BitterSweet

Cupcakes, they’re the “trendy” dessert food of the moment, found in so many various forms and flavors that it was only a matter of time before vegan cupcakes became avaliable on the commercial market. Now I’ll admit, these aren’t just standard brand-name products that can be found anywhere so it’s not quite the same, but they’re still vegan baked goods that aren’t found in one specific bakery and require no baking on your part. Thus, it seemed worth investigation.

Originating from Whole Foods and sold in packs of six, these double chocolate cupcakes were a rather surprising find. Of course they would be more aware of veganism / vegetarianism, serving a more health-conscious and specialized market, but I would have assumed that these would still contain eggs or what have you. For the sake of all you lovely readers, I tried not to let my preference for non-chocolate items get in the way of the product review. Chocolate is not what I would generally reach for, but I wanted to give them an honest try, so I hope that my bias did not affect the overall impression too much.

My first thought was that the frosting is very cute swirled so professionally on the crown of the cupcake. It looked just like any other standard cupcake, so after a few minutes of hesitation, I dug in.

The frosting tasted just like pure chocolate. In its solid state, it was a bit harder than I had been expecting, so I opted it nuke it in the microwave for 20 seconds, and it oozed all down the sides, dripping like I had just melted a full chocolate bar across the top. I was relieved that it really wasn’t sweet, just intensely cocoa; a very decadent, adult flavor.

Moving downwards to the cake, I noticed immediately what a fine, soft crumb it had concealed on the inside. Very moist and again, chocolatey without being sugary, I was actually quite impressed with caliber of this cupcake. I’m sure you all know how difficult vegan baking can be – Cakes that are dense, but much more fudge-y than would be desired or even raw at the center. Whole Foods has really put some serious work into this one. An easily accessible, very decadent treat that will not disappoint any chocoholics. Talk about instant gratification.

If you have any skeptical omnivorous friends, one bite of this cupcake will dissolve every last doubt in an instant. Definitely not for the chocolate-shy though… I’m not so sure this is one I would buy again for myself, although I can assure you that it’s only due to my personally preference, which tends to be at odds with about 95% of the general population on the subject of chocolate.

This is one tasty way to spoil yourself after a difficult day, without the usual time necessary for baking.

Yes, I just couldn’t keep away from Tofutti after I’d been so impressed with the goods that I previously sampled. This time though, I decided to go with a product from one of their more savory lines of food: Tofutti Cream Cheese, to be precise.

Now that I look at the jar, I think it might be from their special “Non Hydrogenated” category, seeing as he outer appearance doesn’t match with their typical label for Plain. A better blunder than one could hope, the non hydrogenated has a number of addition health benefits, utilizing all organic sugar and no preservatives. What’s not to like there?

At first look, Tofutti Cream Cheese appears to be an exact match with tradition cream cheese; A soft white sort of paste in a traditional “easy access” tub. Smoothing it across the top of a whole wheat english muffin, it even spread as nicely as the real thing. Spreading is a huge point of importance to me – I remember buying some odd vegan replacement cream cheese or sour cream, I don’t remember, and it had about the same consistency as plastic. I’m pretty sure it ended up as a special treat for my dog, because no one else was brave enough to try it.

While it seems that 90% of all vegan “cheeses” and such leave quite a bit to be desired, Tofutti comes pretty damn close in my opinion. No, they don’t hit the nail exactly on the head, and I would bet that anyone, vegan or non, would be able to tell the difference. That aside, I honestly like this new version a whole lot better! Maybe from being vegan for so long now, I’ve really grown a taste for things that taste more like soy.

A first bite yeilds a smooth, creamy texture across the tongue, and a pleasant sort of sour tang, such as one might find in many soy yogurts. There is a definite after taste of soybeans, but I found it really enjoyable. I actually thought that very first taste was a bit odd and I wasn’t even sure if I liked it, but after a few separate breakfast tastings, it really grew on me.

I will say it’s probably not for everybody, and non-vegans may be disappointed, but you’ve just got to give it a fair chance. Personally, I’m very pleased to have finally tried it and plan on incorporating it into many meals in the future. As with anything by Tofutti, it also comes in many varieties, all of which are vegan except for the Smoked Salmon (Obviously.)

So go out and conquere my veggie brethren – Vegan cheeses (Or atleast Tofutii Cream Cheese) can be tasty!