The Hungry Excavator: Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

A REALLY delectable afternoon snack =)

This holiday so far has really been about cooking and experimenting with recipes that I didn't have the time to try during semester. Which is why I've been baking a lot recently, of all things. And if you know me, baking is seriously not my forté. I've failed so many times in the past that I'm surprised I actually let myself bake again. BUT, I'm glad I did because I must say that I am very slowly, getting the hang of it (as well as my oven) with lots of practice and helpful recipes. Also, I find that it's a great way for Mum and me to bond in the kitchen =)

Also, VERY happy to announce that I've finally tested out this Cake Flour Substitute (which I've included in a separate post) that I came across on the Internet a long time ago. And let me just say, it works AMAZINGLY WELL. Very happy with the results. Try this out next time you happen to come across a baking recipe that calls for Cake Flour =D

So, Mum's been having a number of baking adventures back in KK as well recently. Only that she does it at Aunty E's house and she couldn't stop raving about this Carrot Cake Recipe so I decided to give it a go! I LOVE a good carrot cake. Though, I wanted to do it in cupcake form because I imagined it would be more fun to eat. Also, I can't remember the last time I actually made cupcakes, so here you have it. Oh, and we've reduced the sugar, butter and squeezed out some of the carrot juice to suit our liking.

Mum e-mailed me this recipe not too long ago (during my finals, actually. LOL MUM). It was taken from a cooking class conducted by a pastry chef of a 5-Star hotel in KK. Interesting. Honestly, making this recipe for myself, it really did turn out to be one of the BEST carrot cakes I've ever tasted! If I must say so myself... It's not me, it's the recipe.

It was so light and soft, but jam-packed with the sweetness of the carrots as well as the fragrance of the walnuts. Texture and flavour wise, this recipe really is an absolute winner. Also, I liked that the frosting had a higher concentration of butter, which made it almost like a Buttercream, but not quite. Easier to pipe/spread onto the cake after.

I've tried the carrot cake recipe from the Masterchef website before and though it was good, it didn't even come close. Compared to this, that one was rather stiff and a tad dry. ANYWAY, if you're looking for a really, really good carrot cake recipe, give this one a go and I promise you won't be disappointed. So easy to make, too!

Hope you get to try this out and share it with your loved ones sometime soon! Peace! =)

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Carrot Cupcakes

(makes 24 cupcakes or 1 big cake)

Ingredients:

50g + 10g (for garnishing) chopped walnuts

250g sugar

270ml cooking oil

4 eggs

240g cake flour (or 60g corn flour + 180g plain flour)

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 tsp cinnamon powder

340g (or 2 large) carrots, grated *

* TIP: Briefly squeeze out juice from one of the carrots. Otherwise, too moist

* Squeezing juice from just ONE of the carrots

Method:

Preheat oven to 190C. Toast the walnuts in a dry pan until fragrant, set aside. Cream sugar, oil and eggs in medium speed for 8 minutes.

Sieve cake flour, baking soda, baking powder into the mixture and fold. Add in vanilla essence, cinnamon powder, grated carrots and chopped walnuts. Fold to combine.

Line a 4 x 3 cupcake tray with paper moulds. Spoon batter into moulds until 2/3 full (or 2 scoops per mould with an ice-cream scoop). Bake for 25min or until cake tester comes out clean. Set aside to cool. Repeat with second batch of cupcakes.