Nearly every week I bake something. Usually it’s combined with us inviting friends over, otherwise Marty and I will eat all the cake ourselves and that’s not good. This week’s dessert is a recipe I created then added a Grenadian flare to- which means nutmeg. Nutmeg is this country’s number 1 export and Grenada used to be the producer of more nutmeg than any other country in the world- before Hurricane Ivan in 2004, now I believe they are climbing back up the ladder and sit at number 15 or something. In any case, there is a whole lot of nutmeg here and I’ve noticed that they like to add it to all types of dishes, maybe just because it’s
there so I nicknamed the spice “Grenadian Flare” when I’m talking food.
What you’ll need/Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups flour
1 cup pure cane sugar
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
½ cup applesauce
¼ cup softened vegan margarine (like Earth Balance)
1 tsp. vanilla
¼ cup non-dairy milk
1 cup grated carrots
½ cup mini vegan chocolate chips (if you can’t find mini, regular will do)
Other variations:
Instead of chocolate chips use ½ cup raisins or chopped walnuts
What’s Next:
*Preheat oven: I am not going to pretend to know what temperature- my oven is either lite and “on” or not, which leads me to believe it doesn’t matter all that much about temperature since all my stuff seems to come out fully baked (although admittedly a bit uneven when if I’m using bigger pans!) So, let’s say 350.
-In a bowl mix all the dry ingredients together. In a separate (and large) bowl mix wet ingredients.
-By hand sift or slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients pausing to incorporate until everything is mixed together and smooth.
-Add carrots and chocolate chips and combine into the mixture. The mixture will be wet and thick, not runny.
If making cupcakes, place liners in cupcake tin. Distribute the batter equally between 12 cupcake liners. If making a cake, pour the batter into an 9 inch cake pan, or use a bunt pan to make a small carrot bunt cake. Bake cupcakes for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean from the center. Let cool completely before frosting.
Icing!
I would love to tell you to make a vegan cream cheese frosting because it would go great with this but I’ve never made that type of frosting b/c there isn’t a place to buy vegan cream cheese that I’ve seen in the islands. So, I made this variation of vanilla butter cream frosting from “Vegan Cupcakes take over the World” that is also great. Icing is really easy to make and you don’t need any fancy mixers. I use a small electric wand beater but I also have a hand (manual) mixer that I have used while making icing.
Icing Ingredients:
1/3 cup non-hydrogenated shortening
1/3 cup vegan margarine
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tbls. Soy milk
2 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar
How to make it:
-In a bowl combine shortening and margarine and beat until fluffy.
-Add the sugar and beat for a couple minutes making sure everything is smooth and combined.
-Add the vanilla and soy milk and beat for several minutes (about 5) until the frosting is fluffy.
-Refrigerate until ready to use.
*A frosting hint: I put my frosting into a zip lock bag (zipped up) and cut a small hole in one corner where I squeeze the frosting out of right onto the cupcakes (in a decorative fashion!) If you’re not eating/using all the cupcakes at once only frosting the ones that you will eat at the time. Any leftover frosting I keep in the same zip lock bag in the fridge (in a cup or bowl so none magically comes out of the small hole all over your fridge- I’ve been there before!)
there so I nicknamed the spice “Grenadian Flare” when I’m talking food.
What you’ll need/Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups flour
1 cup pure cane sugar
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
½ cup applesauce
¼ cup softened vegan margarine (like Earth Balance)
1 tsp. vanilla
¼ cup non-dairy milk
1 cup grated carrots
½ cup mini vegan chocolate chips (if you can’t find mini, regular will do)
Other variations:
Instead of chocolate chips use ½ cup raisins or chopped walnuts
What’s Next:
*Preheat oven: I am not going to pretend to know what temperature- my oven is either lite and “on” or not, which leads me to believe it doesn’t matter all that much about temperature since all my stuff seems to come out fully baked (although admittedly a bit uneven when if I’m using bigger pans!) So, let’s say 350.
-In a bowl mix all the dry ingredients together. In a separate (and large) bowl mix wet ingredients.
-By hand sift or slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients pausing to incorporate until everything is mixed together and smooth.
-Add carrots and chocolate chips and combine into the mixture. The mixture will be wet and thick, not runny.
If making cupcakes, place liners in cupcake tin. Distribute the batter equally between 12 cupcake liners. If making a cake, pour the batter into an 9 inch cake pan, or use a bunt pan to make a small carrot bunt cake. Bake cupcakes for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean from the center. Let cool completely before frosting.
Icing!
I would love to tell you to make a vegan cream cheese frosting because it would go great with this but I’ve never made that type of frosting b/c there isn’t a place to buy vegan cream cheese that I’ve seen in the islands. So, I made this variation of vanilla butter cream frosting from “Vegan Cupcakes take over the World” that is also great. Icing is really easy to make and you don’t need any fancy mixers. I use a small electric wand beater but I also have a hand (manual) mixer that I have used while making icing.
Icing Ingredients:
1/3 cup non-hydrogenated shortening
1/3 cup vegan margarine
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tbls. Soy milk
2 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar
How to make it:
-In a bowl combine shortening and margarine and beat until fluffy.
-Add the sugar and beat for a couple minutes making sure everything is smooth and combined.
-Add the vanilla and soy milk and beat for several minutes (about 5) until the frosting is fluffy.
-Refrigerate until ready to use.
*A frosting hint: I put my frosting into a zip lock bag (zipped up) and cut a small hole in one corner where I squeeze the frosting out of right onto the cupcakes (in a decorative fashion!) If you’re not eating/using all the cupcakes at once only frosting the ones that you will eat at the time. Any leftover frosting I keep in the same zip lock bag in the fridge (in a cup or bowl so none magically comes out of the small hole all over your fridge- I’ve been there before!)
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