Tag Archives: carrots

Carrot cake in a mug

3 Sep

Yeup, it is still hot in Chicago, and yeup, I’m still not turning on my oven.  I refuse.  It was 80 degrees inside my house yesterday.  I will begrudgingly make a birthday cake my for my boyfriend this weekend, but it might be an ice-cream cake.

I’ve seen mug cakes around for awhile (chocolate cake in a mug, brownies in a mug, etc.), so I thought I’d try it.  Also I’d already had dessert last night (a delicious peach melba from Mindy’s Hot Chocolate), but I wanted to make this so I just made it for my roommate.  Still had leftover cream cheese frosting in a can from the last time I made something with cream cheese frosting in a can (I suspect the raw carrot cake?).  So that made an appearance as well.

Mug cakes are pretty easy.  Gather up your ingredients:

Good-looking mug shot, or greatest-looking mug shot?

Good-looking mug shot, or greatest-looking mug shot?

I like using banana in place of oil (also applesauce is good for this) and I like the flavor/moistness from banana.  So I mashed up the banana and beat the egg in the mug:

No magic here... afraid I'm just a Muggle.

No magic here… afraid I’m just a Muggle.

Then grate up the carrot (I used two baby carrots) and throw that in:

Holy moly, these kinds of graters are so great

Holy moly, these kinds of graters are so great

There's no need to be smug, you know you'd make this too

There’s no need to be smug, you know you’d make this too

Then add a bit of flour, sugar, spices, a pinch of baking soda, a bit of salt.  Add disproportionately lots of spices.

If you don't want anyone to know you're baking, a five-minute mug cake is a good way to smuggle in the habit

If you don’t want anyone to know you’re baking, a five-minute mug cake is a good way to smuggle in the habit

Then microwave for two minutes or until the sides pull away and it’s done (I did one minute, then another).

You either love it or hate it: it's hard to be a mugwump when it comes to these cakes

You either love it or hate it: it’s hard to be a mugwump when it comes to these cakes

I chucked it in the freezer for a few minutes, then cut it and frosted and decorated it.  Final result: more rubbery than regular cake, but still cake!  It tastes like it was made in a microwave, but also took very little time.  If you have an hour, just make a regular cake.  But this’ll do if you have five minutes.

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Carrot cake in a mug, adapted from Cassey Ho’s Blogilates recipe:

1 egg

1/3 banana

2 baby carrots

2 TB flour

2-3 tsp sugar, depending on how you like it.  2 gives more of a muffin flavor

pinch baking soda

1 tsp nutmeg+cinnamon

splash vanilla

Mash the banana, then beat in the egg.  Add grated carrots, all the other stuff, and mix.  Microwave for 1.5-2 minutes (depends on your microwave).  Cool (I used a freezer).  Frost and eat!

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Vegan carrot cake cupcakes

30 Apr

I brought in treats for seminar today.  Sometime soon I’ll do a math post, I promise!  But right now it’s time for vegan carrot cake cupcakes!

I was feeling way lazy last night and didn’t want to figure out how to make vegan cream cheese frosting/buy ingredients that would slowly go to waste like my coconut flour has.  So I bought the cream cheese flavored frosting in the plastic tin, which is so awful but is still frosting and is also vegan.  I think next time I’m feeling lazy I’ll just add more flour and maybe some pineapple to this recipe and make cookies instead.

Do was feeling lonely so he thought he'd try to hang out with the other notes on the scale. He said "sup, re, me?" But they were just like fa la la and ignored him. It was sad.

Do was feeling lonely so he thought he’d try to hang out with the other notes on the scale. He said “sup, re, me?” But they were just like fa la la and ignored him. It was sad.

Anyways.  As usual, you’ll want to add your water to your flaxseed in a 2:1 ratio first to give the flaxseed time to soak it up and turn ‘eggy’.  The flaxseed bag says 3:1 and the recipe said 1:1 but I think 2:1 is the best.

Reflax, don't do it, when you want to go to it. Guys I just looked up the lyrics to that song and its meaning. I had NO IDEA. Go look right now.

Reflax, don’t do it, when you want to go to it. Guys I just looked up the lyrics to that song and its meaning. I had NO IDEA. Go look right now.

Next, shred up all your carrots.  I hadn’t made carrot cake earlier because I didn’t have a food processor and I just find it so grating to grate carrots.  The grater attachment on the food processor works great!

Processing... processing...

Processing… processing…

I ended up cutting the recipe in half because I am way lazy and also own only one cupcake tin.  But as I write it below it makes about 18 cupcakes or an actual cake.

Mix up your dry ingredients: flour, spices, NOT SUGAR.  I like using a whisk because a beater will make all the flour turn into dust in the air, and a fork won’t get the baking soda/powder mixed in enough and you’ll eat a bite of your baked good and have a bit hit of baking soda and it will be awful.  I have done this many times because I don’t want to clean a whisk.

When you whisk upon a star, you're probably dead because they are very hot.

When you whisk upon a star, you’re probably dead because they are very hot.  But if you aren’t, I bet your goods bake instantly!

Then mix up your flax gel, oil, sugar, and then add the carrots and some vanilla.

The easiest thing you'll have to do in life is choosing to whisk it all or walk away. I don't know why you would walk away because you're in the middle of baking right now.

The easiest thing you’ll have to do in life is choosing to whisk it all or walk away. I don’t know why you would walk away because you’re in the middle of baking right now.

You should care so much if these are in your cake or not. Care it!

You should care so much if these are in your cake or not. Care it!

Mix up your batter (it’ll be wet), throw in some walnuts, and fill your cupcake cups about 2/3 full, or use around 1/4 c batter for each one.  I have a nonstick pan, or you can use liners, or you can grease and flour like we’ve done before.  Stick it in an oven for about 16 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out dry.

These are more like 1/4 cup-cakes

These are more like 1/4 cup-cakes

Then put on your artificially flavored cardiac arrest-spread, I mean frosting, and enjoy!

 

Recipe adapted from hellyeahitsvegan because I can’t read:

Mix:

6 TB flaxseed meal

12 TB water

and let sit.  Grate 2 large carrots to make 2 c shredded carrots.

Then whisk together:

2 1/4 c flour

1 tsp baking powder

1.5 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

.5 tsp each nutmeg, cloves, allspice (I like it spicy)

Separately, in a big bowl, mix:

1.5 c sugar

flaxseed gel you made earlier

1 c oil

Then add in your

2 c shredded carrots

1 tsp vanilla

And mix until moistened.  Add in your dry ingredients, mix until moistened, and finally throw in

1 c walnuts

Put about 1/4 c in each cupcake slot, until 2/3-3/4 full.  Then bake at 350 for 16-20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.  Frost with whatever you’d like (I used store-bought frosting)

 

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PSA: Administrative Professionals Day is tomorrow!

23 Apr

I’m posting this now rather than tonight to give you time to buy some baking supplies.  I’ll actually bake something tonight to bring in to the office tomorrow.

Here’s a quick thing of carrots + zucchini:

Toss 1 TB olive oil and a 1 TB herbes de Provence seasoning with a bunch of baby carrots, and a zucchini cut into fries and a yellow squash cut into fries.  (to cut a long thin squash into fries, slice it in half lengthwise, then slice each half into thirds or halves lengthwise, and chop into two or three sticks transversely).  We also sometimes use what my old roommate dubbed “fry seasoning,” a mix of all of our spices (cumin, chili, rosemary, sage. thyme, whatever).

Spread it out on a baking sheet.

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Roast at 400 for 20-40 minutes or until the edges are crisp.

Yum!

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