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So guess what? It’s Dan’s birthday today! :-) Go tell him happy birfday!
I didn’t have a party for him like last year’s because I just came back from Canada, Dan’s been busy with work (he worked yesterday, and till 7pm today), I’m sick on and off (the weather change isn’t helping), and we’re leaving for a vacation in Hawaii in a few days. Too many things going on.
Tonight was just a low-key celebration. I made him a surf and turf dinner of filet mignon and shrimps, with spinach salad, and cupcake cake. This is what happens once you get past 30: you’re too tired to make a big fuss over getting older. Hehe. Just kidding. ;-)
After the two occasions he’s baked a cake for me, it’s my turn to bake him one and get over my fear of flour and baking once again. My original “vision” was to make a red velvet cake. That was short-lived because I realized that we didn’t have buttermilk (which I could make a substitute for with milk and vinegar) and eggs. Well, there’s no hen in our backyard to coerce into producing eggs for my baking needs, so I sat there…thinking, thinking. My baby needs a cake for his birthday!
Behold, the Internet saves the day! I found a recipe for Eggless Chocolate Cake from Indian Food Kitchen Blog. Of course, I always have to put my own twist: I poured the delicious yet light batter into cupcake pans, and crossed my fingers that this thing would hold! And they did! I cheated on the buttercream frosting and hats off to Betty Crocker for that. I added mini peanut butter cups (Dan’s favorite) as the topping.
Tadah!
The chocolate cupcakes were great on their own. They have enough chocolate without overdosing you, and just enough sweetness that you don’t feel like dying from all the sugar. I’d say this cupcake is perfect for frosting. You can eat both the cupcake and frosting without having to use your 911 on speed dial. You won’t notice the missing eggs either. It’s not too packed and heavy, but moist enough to keep you interested till the last bite. When you bite into it, you’ll notice that it’s almost like red velvet cake in color, and it could be the result of the vinegar in the recipe. One cupcake is enough for a dessert to satisfy your sweet tooth without being to guilty. Plus this is perfect for those with allergies to dairy (if eaten without the buttercream).
I highly recommend this recipe even if you’re not out of eggs and milk. I’m not sure if it can withstand being stacked into a layered cake (my personal opinion — it won’t because it’s delicate). Go give it a try:
EGGLESS CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES
[Adapted from Indian Food Kitchen.]
Yields 15 regular-sized cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup flour
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup cold water
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoon white vinegar
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Spray cupcake pans with vegetable oil spray.
- Combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt and sugar in a large bowl.
- Mix the vegetable oil water and vanilla extract in a separate small bowl. Pour into the large bowl containing the dry ingredients. Stir until mixture is smooth and without lumps.
- Add the vinegar and stir rapidly (you can use a hand mixer) and immediately fill the cupcake pans 2/3 full.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and place the cupcake pans on a cooling rack to completely cool.
They are great on their own, but will also work well with different varieties of frosting.
Happy birthday Dan!
Eggless chocolate cake! I’ve never tried an eggless cake before (honestly, I never thought it could work before). That looks awesome.
Manggys last blog post..Dan’s Garlic Bread
Manggy — I didn’t think it was possible either! But this one is approved even by Dan. Hehe. :-)
I have made this chocolate cake and really enjoyed it. I used a really intense cocoa powder and it was delicious! I even substituted the sugar for sweetener and it still worked.
Losing Weight and Getting Healthys last blog post..Getting Better Habits
Happy Birthday Dan!
Melissas last blog post..Moms, Get A Real Indoor Workout.
Those look very simple and sweet! I like the picture slideshow where you see the evolution from unfrosted to fully decorated. My brother turned 31 this year, but I didn’t bake him anything as nice as these.
Hillarys last blog post..Calling All Potato Dishes!
It’s only cheating if it tastes bad. ;) I love the “31″ layout and the little chocolate candies on top. It just goes to show that in many cases it’s the simple things that make for great eating.
John – Mormon Foodies last blog post..How to Separate Eggs
What a great looking cupcake…can’t believe it has no eggs!
Oh! Happy belated bday Dan! 31 years? I am right behind you. Hehe, Nice cupcakes :D
Bens last blog post..Book Review – Mexican Cooking
An eggless cupcake sounds very appealing. I think that one time baking choco cupcakes I accidentally left out a number of eggs and it turned out okay. So maybe i’ll give this recipe a try. Thanks! :)
Veras last blog post..Giddy like a highschool girl :)
belated happy birthday to dan! :) cheers!
Munchkin Mommys last blog post..WS #28: Tapioca Pearls with Coconut Cream
Cool! Where did you get that blinking picture? I mean how did you make it? From plain cupcakes to cupcakes with icing to cupcakes with icing and candles…? how!!!??? tell me please!!! hahaha!
Oh, and I\’m wondering if you\’d like to exchange links with me. hahah!
and you might find this post interesting: (submit a recipe and get featured) http://treatsforthesweettooth.blogspot.com/2008/09/submit-your-recipes-and-get-featured.html
Please let me know! thanks.
Sarah
Sarahs last blog post..STICKY POST: Submit your recipes and get featured!
1 Manggy
Thanks! And yes, the cupcakes were awesome! :)
3 LWGH – Yes, it was perfect! I think we’ll do dark chocolate next for the cupcakes!
Melissa – Thanks!
Hillary – That’s the beauty of animated GIFs. I think it makes the cupcakes that much more delectable.
John – I thought it was cute of Joy to do too :) The candies, chocolate peanut butter cups, came from a local healthfood store, Sprouts.
My Sweet & Saucy – Nobody was more shocked than I was :) It was delish! :)
Ben – Thanks! Give them a try and let us know!
Vera – The binders that are substituted made great substitutions! Give it a try and let us know!
Munchkin Mommy – Thank you very much!
Sarah – It’s an animated Gif, there are several programs out there that can help you make them. Joy uses Photoshop for her images but there are cheaper alternatives out there. As for the link exchange, I’ll ask Joy about that ;)
I tried this recipe few days ago. I was surprised at how good it came out, since I don’t do baking so much. Everyone who ate thought it was excellent. I didn’t try the frosting yet because I wanted to make sure I perfected the cupcakes first. Next time I will do it with the frosting, for my daughter’s first birthday!
You should try the book “Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World.” I’m totally hooked on vegan baked goods now- 9 times out of ten I actually prefer them!
…and now, thanks to you, I need to find some sugar!
Kip´s last blog ..Aubergine and Hot Hummus Pastry Rolls
joy Reply:
July 8th, 2009 at 3:52 pm
Thanks for the suggestion, Kip! I have to admit I don’t own a single vegetarian cookbook. Haha. I’ll check it out.