Drowning in cupcakes

We have a really cool tradition starting up at work - a Masterchef inspired bake-off to support Jeans for Genes day. It only started last year and was really successful so they decided to do it again. I decided on 2 entries this time - Chocolate Beetroot Cupcakes with Rose Icing (I wrote about my first attempt at these here); and Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing (which I have made before but haven't written about - see recipe below).

And guess what... I won 2nd prize for my chocolate-beetroot cakes! So exciting! My prize was a tin of Byron Bay Cookies which unfortunately aren't vegan; but I'll donate the biscuits to the library team & take the cute tin home :-)I love cooking vegan food for non-vegans - it shows that just because we eat ethically doesn't mean we miss out on good food. I was a little annoyed they didn't display my little signs that said 'vegan' with the cakes so people didn't know that they were eating that 'crazy vegan stuff'; but maybe it's better they didn't know - I've seen people change their mind when they realise something isn't filled with 'tasty' artery-clogging animal products :-)

Here's the Chocolate Beetroot Cupcakes.

Here's the Carrot Cupcakes.

And here they all are in my cool new cupcake carrier - it has two levels, a little tray to hold the cakes in place (which can be inverted to hold a normal cake, or biscuits/slice; and the bottom layer can be removed if you aren't making that much.



Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing

• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  
• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
  
• 1 egg replacer (I used Orgran, but you could use applesauce or banana or whatever you like)
  
• 1 cup firmly packed finely grated carrot
  
• 1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts
  
• 3/4 cup self-raising flour
  
• 1/2 tsp mixed spice

ICING

90g Tofutti cream cheese, softened

30g Nuttelex, softened

1 tsp finely grated lemon rind (I used lemon juice instead as I didn't have a fresh lemon)

1 1/2 cups icing sugar, sifted

1 TBS pepitas, chopped finely

1 TBS dry apricots, chopped finely

1 TBS walnuts, chopped finely

Preheat the oven to 160C & line 9 holes of a cupcake or muffin tin.

Beat the oil, sugar & egg replacer until thick & creamy. Stir in the carrot & walnuts, then add the sifted flour & spice.

Pour the mix into the tin (about 1/2-3/4 full) bake 20mins, until golden brown. Stand 5mins, then turn onto a wire rack to cool.

ICING
Beat the cream cheese, Nuttelex & rind until light & fluffy. Gradually beat in the sugar. Pipe onto cooled cakes with a 2cm fluted tube (I can't pipe, so I just spread it on with knife) & sprinkle with combined pepitas, apricots & walnuts.