Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Hands down. Easiest cupcakes that I have ever made.  EVER! And bonus points for being delicious & pretty 😉

I made these as a birthday present for my dad's girlfriend.  She received a dozen packaged up super cute, with pink ribbon (for her Mary Kay lovin' self) and I took a dozen to work.  They didn't last very long.  I snatched up the last one right before I left for lunch around 11:00.  Usually cupcakes make it through our campus lunch hour... at least.  These babies?   Not. A. Chance.  I'll probably make them again very soon... because they just scream SPRING!! (Please don't remind me that it's almost summer, because WA doesn't seem to care that it's June already. sad. face.)

Carrot Cake Cupcakes (Slightly Adapted From: Martha Stewart)

• 1 pound medium carrots, peeled and finely grated
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 ½ cups vegetable oil
• ⅓ cup plain yogurt
• 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped, pod reserved for another use (or 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract)
• 1 cup walnuts, toasted and finely chopped
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg

Yield: 24 cupcakes

1. Preheat oven to 325F. Line 2 muffin tins with 24 Cupcake liners.
2. In a medium sized bowl, combine: flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ground ginger and nutmeg and whisk until combined.
3. In a standing bowl mixer with the whisk attachment, add: carrots, eggs, sugar, vegetable oil, yogurt, vanilla bean (or extract) and walnuts.  Whisk until combined.
4. Remove whisk attachment and add paddle attachment.  Add flour to the carrot mixture and mix on low until combined.
5. Add a full ice cream scoop of batter to each liner or fill each liner ⅔ full.  Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean in the center.
6. Let cool, transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
7. Unfrosted cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen for up to 2 months in airtight containers.

*These cupcakes can easily be made without a standing bowl mixer... you just need 2 bowls and a whisk! 😉 I'm just lazy! lol

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 pound (4 cups) confectioners' sugar, sifted
• ¾ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup walnuts, toasted & finely chopped

1. Beat butter and cream cheese with a mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.
2. Reduce speed to low. Add sugar, 1 cup at a time, and then vanilla; mix until smooth.
3. Pipe with a large round tip.  Roll edges of frosting in chopped walnuts.
4. Frosted cupcakes can be refrigerated for up to 3 days; bring to room temperature before serving.