What does the Easter bunny love to eat more than anything? That's right, carrots! Here comes Peter Cottontail, hopping down the bunny trail to deliver those lovely Easter baskets. He is going to be hungry after delivering all those baskets, so why not leave him something in return. Carrot cupcakes is perfect! It's sweet, delicious, and it's made of the one thing he loves, carrots!
It's Easter and of course, there is a large abundance of springtime vegetables. I was thinking of something to make this Easter and the one spring vegetable that is perfect for this particular holiday is carrots. There is a million and one things you can make with carrots, but the one thing that I thought of is carrot cake. Carrot cake is my Dad's favorite dessert and I thought I would make it for him. I always thought of him as the Easter bunny because he loves carrots. Who knows he might be the Easter bunny? Anyway, instead of making just a cake, I made cupcakes. That way everyone can have their own individual carrot cake deliciousness. I basically took my Grandmother's carrot cake recipe and used it for cupcakes. However, I did some alterations on the measurements because it calls for a lot more than what I need. I only wanted to make a dozen cupcakes, not several. There isn't that many people I need to make for anyway and besides, we're all trying to watch I waistline.
Here's the recipe:
Prep time: 15 minutes Bake time: 25-30 minutes Cool time: 30 minutes Total time: 1 hr 15 minutes
Skill: Easy
Preheat oven to 350
Dry ingredients:
1 3/4 cup of all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. of baking soda
1/4 tsp. of salt
1 tsp of cinnamon
1/2 tsp. of nutmeg
1/4 tsp. of cloves
2 cups (5-6 carrots) finely shredded
1 cup of raisins
1/2 cup of walnuts or pecans (optional)
Wet ingredients:
2 eggs
3/4 cup of granulated sugar
1/2 cup of light brown sugar
3/4 cup of canola or vegetable oil
1 tsp. of vanilla extract
2 tsp. of apple cider vinegar
Cream Cheese Icing:
1/4 cup (4 tbsp. of butter) (softened)
8 ounces of cream cheese (softened)
2 1/2 cups of confectioners sugar
1 tsp. of vanilla extract
Caramel Carrots:
1/4 cup (4 tbsp. of butter)
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1 cup of finely shredded carrots
1/2 tsp. of vanilla extract
1 tsp. of orange or lemon juice
First thing I did was preheat my oven to 350. Then I grabbed two separate bowls, one for my dry ingredients and one for my wet ingredients. Took one bowl and put my dry ingredients in: AP flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Whisked them together, then I added my finely shredded carrots, raisins, and walnuts in to coat. * You can soak your carrots and raisins in boiling water, that way the carrots can soften up and the raisins to plump. Once after they soak for a few minutes, stick them under cold water to keep them from cooking.
Then I grabbed my second bowl to mix my wet ingredients: 2 eggs, 3/4 cup of granulated sugar, 1/2 cup of brown sugar, 1 tsp of vanilla extract, 3/4 cup of oil, and 2 tsp. of apple cider vinegar. You are probably asking why I added apple cider vinegar? Well, here is a little science lesson for you. What happens when baking soda and vinegar mix together? It bubbles right? The baking soda and apple cider vinegar bubbles while my cupcakes are baking in the oven. It acts as a leavening and it's going to make them light, moist, and rise. There you go, a little lesson for the day. You didn't know you were going to get a little lesson out this, did you. Anyway, back to the recipe. Whisk all those ingredients together until frothy and smooth.
Then I poured in my dry ingredients in with my wet ingredients and blended them together until well incorporated.
I grabbed my 12 tin cup muffin pan and sprayed them with cooking spray. Lined the pan with colorful easter color cupcake liners and sprayed the tops of the liners as well so they won't stick to the cakes. Took an ice cream scoop and poured my batter into the pan 3/4 of the way up. Stuck them in the oven preheated to 350 and baked them for 25-30 min or until the tops were brown and toothpick came out clear.
While my cupcakes were baking, I grabbed another bowl for my cream cheese icing. Put in 1/4 cup (4 tbsp. ) of butter (softened), 8 ounces of cream cheese (softened) and blended them together until smooth. Then I poured in my 2 1/2 cups of confectioners sugar a little at a time until the icing became velvety, shiny, and smooth. Then I folded in my 1 tsp. of vanilla extract. Covered the bowl up with some plastic wrap and set it in the refrigerator to chill.
Now for the caramel carrots, Yum! I learned how to make caramel carrots from my Grandmother. This was her way of getting me and my brother to eat our carrots, which worked for me but not so much for my brother. Oh well, my brother is missing out on some delicious candy veggie goodness. Back to the recipe, I grabbed my saucepan and put it on the stove over medium high heat. Put in 4 tbsp. of butter and 1/2 cup of brown sugar and let it come to a bubble, stirring consistently.
Once it came to a bubble, I poured in my shredded carrots and orange juice, turned down the heat to simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring consistently.
Then after, I took it off the heat and set it to the side to cool.
Once all that was done, My cupcakes were ready to come out of the oven. Took them out and let them cool for at least 30 minutes. * You DO NOT want to frost your cupcakes while they are hot or the icing will melt and you will be in a sticky situation. Literally.
Once my cupcakes were completely cooled, got my chilled icing out of the refrigerator and grabbed my cooled caramel carrots that I set aside and got ready to frost. What I did was I took the caramel carrots and poured it into the icing and folded it in until everything was incorporated. Yes, I made caramel carrot cream cheese icing. Frosted my cupcakes with this luscious velvety, shiny, and smooth icing. This icing is definitely a show stopper, it is that good. * Here is another idea, you can put just the carrots in the icing and reserve the caramel sauce for to drizzle on top of the cupcakes. Not bad, Uh!
Now go bite into that Yummy Carrot Cupcake and don't forget to leave some for Peter Cottontail. He would want some yummy carrot goodness too!
Enjoy!
Happy Easter!
No comments:
Post a Comment