This is nacho mamma's cake. Well, unless that is your mom is prone to making savory nacho cake.
(crickets)
Listen. My bloggy BFF Natalie of Bake & Destroy has a book out. Bake and Destroy: Good Food for Bad Vegans. This book is totally vegan, but I don't care about that. What I do care about, and what is even more important, is that it is wonderful. When the book came, I all but had to restrain myself from doing a happy dance. 
It's funny, it's creative, it's edgy, it's covered in tattoo art...just like Natalie. It's illustrated by Betty Turbo.
So when her publicist (I love casually mentioning how my friends have publicists) contacted me to see if I'd help promote the book by posting a recipe on my site, I said of course. Because Natalie is pretty awesome and she's always supportive of what I do.
The recipe for Nacho Cupcakes caught my eye right away, because it sounded...interesting. And I like keeping things interesting.
If you're expecting a real nacho-infused cake, think again. As the headnote reads,
"technically this is a muffin. I think I just enjoy the horrified look on people’s faces when I say things like, “Have you tried the nacho cupcake?” Sadistic. Anyway, serve these with a bean salad and a side of guacamole and you’ve got yourself a fiesta. Better yet, bake the muffins and let your guests top their own!"
Now. I don't know why exactly, but probably because I couldn't find cupcake liners at the moment of baking, but I baked the cornbread batter in a 9x13 inch pan instead of as cupcakes, and treated them as cakelets. I chose my own adventure with the decoration, garnishing with "cheez" sauce, green chile (I'm in New Mexico at the moment, and when in Rome...), corn, salsa, and...of course, a nacho chip on top.
These are a wonderful snack cake, and could even make a nice light lunch with a salad. A candy salad, that is!
Bake and Destroy: Good Food for Bad Vegans
Makes 12 cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 cup (235 ml) soy milk
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup (127 g) yellow cornmeal
- 1 tablespoon (14 g) baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 medium-size jalapeños, diced with seeds
- ⅓ cup (50 g) corn kernels (thawed, if frozen)
- ¼ cup (60 g) blended silken tofu
- ⅓ cup (67 g) sugar
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) vegetable oil
- Unhydrogenated vegetable shortening, for greasing pan
TOPPINGS:
- 1 (15-ounce [425 g]) can refried beans
- Sliced olives
- Additional jalapeño slices, ground seitan, guacamole, etc. (optional)
- Tortilla chips
- Nacho Chee-Zee Sauce
Directions
- Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C) and grease a twelve-cup muffin pan or a 9x13 inch pan.
- In a measuring cup, combine the soy milk and apple cider vinegar and set aside to curdle for a few minutes while you prepare the other ingredients.
- In a medium-size bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and pepper. In another bowl, whisk together the soy milk mixture, jalapeños, corn, tofu, sugar and oil. Add to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
- Fill the prepared muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes.
- Remove from the pan and let cool completely on wire rack.
- To nacho-fy the “cupcakes”: Warm the refried beans on your stovetop; spread a layer of beans on top of each muffin. Sprinkle with olives and additional peppers or other toppings, if desired. Top it with a tortilla chip, serve with Nacho Chee-Zee Sauce, and get ready to party.