carrot cake cupcakes
No raisin-coconut-deez nuts weirdness, just straight up carrot and spice. Oh, and cream cheese frosting. Always.
Ingredients
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup plain whole milk Greek yogurt
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp ginger
- 1/2 tsp cloves
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 2 cups finely shredded carrot (about 4 large)
bourbon cream cheese frosting
- 1 stick butter, softened
- 8 oz cream cheese, cold
- 2 tbsp bourbon
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 1/2-5 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4-1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 12-cup muffin tins with parchment liners.
- In a large bowl, beat the oil, brown sugar, and sugar for 2-3 minutes until combined. Whip in the eggs, one at a time, then the vanilla and yogurt. Add the flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. fold in the carrot with a rubber spatula. Do not overmix.
- Fill each cupcake tin 2/3 of the way with batter. Depending on what your heart says 2/3 of the way full is, you will get 22-24 cupcakes. Bake for 25-30 minutes until an inserted toothpick emerges with just a few moist crumbs. Cool 10 minutes in the pans, then transfer the cupcakes to wire racks. Cool completely.
- Make the frosting. Whip the butter, cream cheese, bourbon, and vanilla extract until combined. Then add 4 1/2 cups of the powdered sugar and1/4 cup of cream. Crank the mixer to high, and beat until very light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. You may need an extra tablespoon of two of cream to achieve the desired texture. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula, as needed, to properly incorporate all the ingredients.
- Pipe or frost each cupcake with the buttercream.
Notes
*To store: Baked, unfrosted cupcakes will keep up to 3 days in the fridge, after which I would decorate and serve within 2 days. Finished cupcakes, then, will keep for up to 5 days. They may get moist due to the oil and carrot content.