I promised you a post on Wednesday, and the sun is setting… but it’s still Wednesday! Hooray. I’m so excited to bring you Cupcake #25 of my 52 cupcake series. This cupcake is based on my favorite cake flavor, carrot cake. And this recipe is a little exciting, because it is the first time I tried several recipes and adapted my own version of a cupcake for this series. So I hope you like it.

I was that strange kid who everyone was scratching their heads when the birthday cake with candles was brought out for the party. “Carrot cake? No, chocolate,” all the kids would chime in and ask. Nope. I liked carrot cake with vanilla ice cream on the side. I went through a 3 year period where I deviated to yellow cake with chocolate frosting, but I caved to cake peer pressure. Never again though, as those were my weak years. I’m back to carrot cake. And not just any carrot cake, but the recipe from my mom and my grandmother, Meem.

Meem always has a carrot cake, bundt cake, or banana bread on her cake stand every time we visit her. She is the most amazing short order chef I have ever seen. She takes joy in fixing different meals for 10+ people at one time. And she never believes you when you tell her you are full. She will bring you another plate of food. It NEVER stops and she makes me tired just watching her. And my mom was always so good at making my sister and I homemade birthday cakes, every year.

So in honor of both of them, I bring you cupcake #25… the jumbo carrot cake cupcake with cream cheese frosting. My mom’s 60th birthday is on Saturday so I’ll put a candle on one tonight. I look forward to making these again when I see them both in person. But tonight, I will sacrifice and eat 2… 1 for each of them.

First gather the ingredients and then go and find some child labor. This one was a bonus because she was adorable, a hard worker, and she came really cheap.

At this point, you consider not baking the cupcakes, since the batter is so colorful and smells like fall and winter with the nutmeg, cinnamon, and ginger. That is a bonus to living in Phoenix since we don’t have seasons, rather we have summer and not summer.

Spoon the yummy batter into the jumbo baking cups. I got mine at ABC Cake Decorating here in Phoenix.

The kitchen smelled heavenly at this point. And the consistency of the cake was nice. Still moist but not too sweet. I could see me using this recipe to make a similar banana cupcake or a zucchini cupcake. Look at me getting sassy and adapting things. I know, I am just a wild and crazy girl.

Make sure the cupcakes are completely cool as the frosting is soft due to the cream cheese and you don’t want it to melt. This frosting is such the nice sweet compliment to the cupcake.

Jumbo Carrot Cake Cupcakes

 
3 eggs
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 to 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (2 cups for moister cupcake)
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt (kosher if you have it)
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
4 carrots, grated
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
2 tsp. orange zest

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a stand mixer, mix the eggs and brown sugar for 2 minutes. Add the oil and mix for an additional minute. Sift the dry ingredients together {flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices}. Combine the dry ingredients with the egg/sugar mixture just until combined. Do not overmix. Fold in the carrots, walnuts, and orange zest.

Spoon into cupcake pan lined with Jumbo baking cupcake liners. Bake at 350 degrees for 18 – 22 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Do not overbake. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Cream Cheese Frosting

 
2 packages of softened cream cheese
3 – 4 Tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
4 – 5 cups of powdered sugar

Using a stand mixer, beat the cream cheese and milk until combined well. Slowly add the powdered sugar until you get the desired thickness for your frosting. If too thick, you can always use a little more milk to thin it out a bit.

I like to pipe my frosting onto my cupcakes, so a larger amount of powdered sugar is needed to make it stiffer. I used 4 tablespoons of milk and 4 cups of powdered sugar and it was still a little soft. It also is delicious without the vanilla, if you want to taste the cream cheese more. But my kids voted for the vanilla, so guess what route I went?

Hope you enjoy my first attempt at adapting 2 recipes.

Blessings sweet friends – Jenny

If you are new to my site, welcome! I’m so glad you’ve joined me on my 52 cupcake journey.Like what you see? I would love for you follow along on this crazy adventure of mine by subscribing to my blog and joining me on facebook, twitter, and pinterest.

Story of the 52 cupcakes:

I am making 52 cupcakes this year in honor of my chemotherapy buddy. When we were undergoing chemotherapy, people would bring cupcakes and other treats to the chemotherapy “lounge”. We would smile, laugh, and talk about how we were so nauseous and that all we could eat was saltine crackers and Sprite. We were glad that our family and friends were comforted by them though.My friend said, “If we survive this disease, we should eat a different cupcake every week for the rest of our lives.” My friend did not survive. So in honor of him, I am making a different cupcake every week for a year. Every time I make a new cupcake and lick my fingers, I think of him and his zest for life. So in honor of my friend and all cancer patients, I challenge you to eat a cupcake today and remember to always lick your fingers.