2 cups confectioners" sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

cup chopped, roasted peanuts for sprinkling

Penuche WHAT is penuche and why would anyone put it on a cupcake? Penuche is actually a really old-fashioned American fudge candy, so old school in fact there"s no chocolate or cocoa in it. Its deep, caramel flavor is achieved primarily by boiling brown sugar (along with b.u.t.ter and maybe a little vanilla). We skip to the chase in this recipe and use a combination of white sugar and mola.s.ses, because that"s all that brown sugar really is. The texture of the frosting does indeed have a dense, smooth homemade fudgy quality that really delivers.

PREHEAT THE oven to 350F and line a 12-cup m.u.f.fin tin with paper cupcake liners.

Leaving the skins on the apples, core and dice them into small pieces (about -inch cubes), for about 1 cups of diced apple.

Heat the brown sugar and margarine in a heavy skillet over medium heat, stirring, until the mixture begins to bubble. Add the apple pieces and stir to coat. Cook the apples, stirring occasionally, until almost all of the water has evaporated and the apples are lightly caramelized, about 12 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool before proceeding.

In a large bowl, whisk together the soy milk and lemon juice, and allow to sit for a minute to curdle. Add the canola oil, granulated sugar, lemon zest, and vanilla, and beat well. Sift in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg the and stir only until the dry ingredients are moistened. Fold in the sauteed apples along with any remaining juices.

Fill the cupcake liners three-quarters of the way with batter, and bake for 20 to 22 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.

When the cupcakes are done, remove them from the oven and cool on wire racks.

While they cool, prepare the Caramel-Penuche Frosting: Combine the sugar, margarine, mola.s.ses, soy milk, powdered soy milk, and salt in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Stir and bring to a boil. Allow the mixture to boil and foam for 7 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat.

When the frosting mixture has cooled slightly and is still a little warm, stir in half the confectioners" sugar and the vanilla, then beat with electric beaters for 2 to 3 minutes, until creamy. Slowly beat in remaining confectioners" sugar until a thick, smooth, fudgelike frosting forms. (The frosting can be spread warm or slightly cooled, but too much cooling will make the frosting too stiff to spread. If this happens, just let it warm to room temperature.) Frost the cupcakes and sprinkle with chopped peanuts.

JELLY DONUT CUPCAKES.

MAKES 12 CUPCAKES.

TIME: ABOUT 40 MINUTES.

Here is a treat that defies all logic: it"s both a tender cupcake and sugared jelly donut at the same time. They"re cute, yummy, and deceptively easy to make, too. No need to use a pastry bag to fill the cupcake in order to create its amazing jelly donut effect; the jam bakes right into it, doing all the work for you. Add a sprinkle of confectioners" sugar and you have yourself one heck of a cupcake moonlighting as a jelly donut.

1 cup soy or rice milk

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 cups all-purpose flour

teaspoon baking powder

teaspoon baking soda

teaspoon ground nutmeg

teaspoon salt

cup canola oil

cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

About cup raspberry jam or preserves (you can use strawberry or grape if you prefer)

2 tablespoons confectioners" sugar

PREHEAT THE oven to 350F. Pour the soy milk, vinegar, and cornstarch into a measuring cup and set aside. Line a 12-cup m.u.f.fin pan with paper cupcake liners.

In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, and salt. Create a well in the center of the flour to pour your wet ingredients into.

Stir the soy milk mixture with a fork to dissolve the cornstarch, then pour into the flour mixture. Add the oil, granulated sugar, and vanilla. Stir until well combined.

Fill the cupcake liners about three-quarters full with batter. Place a heaping teaspoonful of jam on the center of each cupcake. You don"t need to press down on the jam or do anything else; the baking will take care of all of that and it will sink in.

Bake for 21 to 23 minutes. You can"t really do a toothpick test here because of the jelly filling, but the cupcakes should be done by this point. The tops should be firm.

The cheaper your jam, the more authentic your donut will taste, so skip the organic spreadable fruit stuff here and go for the bright red, ambiguously "berry"-flavored supermarket brand. The cops down at the station will thank you for it.

The trick to these cupcakes is to leave them out in a cool place overnight, so make these a day ahead if you can, although it"s fine if you can"t wait.

Remove from the oven and let cool completely on wire racks.

Once cooled, set them someplace cool and dry, and leave uncovered. If it"s winter, leave them in your coldest room. If it"s summer, leave them somewhere air-conditioned, if possible. If it"s not possible, don"t sweat it-just don"t leave them anywhere very warm. Let them sit overnight and preferably up to 24 hours. This will make the tops dry and a little bit crispy and more donutlike.

Sprinkle with confectioners" sugar (using a sifter if you have one). Serve with coffee.