Carrot Cake Cupcakes {Cream Cheese Frosting} Recipe

Name: Carrot Cake Cupcakes {Cream Cheese Frosting}
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 24 cupcakes
Ingredients: 2 cups all purpose flour (or pastry flour if you have it) (190g); ¾ teaspoon baking soda; ¾ teaspoon baking powder; 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon; 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt; 3 eggs (150g); 1 2/3 cups granulated sugar (330g); 1 ¼ cup vegetable oil (255g); 2 tablespoons lemon juice; 1 cup shredded carrots, packed (250g); ½ cup toasted walnuts, chopped (90g); 20 oz cream cheese (not light, not whipped), room temperature; 1 cup butter (2 sticks), room temperature; 2 cups powdered sugar (220g); 2 tablespoons lemon juice (20g); 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; toasted walnuts, chopped, for garnish, optional; 50g marzipan, optional

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour (or pastry flour if you have it) (190g)
¾ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3 eggs (150g)
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar (330g)
1 ¼ cup vegetable oil (255g)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup shredded carrots, packed (250g)
½ cup toasted walnuts, chopped (90g)
20 oz cream cheese (not light, not whipped), room temperature
1 cup butter (2 sticks), room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar (220g)
2 tablespoons lemon juice (20g)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
toasted walnuts, chopped, for garnish, optional
50g marzipan, optional

	PREP TIME 15m	COOK TIME 20m	TOTAL TIME 35m
YIELD 24 cupcakes

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350?F and line 24 muffin tins with cupcake liners.
Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
Add the lemon juice to the vegetable oil and set aside.
Squeeze out the excess juice from your carrot; discard or drink it! So healthy!
In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip together the eggs and sugar to the ribbon stage. This is when the batter will hold a ribbon on its surface before slowly disappearing. It will look something like this…
With the mixer running on high, slowly pour in the vegetable oil mixture and whisk until completely emulsified (i.e. you can’t see any oil)
Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and fold in the dry ingredients all at once just until streaky.
Fold in the walnuts and carrots until there are no more lumps of flour and the batter is just combined. Please don’t over mix. If you think it’s done, it is.
Scoop into prepared tins no higher than ¾ full. You will have just enough batter to fill 24 cups.
Bake 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes back clean.
Cool 5 minutes in pan then turn out onto wire rack and cool upside-down. Yes, upside-down! Let cool completely before frosting.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment cream together the cream cheese, butter and powdered sugar on medium low speed until soft and smooth, 10-12 minutes. It is very important your ingredients are at room temperature or you will have lumps of butter and you will have to soften over a water bath and your frosting will be runnier (Like mine. Don’t let impatience happen to you.)
Add the lemon juice and vanilla and stir to combine.
Pipe onto frosting using your favorite tip. I used a Wilton 1A.
Gently scoop some toasted, chopped walnuts into the palm of one hand and pat them around the edges of each cupcake.
Color ¾ of the marzipan orange and ¼ green, by kneading in gel coloring into the marzipan.
Shape little carrots from the orange marzipan and mark them with the back of a knife to resemble the lines on real carrots. Make a divot in the top of each carrot.
Roll out the green marzipan into long, thin ropes and cut into small pieces. Group several pieces together and press into the divot in each carrot.
Top each cupcake with a small carrot. Adorable.