A Kindler, Gentler Cupcake

Sweetest Whimsy turns 11 years old this year. I believe I came up with the original name for the biz, Sweet Whimsy, in January 1999 after creating cakes for six months. The thought boggles the mind. It all started with the cakes--a few orders from good friends turned into orders for friends of friends, and then the next thing I knew, I was a trained cake decorating instructor, which helped expand my business even further. A visit to the Cake Gallery, will take you down my own personal Memory Lane with some of my classic cakes from the past decade as well as my newest creations. The Gallery has sloooooowly been undergoing a makeover for the past few months, so thanks for your patience while photos are updated! (My previous attempts at watermarking and uploading the photos did not work as planned.)

Moving on . . . my recent cupcake "research and development" phase has been mouth-wateringly successful! This week I made the decision to update all my cake and cupcake recipes so that I am using as many organic ingredients as possible AND to try to make them healthier! Yes, I know, it's oxymoronic to think of "healthy cupcakes," but it will be a fun challenge for me anyway. And I promise not to compromise a bit of the flavor in these recipes while doing so, 'kay?!

My first successful find is a recipe for egg-less chocolate cupcakes. (It's actually from a book I picked up at the used book store in March. At first, I thought the cookbook would be great, and then thought it was a waste of money. After revisiting it, I've found a few gems after all.) I was really, really wary about this recipe as I put my first batch of them into the oven, but guess what? They're moist, intensely chocolatey and taste great! The texture is a bit different without the egg, but I like the way they turned out:

Egg-less Chocolate Cupcakes

With my favorite chocolate frosting, they're great (ok, not as healthy either)! I had planned to debut these beauties at my daughter's birthday party this weekend, but she insists she only wants vanilla cupcakes, and I cannot change her mind! Oh well!

As far as keeping it (kind of) healthy, I already use organic milk in my recipes. I'm switching to a healthier sugar tomorrow. I'm cutting back on the butter and using non-transfat vegetable shortening. Baby steps toward a kindler, gentler cupcake for everyone.