Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

My mum has been asking me to bake a Carrot Cake. She loves carrot cake, the one baked by a family friend (which I have not had a chance to taste).

I have attempted Carrot Cake twice, with little success. My cakes were dense and tasted funny. So I gave up hah...hah...

I have eaten Carrot Cakes at buffets and once at a restaurant but they did not make an impression on me. I need to eat a good, or rather, great Carrot Cake in order appreciate what is so good about it.

So I made another attempt in the form of Carrot Cupcakes. Some recipes use allspice and nutmeg in addition to cinnamon, but I prefer just cinnamon.

Well, I enjoyed this Carrot Cupcake but I was not exactly wowed. Though I am not big on frostings, I did enjoy this cream cheese frosting. I reduced the sugar from 330g to a mere 100g and the level of sweetness is just right for me.

I would have preferred more walnuts and raisins in the cake and I will keep looking for a good carrot cake recipe. Hopefully, I can bake one for my mum soon.

Carrot Cupcakes

Recipe source : Adapted from Joy of Baking

Ingredients for the cake :

- 250g self-raising flour, sifted

- 1.5 tsp ground cinnamon

- 4 large eggs

- 180g caster sugar

- 1 cup grapeseed oil (or any vegetable oil)

- 200g grated carrots

- 100g pumpkin puree (in place of 1 cup grated apple)

- 55g chopped toasted walnuts

- 100g raisins

Ingredients for the Cream Cheese Frosting :

- 250g cream cheese at room temperature

- 100g icing sugar

- 1 tsp vanilla extract

Method :

For the cake :

1. In a mixing bowl, whisk flour and ground cinnamon. Set aside.

2. In another mixing bowl, whisk eggs and sugar until emulsified and sugar is dissolved.

3. Add oil and continue to mix until emulsified.

4. Pour the wet ingredients into the flour and gently fold until just combined.

5. Fold in grated carrots, pumpkin puree (or grated apples), chopped walnuts and raisins.

6. Using an ice cream scoop (or a spoon), fill muffin pans lined with cupcake liners.

7. Bake in a preheated oven at 160C for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

8. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting :

1. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and butter using a hand mixer until creamy.

2. Add vanilla extract and icing sugar and continue to beat until smooth and creamy.

Note : This recipe makes slightly more than 12 regular cupcakes.