When Given Carrots, Make Cupcakes

The last few CSA weeks have been filled with a plethora of carrots. At some point last week, my entire fridge drawer was stuffed with these orange guys. Of course, the baker in me immediately thought to do a carrot cupcake. This is a recipe courtesy of Martha Stewart. Her recipe was enough for a dozen cupcakes, so I doubled it and probably could have made almost three dozen if I didn't fill the cupcakes so high. I must admit, I overfilled the cupcakes and they spilled up over the tops. I was actually extremely embarrassed by how these ended up looking but everyone still said they looked, and tasted, great. The batter seemed rather runny which I think was from the moist grated carrots. But they ended up being super moist and delicious in the end. I would recommend adding a bit more baking powder if you want fluffier cupcakes because mine looked somewhat flat. I like to use my own cream cheese frosting recipe. It tends to make a lot, so either half the recipe, frost the cupcakes up high, or you'll have some to snack on for later. These cupcakes would taste great even if you didn't frost them. An easy and delicious way to make healthy carrots into a not so healthy snack.

Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Makes 24 cupcakes

• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil
• 4 tablespoons orange juice
• 1 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups plus 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
• 3 cups shredded carrots
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut, plus more for garnish

For the Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1 pound cream cheese, softened
• 2 sticks butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Oil a standard 12-cup muffin tin or line with paper liners. In a bowl, combine sugar, vegetable oil, orange juice, vanilla extract, and eggs.
2. Stir in baking powder, baking soda, allspice, and salt. Add flour; mix. Stir in carrots, walnuts, and coconut.
3. Fill each cupcake 2/3 full. Bake until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean, 25 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting.
4. In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth. Slowly add the powdered sugar and on low speed, beat until incorporated. Increase the speed to high and mix until very light and fluffy.
5. Frost cupcakes, and garnish with shredded coconut.