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Quick Carrot Cupcakes + Giveaway

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Vegan Planet: Quick Carrot Cupcakes + Giveaway

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

 

Quick Carrot Cupcakes + Giveaway


Living in the middle of nowhere, (which to me translates to: no Thai restaurants, no Trader Joe’s, no Whole Foods, no Asian market, and no natural food store) I remain grateful that my local grocery store at least carries almond milk, two kinds of tofu, decent (if not fancy) produce, and carrot juice — which is where this story begins….

When I went shopping last week, I had this sudden craving for carrot juice. Sure, I could juice my own from whole carrots, but I was in “instant gratification mode” and that large bottle of bright orange elixir looked mighty good.  My carrot juice craving then morphed into a carrot cake craving, and that’s when inspiration struck.  You know those recipes that combine a box of cake mix with a can of soda and — presto — you have a cake with no oil or other things the box instructions call for, like eggs?  Of course, the down side is, you’re still using soda.  So I thought, why not see if I can make a carrot cake using the same method, but with carrot juice instead of soda.


As you can see by the photos, it worked!  I combined about 1 1/2 cups of carrot juice with a box of carrot cake mix and made these adorable cupcakes.  The flavor was extremely delicious and carrot-y, the texture was tender and moist, and the color, as you can see, was vibrant orange. And best of all, they’re vegan with no oil added.  I made a quick cream cheese frosting using vegan cream cheese, sugar, and a little vanilla extract.

Now I’m not one to shy away from scratch cake recipes — I’ve even grown my own carrots to use in my carrot cakes!  But I must admit that this shortcut method turned out a cake that tasted every bit as good as the best scratch cake I’ve had. I garnished the cupcakes with little carrot coins that I made by simmering some carrot slices in a little simple syrup until the carrots were softened and glazed.

As for the mix, as you may know many boxed cake mixes are vegan (as long as you don’t add the eggs, etc.) but read the label to make sure.  If you have access to healthier boxed mixes from a natural food store, even better.  In addition to making the cupcakes, I had enough batter left to make this adorable little cake in a 5-inch springform pan.  I cooled the cake and froze it to use later on.


When you don’t have time to bake a cake or cupcakes from scratch, you might want to keep this 2-ingredient carrot cake trick in mind!

In case you missed it…

and now… A Giveaway:

 As I mentioned above, my local supermarket isn’t exactly “super.”  One of the items it doesn’t carry is Tribe brand hummus, which is a shame because the nice people at Tribe Hummus sent me two coupons for free containers of their product.  But my loss can be your gain: 
I’ll give both of these coupons for Tribe Hummus to one lucky winner chosen at random.  All you need to do is leave a comment at the end of this blog post. How easy is that?  Enter now to win!

Labels: , ,


# posted by Robin at Vegan Planet @ 1:11 PM
Comments:
What a great trick! Thanks for sharing and thanks for the great giveaway!
# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : December 7, 2011 at 1:21 PM
 
This is a wonderful giveaway!!
# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : December 7, 2011 at 1:24 PM
 
My kids & I love hummus, especially at parties & holidays! How kind of you to offer your coupons!!
# posted by Anonymous Julie : December 7, 2011 at 1:26 PM
 
I love hummus. I've never tired Tribe before though.
# posted by Blogger Chris : December 7, 2011 at 1:29 PM
 
Great giveaway! What vegan doesn't love hummus?
# posted by Blogger kittylover : December 7, 2011 at 1:31 PM
 
Hummus is one of my favorite things!
# posted by Blogger Book and Cat Librarian : December 7, 2011 at 1:52 PM
 
Never in my life have I heard of the cake mix/soda/no oil combination. Amazing, in a funky sort of way! Carrot juice sound much more palatable. Do you have a favorite ready-made mix?
# posted by Blogger Aurelia : December 7, 2011 at 1:54 PM
 
Michelle W says: YUM, must try this soon, sounds so quic, easy and healthy! :) and I also love a good hummus!
# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : December 7, 2011 at 1:59 PM
 
Yum! Tribe used to be my favorite brand, though I've also had trouble finding them. I think they carry it at whole foods? Thanks for the giveaway!
# posted by Blogger Meghan : December 7, 2011 at 2:11 PM
 
Yay hummus. My favorite cake box trick is adding a can of pumpkin and some vanilla to the spice cake mix--delish pumpkin cupcakes!!
# posted by Blogger Leah : December 7, 2011 at 2:14 PM
 
so clever! the cupcakes look delicious. we just made a carrot cake last night. i would love to try that kind of hummus!
# posted by Blogger sara : December 7, 2011 at 2:31 PM
 
I have never tired Tribe hummus before
# posted by Blogger Southern Purple Veggie : December 7, 2011 at 2:45 PM
 
I "just" got some 40 Spices Tribe at the grocery store last night but always need more!
# posted by Blogger Erica : December 7, 2011 at 3:25 PM
 
I would love to win! I adore hummus!!
# posted by Blogger Unknown : December 7, 2011 at 4:06 PM
 
That carrot cake looks amazing! I also love hummus! Crossing my fingers!
# posted by Blogger Lucy : December 7, 2011 at 4:11 PM
 
What an awesome quick recipe!
# posted by Blogger Stephee : December 7, 2011 at 4:51 PM
 
What a great idea for the cake! I love hummus and I would love to win!
# posted by Blogger Shannon : December 7, 2011 at 4:58 PM
 
I want that cake!
# posted by Blogger Summer : December 7, 2011 at 5:44 PM
 
I love hummus! :D
# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : December 7, 2011 at 6:51 PM
 
