Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

I usually eat chocolate cake for my birthday because it is my favorite.  I wanted to change it up this year, so I decided to make carrot cake.  Even though carrot cake contains no chocolate, it is a wonderful cake.

I like my carrot cake full of yummy treats like walnuts, coconut flakes, raisins, and pineapple.  I also like noticeable pieces of carrots.  Some recipes use carrot puree, but I like to know I'm eating carrot cake.

This incredible moist and luscious carrot cake from allrecipes.com fit the bill.  I made this simple  yet rich cream cheese frosting to dress each cupcake.  

People have been using carrots in sweets since the medieval period.  Carrot cakes date back as far back as 1827.  The first carrot cake recipe was printed in Switzerland in 1892.  It is still a popular cake in Switzerland, especially for celebrating new babies.

Carrot cakes became widely available in the United States in the 1960s.  I'm curious how Wikipedia determined this was decade when carrot cakes were first widely eaten in the US.  How can you determine such a thing?

Southeast Asia has a fried carrot cake that is eaten for breakfast or a snack.  It's made with white radishes.  It cannot possible be as toothsome as these cupcakes.  

These cupcakes were phenomenal.  Sometimes taking a risk and making carrot cake instead of chocolate cake pays off.  It's a good thing I'm a risk taker.

The original recipe is for cake, but I reduced the cooking time and made cupcakes instead.  The ingredients for the carrot cupcakes are 3 eggs, 3/4 cup buttermilk, 3/4 cup vegetable oil, 1 1/2 cups sugar, 2 teaspoons vanilla, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking soda, 2 cups grated carrots, 1 cup sweetened coconut flakes, 1 cup chopped walnuts, 1 8-ounce can crushed pineapple, and 1 cup raisins.

The ingredients for the frosting are 2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, 1/2 cup butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and about 2 cups powdered sugar.  I'm sure I used closer to three cups, but you should just add the sugar gradually to achieve your preferred consistency and sweetness.

To make the carrot cake, I whisked together the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.

In another bowl, I combined the eggs, buttermilk, oil, sugar, and vanilla.

I whisked the wet ingredients together.

I added the flour mixture into the wet ingredients and stirred.

I mixed together the grated carrots, coconut flakes, walnuts, pineapple, and raisins.

I poured the carrots conception into the cake batter and stirred until evenly combined.

I portioned out the batter into a muffin tray lined with paper liners.  I baked the muffins for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

I let the cupcakes cool completely.  For the frosting, I add the butter and cream cheese into a bowl.  I beat these ingredients until they were smooth and creamy.  This took several minutes.

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I mixed in the vanilla.

I gradually added the powdered sugar, mixing well after each addition.

I spread on a generous layer of frosting on each cupcake.

I dusted each cupcake with colorful, candy sprinkles.

These cupcakes were phenomenal.  The texture of the cake was tender and moist.  The cake was packed full of toothsome treats.  The flavor of the cake was warm, inviting, and scrumptious.

The frosting was creamy, smooth, and sweet.  The texture of the frosting was fluffy.

These cupcakes were divine.  These are one of the best deserts I have posted on my blog.  The overall flavor and texture was excellent.  Everyone devoured these treats.