I love chocolate.  It's amazing.  My current fave chocolate is dark chocolate with fleur de sel.  I have a couple of squares of chocolate every night.  As much as I love chocolate though, I have to confess... I get kinda tired of baking with chocolate sometimes.
I don't know why?  Maybe it's the colour, maybe the texture... I don't know.  It's one of those things that I'm learning to accept about myself though.  I know that I can do it because I've gotten better about accepting weird things about myself over the last few years.  Some other things that I've totally accepted about myself now:
1.  I think that holding the pole on the subway without gloves on is totally disgusting.
2.  I always (I mean ALWAYS) read the last two pages of a book once I've finished the first chapter or so.
3.  I always read my books in the order that I've received them.
4.  When I'm out at the pub I always eat my chips first.
5.  I really don't like wearing heals at all... ever.
6.  I'm a size 8... no matter what.

That's just the start, I could write so much more.  But that's how I know that I'll come to terms with my chocolate malaise... or I'll just move on and next week I'll feel like baking with chocolate again.


In the meantime, I've adapted - well not really adapted because that implies that I changed something rather significant when the only thing that I did was change the baking tin - the carrot cake recipe that I've used ever since my University days.  I got the recipe from my first roomie in Montreal.  I don't know where she got it but it's a great recipe.  What I love about it is that it doesn't have coconut (the dessicated kind that makes me want to gag) or pineapple (the canned kind that looks more like pineapple porridge - gross).  The nuts you can take or leave.  I left them because Kid #1 is off of them right now and I've just gotten tired of picking up nuts pulled out of baking that have been left in places where you would never expect to find them.  I had some beautiful purple skinned carrots from my food box and used them in the cake.  Healthy cake... can't beat that!



Carrot Cake (Cupcakes)
makes about 16 cupcakes

1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
2 unbleached all-purpose
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
4 eggs
3 cups grated carrot
1 cup finely chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Line about 16 cupcake tins with silicon or paper liners.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and allspice in a bowl together and set aside.
In another bowl, beat the oil and sugar until light and frothy (use a mixer if you have one).  Add the eggs in  and mix well.  Add in the carrots and nuts (optional).  Gently mix the flour mixture into the carrot mixture.  Mix until well blended.
Spoon into the cupcake liners just to the top (or just under).  Bake the cupcakes for about 23 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
Cool for a few minutes before removing from baking tin to cool completely on a cooling rack.


Cream Cheese Icing:

1 pkg. cream cheese (about 4 oz), softened
3 cups icing sugar
1 tbsp unsalted butter (at room temperature)

Mix together the cream cheese and butter until creamy.  Add in the icing sugar 1 cupful at a time and cream into the cheese mixture.  Make sure that the mixture is just creamy and don't over beat.  Spoon onto the cupcakes once the cupcakes have completely cooled.