Red Velvet Cupcakes & Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

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 Red Velvet Cupcakes

• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups of sugar (375 ml)
• 1 1/2 cups canola oil (375 ml)
• 1 cup of plain yogurt (250 ml)
• 2 tablespoons red food coloring (30 ml)
• 1 teaspoon vinegar (5 ml)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (5 ml)
• 2 1/2 cups of flour (625 ml)
• 1 tablespoon cocoa (15 ml)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda (5 ml)
• 1 teaspoon salt (5 ml) 

                    Preheat oven to 350 °F (180 °C).

In a food processor, mix the eggs with the sugar, oil, yoghurt, food coloring, vinegar and vanilla. Add flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. 
 
 Blend until just incorporated. 
 
 Place cupcake papers into a muffin pan, divide the batter in the cupcake papers, pour only halfway so batter doesn’t overflow, and bake, rotating half way through, for 25 to 30 minutes. 
 
Remove and let cool.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting


• 8 ounces cream cheese, cold
• 5 tablespoons softened butter
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• (scant) two cups powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons fresh strawberry purée
 Using a hand mixer, beat the top three ingredients together until well combined.  Gradually add the powdered sugar as you continue beating the mixture.  Lastly, stir in the strawberry purée. 

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

 

 I love this zucchini bread. It's so moist, and rich, and you can't even tell there's any zucchini in it. This recipe is taking the place of my usual chocolate cake recipe, it's that much better! I know it's just a zucchini bread recipe but it makes amazing cupcakes, cake, and you could change it up a little bit to make it even healthier.

 

Ingredients

• 4 cups grated zucchini (from about a pound and a half of zucchini)
• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa (use natural unsweetened cocoa, NOT Dutch processed)
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cups granulated white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter (12 Tbsp or 1 1/2 sticks), melted
• 1/2 teaspoon instant coffee granules
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Method

1 Place the freshly grated zucchini in a sieve over a bowl to catch any excess moisture as it drains, while you work on prepping the other ingredients and preparing the recipe. If for some reason your zucchini is on the dry side, hydrate the shredded zucchini by soaking it in water first, and then place in sieve.

2 Preheat oven to 350°F, with a rack in the middle. Grease two 9x5-inch loaf pans with baking spray or butter.

3 Vigorously whisk together the flour, unsweetened cocoa, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Whisk until there are no more clumps and the ingredients are well combined.

4 In a separate large bowl, beat together the sugar and eggs until smooth, about a minute. You can do this with an electric mixer on medium speed, or by hand with a wooden spoon. (I'm lazy and use a mixer but it's easy enough to do by hand.) Add the melted butter, instant coffee granules, and almond extract and beat until smooth.

5 Mix the shredded zucchini into the sugar egg mixture. Add the flour to the zucchini mixture in 3 additions, stirring to combine after each addition.

6 Work quickly, and divide the batter between the two prepared loaf pans. (Work quickly because once the dry ingredients have mixed with the wet ingredients, the leavening has begun.) Place into the oven. Bake for 50 minutes at 350°F, or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean and easily. Remove to a rack. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then run a blunt knife around the edges to separate the bread from the pan. Remove from the loaf pans and let cool completely on a rack. 

Adapted from here 

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