Chloe’s Ginger Nutmeg Spice Cupcakes

I’ve never had great luck with eggless baking except for occasional wins like with this Chocolate Banana Cake, so it was with some apprehension that I tried these cupcakes yesterday. I’d been a Facebook fan and a Twitter follower of Chef Chloe Coscarelli’s famous vegan recipes (yes the Chloe Coscarelli of Cupcake Wars fame), so when her new book, Chloe’s Kitchen made its debut last week, I had to buy it. I bought the Kindle version of the book for my iPad this past weekend, and have to admit, was hooked just browsing through the pretty elaborate selection of recipes.

But when I picked this recipe to experiment on Nikhil and his friend yesterday (let’s face it – it’s day two of Spring break, and bored kids are not only ravenous but also willing to help, as long as there is a reward at the end:), little did I know this was THE winning recipe that made Chloe famous and won her the Cupcake Wars prized title. I have to admit, this was the best eggless muffin/cupcake I’ve ever made – and what’s more, these are vegan! I almost called these “I can’t believe these are vegan” cupcakes:).

I did not try the frosting as she describes it in the book and made my own “healthier version” with greek yoghurt and agave nectar, which, turned out equally good, only a tad runnier than I would’ve liked. The other thing I’m bummed about – I couldn’t get better pictures of the finished product and none of the cupcakes with the frosting. Let’s just say the cupcakes were all gone before I knew it:)

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 cup pumpkin puree, canned or cooked fresh

1 cup canned coconut milk, mixed well

1/2 cup canola oil (I used Smart Balance oil – soy, canola and olive oil combo)

2 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp vanilla extract

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.

2. Line 12 cupcake pans with liners.

3. Whisk all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl – flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, spices, and salt.

4. In another bowl, mix all the wet ingredients – pumpkin, oil, coconut milk, vinegar and vanilla essence.

5. Now pour the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk until just combined.

6. Fill the cupcake pans about 2/3 with the batter. Bake for 18-20 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool completely before you frost.

Frosting :

This is adapted from my friend Mona’s recipe. 2 tbsp greek yoghurt with 1 tbsp plain cream cheese, agave syrup, vanilla essence and some powdered sugar (to taste), whipped well with a beater until fluffy.