Carrot Cupcakes

I love carrot cake. Mostly, I love the hint of cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger in the cake. Rarely, however, do I want to spend the time making a huge layer cake just to enjoy a single slice before giving the rest away. So, when I saw this recipe for carrot cupcakes in an issue of Everyday Food, I was psyched! I was so looking forward to these that I made them tonight despite the fact that it was way too hot to be baking.

It ended up being a good decision :-) These cupcakes had everything I was looking for and I really enjoyed the one I ate! I took a risk on the frosting and used up the remainder of my yogurt cheese (from the cheesecake I made this weekend) in place of the cream cheese. While the frosting definitely was not as good as a typical cream cheese frosting, it was still tasty and since I used fat free yogurt to make the yogurt cheese, far healthier than the cream cheese alternative! I'll be giving the rest of these away tomorrow so I'm not tempted to eat them all!


Carrot Cupcakes
from Everyday Food

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 large egg
2 tablespoons plain low-fat yogurt
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups grated carrots (from about 4 medium carrots)

For the Frosting:
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon grated orange zest



Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a 12 cup standard muffin tin with paper liners.

In a large bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg; set aside.

In another large bowl, whisk together melted butter, brown sugar, egg, yogurt, and vanilla. Stir in carrots. Gradually add dry ingredients to butter mixture mixing until well combined.

Divide among prepared muffin cups. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, rotating pan halfway through until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
Remove cupcakes from pan to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

To frost: Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese, butter, and confectioners' sugar in a large bowl until smooth; beat in vanilla and orange zest. Spread cupcakes with frosting.