Carrot Cinnamon and Chocolate Cupcakes

I have to admit that till a month ago, I was among the large majority (or is it minority?) of people who scrunch their noses at the thought of a carrot cake. I mean really? A vegetable cake? Now that sounded something really bizarre, perhaps a treat on rabbit farms, perhaps a valiant attempt by a die-hard food nutritionist to make something sweet?  But that was until a month ago, when a friend of mine "enlightened" me that no, carrot cake does NOT smell like salad, no, carrot cake is NOT orange and yes, carrot cake CAN BE finger-licking delicious.

Hence this humble effort to tackle the mighty carrot cake. I was still a bit apprehensive of diving head-long into a carrot cake which had heavy potential of turning out into a fiasco (considering it is me), so I tamed the carroty flavor with chocolate and cinnamon. 

If you could overlook the unapologetic and unpoetic alliteration, the Carrot Cinnamon and Chocolate Cupcakes (maybe I should have named this post "The Penta-C) were delightful. They came out of the oven super-soft and moist and are adapted from here to make with wholemeal wheat flour and Oh yes, they are eggless too.

Ingredients:

(makes 6)

1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour (I used Champion Wholemeal Wheat flour)

1 cup sugar (I used white granulated sugar)

1/2 cup melted butter (if using unsalted butter, add 1/4 teaspoon salt)

1 cup grated carrot

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder 

2 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon vinegar

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Method:

(explained in detail for dummies, since i myself am one)

• Preheat the oven to 180 °C (350 °F).
• Blend the wholemeal flour with sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon powder.
• Add the vinegar, vanilla essence and grated carrots and mix thoroughly. 
• Add butter, followed by milk and stir well with a wooden spatula, ensuring that there are no lumps. The batter will be somewhat thick and not really pour-able, due to the grated carrot in it. This is perfect! Yes, it is okay to lick a bit of it now ;).

• Place the cupcake liners in a muffin mold. To be extra cautious you may want to grease around the edges of the molds so that it is easy to pry the cake off once it has expanded on the top
• These cup cakes rise reasonably, so fill the molds only to 3/4th their capacity with a spoon.

• Bake at 180 °C (350 °F) for approximately 30 minutes, till a toothpick comes off clean.
• Once out of the oven, let it cool COMPLETELY. I was quiet impatient so I placed the entire mold in the fridge after 5-10 minutes at room temperature
• Once cool, the cupcakes come off the mold pretty easily.
• Its now time to dig in!

and so it is for me :). I am off to dig in some more!!

 This sinfully delightful Carrot Cinammon and Chocolate Cake is off to zesty palette's Sinful Delight event

and Tickling Palates Baked Goodies.


And extending the alliteration, carrot cinnamon and chocolate cupcakes as Christmas treat to http://whatkatebaked.blogspot.com/ and http://lavenderandlovage.blogspot.com/ hosted by whatkatebaked

and sweet new zealand hosted by Bron Marshall

and and and Kavi's Jingle All The Way