They may not look like carrot cake cupcakes....but they absolutely are. I made these for my daughter Chelsea's Birthday. I found these adorable chocolate anchors at Michael's which is perfect since the anchor is sort of our family sign...and these beautiful gold cupcake wrappers with the gold star flakes. They came out looking adorable and were delicious!! This is a fantastic Carrot Cake recipe that I got years ago. If you like carrot cake, you will love this recipe. It is such a moist flavorful cake. Using the pineapple really brings this cake to a whole new level. And the cream cheese frosting.....yes!!!! This is Chelsea's pick for her birthday cake every year....never disappoints!!
CARROT CAKE
2 CUPS FLOUR 2 TSP BAKING POWDER 1 1/2 TSP BAKING SODA 1 TSP SALT 2 TSP CINNAMON 2 CUPS SUGAR 3/4 CUP VEGETABLE OIL 4 EGGS 2 GRATED CARROTS 1 20 OZ CAN DOLE CRUSHED PINEAPPLE DRAINED (RESERVE JUICE) 1/2 CUP RESERVED PINEAPPLE JUICE FROM THE CAN 1/2 CUP CRUSHED BLACK WALNUTS
FOR THE FROSTING
1/2 CUP BUTTER ROOM TEMPERATURE 1 8 OZ PKG CREAM CHEESE 1 TSP VANILLA 1 LB POWDERED SUGAR
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Sift the dry ingredients....add sugar, oil, pineapple juice, eggs and mix well using a hand mixer.
Add grated carrots, pineapple and crushed nuts. HINT.....I do not use the whole can. It is almost too much pineapple. Use about 3/4 of the can the first time and then you can be the judge of how much you like!! Also, I use my food processor to grate the carrots. It works perfectly and is soooo quick & easy to do.
You can choose to pour the batter into two round cake pans to make a double layer cake....or into lined cupcake tins filled 2/3 full.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes for the cupcakes or 35 to 40 for the round cake pans. Just test with a toothpick to make sure they are done either way.
Fantastic.....and smells soooo goood in my house right now. So now just mix up that frosting. In a large mixing bowl.....cream the butter and cream cheese. Add the vanilla powdered sugar in small additions. I usually double this recipe to make sure I have enough for all the cupcakes.....we like a lot!!!
I also like to make this frosting and let it sit in the frig for about 20 minutes to just give it a chill. It holds up better when you are piping it on. Or just use a knife and spread it.....tastes great any which way!!! I decorated them for Chelsea's party. They were adorable.....and delicious!!!