Carrot Cake Cupcakes. Listening To Tame Impala.

It has been an age since I posted a cupcake recipe. What is wrong with me?

These Carrot Cake Cupcakes are deliciously moist and packed with flavor. The tangy cream cheese icing is the perfect counter to the cake’s sweetness.

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 1/2 tablespoons buttermilk powder
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 ounces water
2 eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 3/4 cups finely grated carrots
1/2 cup sweetened, shredded coconut
1/2 cup drained, crushed canned pineapple
Cream Cheese Icing (recipe follows)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

2. Blend the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and buttermilk powder in a medium bowl.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, blend the oil, water, eggs, sugars and vanilla until smooth. Stir in the carrots, coconut and pineapple.

4. Blend the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined.

5. Divide the batter among the lined muffin cups.

6. Bake the cupcakes for 25 minutes or until a tester inserted into the center of one of the middle cupcakes comes out clean.

7. Completely cool cupcakes on a wire rack before frosting them with the cream cheese icing.

Makes 12 cupcakes

Cream Cheese Icing

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
Orange and green food color

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, beat together the butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla.

2. Beat in the confectioners’ sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, until the icing is light and creamy.

3. Tint a small amount of icing green and orange.

4. Use a star tip to pipe a little icing onto top of cupcake.

5. Place orange icing in a piping bag fitted with a small round tip. Position tip slightly above surface of cupcake. Using heavy pressure, begin squeezing at top of carrot. Lift tip slightly, letting the icing fan out generously. Gradually relax pressure to taper shape as you pull back. When carrot is desired length, relax pressure and pull tip back without lifting it off the surface to pull end to a point.

6. Place green icing in another bag fitted with a small round tip and pipe a few stems onto top of carrot.

Recipes from King Arthur Flour

I never get tired of this beast of a song. Awesome.