Carrot cupcake anyone ?!?!

Hello peeps,

Hope you all had a wicked weekend!  Mine was pretty relaxed... on the downside I did almost no cooking nor baking.. on the upside however I did spend a good amount of time doing some foodie research and thinking of ways to take full advantage of the bountiful and beautiful Spring veggie produce.  Make hay while the sun shines, they say!

As of late I've been enjoying my visits to the veggie store even more so than usual.  And with good reason!

Every time I pop in there are so many beautiful bright colours on display!  Bright orange carrots, Deep red strawberries, Earthy purple beets, we're literally spoilt for choice when it comes to veggie shopping this time of year .....

A few days back my dear friend Nico sent me this simple yet lusciously delicious recipe for carrot cupcakes.

My one big regret is that I wasn't anywhere around when Nico, who lives in Athens, made these cause I am 100% certain that my current low carb health kick would have gone flying right out the window!!!

Nico, I have just one teeny weeny request.  Can you please make these again when we're around ??? Please! Pretty Please!!!!! :)

All photos in this post were taken by the man himself and here is his recipe :)

To make these carrot cupcakes you will need:

For the batter:

• 2 cups (260g) all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger (optional)
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg (optional)
• 3/4 tsp coarse sea salt
• 1 cup (240 ml) sunflower or vegetable oil (you can replace 1/3 of the oil with extra virgin olive oil)
• 1 cup (220 g) packed light-brown sugar
• ½ (100 g) cup granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 pound (350 g) raw carrots, peeled and shredded on a box grater or in a food processor (about 2 ½ cups)
• 1 cup (50 g) pecans or walnuts
• 1 cup (230 g) sultanas (optional)

For the cream cheese frosting:

• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 8 ounces (300 g) cream cheese, room temperature
• 8 ounces (300 g) white chocolate, melted and cooled slightly
• 2 tbsp powdered sugar, sifted (optional)

And off we go!

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

In a mixing bowl mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices.

In another bowl, using an electric mixer beat the eggs for about 1 minute and then gradually add sugar and beat until batter is thick and light in colour.
This should take around 3-4 minutes.  

Now add the oil in a steady stream.  Add the vanilla extract and give it another whizz with the beater.   Then its time to add the flour mixture and beat once again until totally incorporated.  

With a spatula fold in the grated carrots, sultanas and chopped nuts.

Line your muffin or cupcake tin with liners and scoop 1 scoopful of batter into each liner. 

Pop your muffin/cupcake tin into your preheated oven and bake for around 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into middle of cupcakes comes out clean.

Once ready, cool your cupcakes and set aside until they are ready to be given the VIP treatment... the white chocolate cream cheese frosting :)

To make your white chocolate cream cheese frosting, beat cream cheese, vanilla and melted white chocolate (which has been left to cool slightly) in a large mixing bowl, with an electric mixer, on medium speed, until you end up with a light and creamy consistency.  This should take around 2 minutes.  Turn down mixer speed to a low setting and gradually add sugar. 

Then its time to frost your babies...I'm hoping that one day I'll be able to produce nicely frosted cupcakes... yeah.. maybe one day!!! :)

Bon appétit!... or better still Kali Orexi :) 

xoxoxoxoxo