Easter Carrot Cupcakes
 
 
Adapted from Martha Stewart
by:
Serves: 12
Ingredients
Cupcakes
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • ⅓ cup vegetable oil
  • 2 tablespoons orange juice
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs
  • ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1½ cups shredded carrots
  • ½ cup chopped walnuts
  • ¼ cup shredded coconut
Cream Cheese Frosting
  • 1 block cream cheese (8oz), at room temperature
  • ¼ cup (4 Tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2-3 cups powdered confectioners' sugar, sifted
Instructions
For the cupcakes
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners. In a bowl, combine sugar, vegetable oil, orange juice, vanilla extract, and eggs.
  2. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Add to bowl of wet ingredients and mix just until combined. Stir in carrots, walnuts, and coconut.
  3. Fill muffin cups until ¾ full, and bake until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting. Makes 12 cupcakes.
For the frosting
  1. Beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add in the butter and beat until smooth. Add in vanilla. Add in the sugar 1 cup at a time, until desired sweetness, and beat until smooth.
  2. 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
  1. 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.
Recipe by Three Many Cooks at https://threemanycooks.com/recipes/sweet-treats/easter-carrot-cupcakes/