Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Carrot Cake Cupcake

For some reason I'm not even aware of, I decided to make carrot cake cupcakes today. I really love Rhonda's Carrot Cake that I already have on this blog, and I guess I really wanted to eat some. I have no special event to take these to, so maybe I just figured it would be easier to get extras off my hands if I put the cake in cupcake form. So far I've eaten two, given away eight, and watched my husband eat two. Good start.

These cupcakes taste just as delicious as the original: moist, full of fruit and carrots, a little caramelized on top. Mmm.Then the cream cheese frosting is silky smooth, sweet, with a good amount of vanilla to balance the tang of the cream cheese. Good stuff indeed.

Carrot Cake Cupcakes 

Cake Ingredients:

• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 3 eggs, room temperature
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 1/2 cups shredded coconut
• 2 cups grated carrots
• 1 cup crushed pineapple, undrained
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used pecans)

Frosting Ingredients:

• 1 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 pound (about 3 3/4 cups) powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla paste or vanilla extract 

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line 24 muffin cups with cupcake liners. Set aside.

• In a small bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.
• In a medium bowl, mix together the coconut, carrots and nuts. Set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, cream oil, sugars and eggs. 
• Add dry ingredient mixture. Mix well. 
• Add coconut, carrots, nuts, and pineapple, and mix to incorporate. 

• Fill lined cups to within 1/4 inch of the top. 
• Bake at 350 degrees for 18-22 minutes, or until browned and a toothpick inserted into the center of a center cupcake comes out clean.

• Carefully move baked cupcakes to a cooling rack.

• While cupcakes cool, beat the cream cheese, butter, sugar and vanilla together until smooth and creamy. 
• Transfer frosting to a piping bag fitted with the tip of your choice and frost your cupcakes. (To get the design you see, I piped 7-8 dollops around the edge of a cupcake and then used the rounded back of a spoon handle to press and sweep toward the center. Then I piped another dollop for the center.

• Store cupcakes, covered, in the refrigerator. Remove from the refrigerator 1-2 hours before serving, or enjoy them cold.

Leftovers freeze well. 

Makes 24 cupcakes (okay, maybe 26--I ended up with some extra batter.)

The frosting process

Some got a simple daisy pattern.