What’s a good way to get your kids (or adults) to eat their vegetables? Carrot cake of course!
(Lame) joke aside, this incredibly moist and delicious Carrot Cupcake with Cream Cheese Frosting is fast becoming one of our household favorite weekend bakes. I dare say it tastes as authentic as how a proper carrot cake should be. And since they come in the form of cupcakes, you could sink your teeth into one at a time and all will be well. (That’s if you could stop at one).
The carrot cupcakes are good on their own but who could say no to a layer of heavenly cream cheese frosting? If you are looking for a fun weekend baking project with your family, this might just be it!
Ingredients:
Dry –
1 cup (128 g) plain flour
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
¾ cup walnut – coarsely ground
Wet –
2 large eggs
¾ cup (150g) caster sugar
150 ml sunflower oil
1 ½ cup grated carrots
Cream Cheese Frosting –
75 g unsalted butter – softened
120 g full fat cream cheese (I’m using Philadelphia)
350 g icing sugar – sifted
Makes 12 cupcakes
Recipe adapted from: Cupcake Gemma
The line up.
Preheat oven at 350°F/180°C.
Sift all the dry ingredients together, except the ground walnut.
Add in ground walnut and mix well. Set aside.
Like this.
In another large bowl, beat eggs and sugar together until pale and light. I used an electric beater for this step.
Add in oil and mix again until well combined.
Fold in grated carrots and mix evenly.
Lastly, add in the prepared dry ingredients and mix until the flour disappears.
It will look very liquid-y and that is okay.
Pour batter into a 12-cup muffin tray lined with liners. The batter should reach about ¾ of each muffin liner.
Bake at 180°C for 20 mins to 24 mins, until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
Allow to cool for 5 mins before removing each cupcake onto a cooling rack. Cool completely before applying the frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting
In a large bowl, whisk cream cheese and unsalted butter together until well incorporated (about 2 to 3 mins) with an electric beater.
In 3 batches, gently add in icing sugar and beat over low speed.
Transfer frosting into a piping bag fitted with a piping tip. Alternatively, you could spread the frosting using a spatula onto the cooled cupcakes.
Cupcakes can be stored in the fridge for up to 7 days.