I'm having a big vegan bake sale to benefit Farm Sanctuary next weekend, and I wanted to have something for people who don't want oil in their baked goods. I'll make these. It will save me time for all the other things I'm baking. Tribe is great hummus!
# posted by Blogger LInda : December 7, 2011 at 7:40 PM
 
The cupcakes look awesome! I have to try them. I love carrot cake...
# posted by Anonymous Jacqueline : December 7, 2011 at 9:48 PM
 
I bet your method would make really good carrot pancakes too mmm
# posted by Blogger vegAnn : December 7, 2011 at 10:32 PM
 
Good idea with the cupcakes! Luckily I have one local health food store.
# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : December 7, 2011 at 11:02 PM
 
I love Tribe hummus! I only just tried it recently, so glad I did because it is my new favorite :) great idea for easy carrot cake, I'll have to try it out!!
# posted by Blogger mmmorgans : December 7, 2011 at 11:36 PM
 
Great idea. We all need to save time in the kitchen sometimes, especially to have carrot cupcakes to bear. A recipe we won't even have to check again to make ourselves, awesome!

XOXO
# posted by Blogger Vegan Fazool : December 8, 2011 at 12:18 AM
 
Yay for Tribe hummus! Love your carrot cake idea!
# posted by Anonymous Paula : December 8, 2011 at 12:23 AM
 
I could eat hummus with a spoon!
# posted by Blogger rivka : December 8, 2011 at 1:28 AM
 
My store carries Tribe hummus! I eat hummus with crackers and fresh veggies every day for lunch. It keeps me from getting that afternoon slump that everyone else gets.

Thanks for the giveaway!
# posted by Anonymous Jennifer S. : December 8, 2011 at 5:42 AM
 
Hummus is to vegans, as oxygen is to everyone. =)
# posted by Blogger chickpeafreak : December 8, 2011 at 8:51 AM
 
I've been having juice cravings in a big way lately, so I drink some fresh juice and that's that. You have a juice craving and look what happens! This is why you are the goddess of the vegan kitchen and I buy the cookbooks. Love you AND you're inspiration!
# posted by Blogger MrsQ : December 8, 2011 at 9:23 AM
 
Hummus is the yummiest!
# posted by Blogger kelly g. : December 8, 2011 at 12:29 PM
 
Just made homemade hummus yesterday - nothing beats it! It's always nice to just buy it sometimes though :)
# posted by Anonymous Maria : December 8, 2011 at 1:17 PM
 
Yum... I love carrot cake, and this sounds like a great idea! Would love to win the hummus! :)
# posted by Blogger Amy :) : December 8, 2011 at 4:07 PM
 
carrot cake looks great. Last time I made it was with my juicer pulp, but I've been too busy. Maybe I owe myself some carrot juice when this week is done.
I love hummus.
# posted by Blogger Shirah : December 8, 2011 at 7:27 PM
 
Thanks for the wonderful giveaway. Our family loves hummus and the tribe brand is really good.
# posted by Blogger marshowl : December 9, 2011 at 9:05 AM
 
My uncle was a rep for Tribe products at one time. I'm not sure if he still is, but he ended up getting their hummus carried at one of our main grocery stores here in town. Lovely stuff, Tribe.

I share your lament about limited culinary options where you live. While there is a nice Thai restaurant here, there is no Indian food, and while there are a couple ethic grocery stores, they cater to the Asian and Hispanic populations - again, little to no Indian food options. There is one grocery store that has started carrying a few things, but it's not the same as an authentic ethic grocer.

And how gorgeous are those carrot cupcakes! Beautiful color, and I can only imagine how yum they must be! Break out the Windex! *nosepressedtoscreen*
# posted by Anonymous Karen : December 9, 2011 at 10:51 AM
 
wow, no trader joes - how does one survive!?
# posted by Anonymous notatwit : December 9, 2011 at 12:58 PM
 
I love hummus!
# posted by Blogger eclairre : December 9, 2011 at 2:44 PM
 
Oh those look so good. I haven't had carrot cake in ages. And of course, I love hummus :)
# posted by Anonymous Tanya : December 9, 2011 at 6:03 PM
 
Looks delicious! And even though I love to bake from scratch, sometimes I need to get in and out of the kitchen fast. Look forward to trying this simple trick in the future!
# posted by Blogger Lyndsay O. : December 9, 2011 at 6:17 PM
 
I keep seeing this at my grocery store an am always tempted to pick up a containers to try. Buy I'm a cheapy and always end up buying the low price kind of hummus. Hopefully I win so I can try this out!
# posted by Blogger Sarah : December 10, 2011 at 10:57 AM
 
This my 5 YO daughter's favorite! I love the 4 snacker packs for an easy lunch for her to take to school with mini pita and celery/carrot sticks. Yum!
# posted by Blogger Scissors and Spice : December 10, 2011 at 1:30 PM
 
I love Hummus!

larkspurpurple (at) gmail.com
# posted by Blogger PurpleLarkspur : December 10, 2011 at 9:58 PM
 
I love Tribe hummus!! Thanks for the giveaway :)
# posted by Blogger Ashley : December 11, 2011 at 7:54 PM
 
I've seen carrot juice in a supermarket somewhere near me recently. I want to try this! I will have to search out a vegan cake mix, I have never used one before.
# posted by Blogger Susan : December 13, 2011 at 11:23 PM
 
Susan, Surprisingly many regular supermarket cake mixes are vegan -- just read the labels to be sure.
# posted by Blogger Robin at Vegan Planet : December 14, 2011 at 8:07 AM
 
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