I hear that this is a very controversial comment to make but I truly think that carrot cake is one of the best cake flavours out there. Obviously chocolate is first, but for me anyway my second favourite is carrot cake. There is just something so comforting about carrot cake and I find it is also a far more savoury option than all the other cakes out there. I had been craving carrot cake for a good few months so nearly attacked the poor sales man when I saw these on offer. Annoyingly, because carrot cake is not a very popular choice, very few vegan versions are available. Yes I could make my own, but then I would have to eat an entire carrot cake on my own, and while I could (probably far easier than I should admit to) I absolutely should not do that.
Kim’s Vegan Cakes is a local business to me and they are based in Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire. I discovered them at a very small local vegan market where I also picked up their raspberry and white chocolate cupcake. Definitely have a look at that post because a lot of it is still true with this cupcake too.
This cupcake was so satisfying and not just because it hit a craving I had been having for many months. The cupcake was bigger than most cupcakes I have had before, looking more like a muffin. It was also very light and super fluffy, and had those wonderfully satisfying little chunks of carrot that gave it a great crunch every so often and really did help to break up the softness of the cupcake. The icing was delicious and slightly more on the sweet side than your usual cream cheese icing, but I think this worked because the actual cake part of the cupcake was far more savoury. There were so many flavours and textures that this cupcake really was just delicious.
The little carrot decal on the top was made of icing fondant and was easily the sweetest part of the cupcake. But it was also so adorable and really did just add a little charm to the look of the cupcake as well as that much needed sugar kick. I’m glad it was just the one decal though, as I think having more than 1 would have been too overpoweringly sweet, especially when compared to how savoury the actual cupcake itself was. I feel the whole cupcake just had a really good balance with the flavours and the one decal added to this.
As with the raspberry and white chocolate cupcake before, it is slightly crumbly. Not in a bad way though since all food is crumbly in some way, but just as a small warning to have a napkin or a plate underneath you when you do eat this. Again, not even listing this as a negative because I think every single piece of food causes crumbs. Just as a small heads up because I did not have anything to catch the crumbs with and it made cleaning up later slightly more of a pain. especially when I have a very curious bunny in my house who would probably try and eat some of this cupcake even though she doesn’t like carrots. Or cake.
As I have said this cupcake was just delightful. It was also really nice to see far more varied flavours on offer than the usual salted caramel or chocolate offerings that most commercial brands offer. It was very light despite its size and of course it paired excellently with a cup of tea. Carrot cake does however make me think of autumn and Halloween so I am now very excited to start buying all thinking spooky. Even though it is August.
Individually each cupcake was on sale for £3.25, but I got a box of 4 for £12. Honesty, I think £3.25 is a very reasonable price for these. As I say the cupcake was bigger than your usual cupcake and whilst it may sound cliché, you can really tell that it was handmade with a lot of care and attention to detail. A very satisfying treat and I think I may have found my new favourite baker.
Taylor Talks Vegan 