This is our first guest post on Three Many Cooks. A couple weeks ago Aileen Chang from AI Bake Cake (http://aibakecake.wordpress.com/) won our second Kyocera knife giveaway and I checked out her website. I couldn’t believe how beautiful her creations were, so I asked her to guest post for us. And I’m glad I did, this is what she came up with. I don’t know about you, but my mouth is watering over these Easter themed carrot cupcakes!
Easter is right around the corner, and all around us signals the restoration of life. After a cold winter, the days lengthen, and everywhere a palette of spring colors start emerging. I was thinking of what to bake to celebrate the new season and hey, why not something healthy too. Carrot cupcakes sprang to mind–perfect for Easter!
And I’ve got the perfect recipe too. Walnuts and coconut offer great texture while the carrots soften during baking, creating a moist, flavorful, naturally sweet cake. Since a lot of the cake’s moisture comes from the carrots, there’s no need for an overload of oil. And there’s no better way to top these off than with cream cheese frosting (I can eat three in one sitting, but it’s a little too much of a good thing!) OK, so maybe the frosting doesn’t help with the healthy factor, but you’ve gotta indulge now and again.
I use orange and green candy melts to make the tiny carrot garnish It’s easy. Just melt a few disks in a microwaveable bowl, fill a ziplock bag, cut the corner off, and squeeze onto waxed paper. Start with the green top first and then the orange carrot body. Let dry and peel off.
To make the Easter baskets, put the shredded coconut in a ziplock bag with a couple drops of green food coloring, and then shake until evenly colored. Frost the cupcake with a spatula, roll the edges in the green coconut, and then top with robin’s eggs or pretty pastel jelly beans.
May you enjoy the outdoors, soak up the sunshine, be awed by the beauty around you, and spread some love and cupcakes.Happy spring!
-Ai
I love carrot cupcakes so much that I almost had them in place of a cake at our wedding. I was talked out of that decision by friends and family who suggested that not everyone likes carrot cake – we ended up with chocolate and vanilla. I dare those people who “don’t like carrot cake” to see/taste this cupcake and not change their mind! These cupcakes make me drool. Particularly the cross section photo. THANK YOU AILEEN!
We three cook, we bake, but we’re not so gifted in the garnishing/decorating department. So thank you, Aileen, for these simple, elegant cupcakes. We’ve already got our Easter lunch dessert planned (which you’ll see on the site next week), but we always have savory and sweet nibbles on Easter Eve. These cupcakes are perfect, girls, don’t you think?
these look AMAZING! and you make it sounds so easy! im def gonna have to try to make them.
Hi – In the USA WEEKEND magazine May 7-9, 2010, I cut out the amazing recipe for Perfect Vanilla Cupcakes with the Cream Cheese Frosting, we all really love it! When I went to go into the site to view more cupcake recipes, I could not really find them. What shall I do to get in there, because I can’t wait to try some of the other ideas! Thank you so much for your time.
Mickie
is this what you’re looking for?
Cupcakes!
You’ve got everything you need to make scores of cupcakes that taste as scrumptious as they look. It starts with from-scratch cake. Almost as easy as a box, but so much better.
There are two simple frostings—from-scratch vanilla and store-bought chocolate, made to taste like homemade with two simple additions (check it out).
If you’re like me, you might not want to pull out the pastry decorating kit for pretty cupcakes. For this reason I offer seven different flavors which double as garnish. Follow mine, but you won’t have to think long before you come up with your own!
Perfect Vanilla Cupcakes
Makes 1 dozen
* Or whisk 11/2 teaspoons baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt into 1 1/2 cups bleached all-purpose flour.
1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) softened butter,
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour *
1 tablespoon warm water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake papers. Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Starting and ending with an egg, alternate adding eggs and flour, beating until each is thoroughly incorporated. Beat in water and vanilla until just incorporated. Evenly divide batter among prepared pans. Bake until fully cooked and golden, 15 to 17 minutes. Remove from oven, let cupcakes stand a couple of minutes; turn onto a wire rack to cool.
All-Purpose Cream Cheese Frosting
Enough for 1 dozen cupcakes.
4 tablespoons softened butter
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
3/4 to 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
Beat butter and cream cheese until smooth and fluffy. Starting with the lower amount of beat in sugar, adding more if desired. Flavor as instructed individual recipes.
Cheater’s Chocolate Frosting
Enough for 1 dozen cupcakes with leftovers
1 container (1 pound) store-bought chocolate frosting.
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon instant coffee
Dissolve coffee in vanilla; stir into frosting. Proceed with individual recipes.
Coconut Cupcakes
Make 1 recipe Perfect Vanilla Cupcakes, adding 1/4 teaspoon coconut extract along with vanilla.
Make 1 recipe All-Purpose Cream Cheese Frosting, stirring in 1/4 teaspoon coconut extract.
Frost cupcakes and then roll in 1 1/4 cups sweetened flaked coconut
Chocolate-Covered Strawberry
Make 1 recipe Perfect Vanilla Cupcakes, spooning half the batter into each muffin cup. Spoon in 1 1/2 teaspoons strawberry jam (do not stir to loosen it); fill cups with remaining batter, spreading around to ensure jam is covered.
Make Cheater’s Chocolate Frosting.
Frost cupcakes, garnishing each with a strawberry half (or quarter if large).
Lemon-Raspberry
Make 1 recipe Perfect Vanilla Cupcakes, scooping half the batter into each muffin cup. Spoon in 1 1/2 teaspoons raspberry jam (do not stir to loosen it); fill cups with remaining batter, spreading around to insure jam is covered.
Make All-Purpose Cream Cheese Frosting, stirring in 1/2 cup good quality prepared lemon curd
Frost cupcakes, garnishing each with a raspberry
Snicker Doodle
Make 1 recipe Perfect Vanilla Cupcakes, stirring 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon into the dry ingredients.
Make All-Purpose Cream Cheese Frosting, stirring in 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
Frost cupcakes and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar (a mix of 1/4 cup sugar and 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon).
Peanut Butter and Jelly
Make 1 recipe Perfect Vanilla Cupcake, spooning half the batter in each muffin cup. Spoon in 1 1/2 teaspoons strawberry jam (do not stir to loosen it); fill cups with remaining batter, spreading it around to insure jam is covered.
Make 1 recipe All-Purpose Cream Cheese Frosting, stirring in 1/4 cup peanut butter.
Frost cupcakes, garnishing each with a cluster of roasted peanuts.
S’more
Make 1 recipe Perfect Vanilla Cupcakes
Make Cheater’s Chocolate Frosting.
Garnish with mini marshmallows and a graham cracker quarter
Maple Walnut
Make 1 recipe Perfect Vanilla Cupcakes, substituting 1/4 teaspoon maple flavoring for the vanilla.
Make 1 recipe All-Purpose Cream Cheese Frosting, stirring in 1/4 teaspoon maple flavoring.
Frost cupcakes, and then roll tops in 1 1/2 cups toasted chopped walnuts.