carrot cupcakes

I've been craving carrot cake for days, and I just so happened to find all the necessary ingredients in my pantry. I typically use this recipe to make layer cakes, but it works quite well for cupcakes too. Finely chopped walnuts add the perfect crunchy contrast to this creamy icing.

For cakes:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tspn baking powder

1 tspn baking soda

2 tspn cinnamon

1/2 tspn salt

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 cup light brown sugar

3 large eggs

1 tspn vanilla extract

1 cup vegetable oil

1 lb carrots, ground in food processor

For icing:

16 oz cream cheese, softened

8 oz butter, softened

5 cups powdered sugar

1 tspn vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. In another large bowl, mix sugars, eggs, and vanilla. Pour in oil and whisk to combine. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and whisk until smooth. Stir in carrots. Spoon batter into lined muffin tin, filling each cup 3/4 full. Bake for 20 minutes. Carrot cake stays very moist while baking, so let cool completely before transferring from pan.

While cake is cooling, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Continue beating and add sugar, one cup at a time, until desired consistency is reached. Mix in vanilla. 

Enjoy!