cupcarrotcakes

At potlucks, folks of all dietary persuasions* lose their minds over this carrot cake. It's so delicious, and is my go-to dessert when I'm baking to impress. The batter works beautifully for both cupcakes and frost-in-the-pan cakes, but, sorry, fancy bakers, it is too divinely moist to use as a layer cake. Regardless, I can't say enough about how really, really wonderful it tastes. I sometimes add a little fresh lemon, orange, or tangerine juice or zest to the fluffy Tofutti cream cheese frosting.

Vegan carrot cake

1/4 c. soy milk
Scant t. baking powder
1 1/2 c. unbleached flour
1 c. brown sugar
1 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
1 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. nutmeg
1/2 c. canola oil
2 medium-sized carrots, shredded
1/4 c. soy milk
1/2 tub Tofutti cream cheese
2 T. soy margarine
3/4 c. powdered sugar
Optional: 1 t. grated peel of a citrus fruit, or 1 1/2 t. citrus juice

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Whisk together the soy milk and baking powder in a small bowl and set aside to foam up. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir in the baking powder/soy milk mixture, then add the canola oil and shredded carrots. Add the soy milk little by little, stirring gently (use more or less depending on how thin the batter gets).

Pour into oiled pan or cupcake tins; bake 15-20 minutes for cupcakes or about 35 minutes for a cake, or until a sharp knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

Make the frosting by creaming the Tofutti cream cheese with the margarine. Scrape sides of bowl and add the powdered sugar. Whip together. Add the optional zest or juice, and, if necessary, drip a little soy milk in while mixing. (I recommend being extremely conservative with the soymilk; your frosting can become a sugary soup in the blink of an eye! That's why it's always nice to have more powdered sugar on hand than you'll think you'll need, so you can even out the ratio if you mess it up--as I often do.)

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* Okay, except gluten-free and soy-free and raw foodists. Sorry, sweeties.