Vegan Carrot Cupcakes “with Benefits”

If you’ve been following Voices of UUCC, you may have read Flo Wagner’s March 6 post about the First Principle Project.

On Saturday, March 25, UUCC held an engaging and thought-provoking workshop on this initiative to explore broadening the reach of our compassion.  The moderator was UU Minister, Justice Activist and Avian Veterinarian, the Rev. LoraKim Joyner, D.V.M.  Rev. Joyner shared an account of her service to the indigenous people of Central America, and told us of her difficult work aiming to help them conserve their natural home and the creatures that live within it. Truly, compassion is not zero-sum: it cannot be limited along one dimension without narrowing it in other dimensions.  At this time when overt racism, sexism and xenophobia are on the rise, this workshop seemed particularly timely to me.

Volunteers brought snacks and sweets for the attendees.  I brought vegan carrot cupcakes, and they were also served at coffee hour the following morning.  Several people asked for the recipe.

One way to treat Mother Earth and her creatures more kindly is to eat a more plant-based diet.  With recipes like this one, you don’t have to sacrifice flavor, or, indeed, decadence.

Vegan Carrot Cupcakes “with Benefits”

The “benefits” are the added morsels — the coconut and the dates.  You could probably adapt this recipe along many other dimensions – adding chocolate, other dried fruit morsels, etc., and substituting sweet potato or beet for some of the carrot.

Ingredients and basic recipe:

Use this online recipe for Carrot Cake from Eggless Cooking.com

Adaptations and “benefits:”

• Line cupcake tins with paper liners.  Recipe will yield roughly 18-24 cupcakes.
• In the dry ingredients, substitute 1 cup of whole wheat pastry flour for 1 cup of all-purpose flour.  Do use the optional walnuts.

After combining the wet ingredients, add

• Roughly 3/4 cup chopped dates. You may also use raisins or sultanas.
• Roughly 3/4 cup shredded sweetened coconut.

Baking:

Check for doneness after 16 minutes.  Cupcakes should spring back when touched with a finger.  But don’t overcook.

Frosting:

• Use Earth Balance tub spread, original flavor, for the “shortening.”
• Important!!  Use Daiya or Kite Hill (almond milk – yummy) for the cream cheese!  The wrong vegan cream cheese will ruin the results.
• Use the lemon juice, but not the lemon oil.
• This recipe makes too much frosting!  I cut the quantities by 25% and I still had enough.

Store the cupcakes in the fridge until you serve them.

The frosting is gooey!