Wednesday 24 May 2017

Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting


My mum has been asking me to bake a Carrot Cake. She loves carrot cake, the one baked by a family friend (which I have not had a chance to taste).

I have attempted Carrot Cake twice, with little success. My cakes were dense and tasted funny. So I gave up hah...hah...


I have eaten Carrot Cakes at buffets and once at a restaurant but they did not make an impression on me. I need to eat a good, or rather, great Carrot Cake in order appreciate what is so good about it.


So I made another attempt in the form of Carrot Cupcakes. Some recipes use allspice and nutmeg in addition to cinnamon, but I prefer just cinnamon.


Well, I enjoyed this Carrot Cupcake but I was not exactly wowed. Though I am not big on frostings, I did enjoy this cream cheese frosting. I reduced the sugar from 330g to a mere 100g and the level of sweetness is just right for me.


I would have preferred more walnuts and raisins in the cake and I will keep looking for a good carrot cake recipe. Hopefully, I can bake one for my mum soon.

Carrot Cupcakes
Recipe source : Adapted from Joy of Baking

Ingredients for the cake :
- 250g self-raising flour, sifted
- 1.5 tsp ground cinnamon
- 4 large eggs
- 180g caster sugar
- 1 cup grapeseed oil (or any vegetable oil)
- 200g grated carrots
- 100g pumpkin puree (in place of 1 cup grated apple)
- 55g chopped toasted walnuts
- 100g raisins

Ingredients for the Cream Cheese Frosting :
- 250g cream cheese at room temperature
- 100g icing sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract

Method :
For the cake :
1. In a mixing bowl, whisk flour and ground cinnamon. Set aside.
2. In another mixing bowl, whisk eggs and sugar until emulsified and sugar is dissolved.
3. Add oil and continue to mix until emulsified.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the flour and gently fold until just combined.
5. Fold in grated carrots, pumpkin puree (or grated apples), chopped walnuts and raisins.
6. Using an ice cream scoop (or a spoon), fill muffin pans lined with cupcake liners.
7. Bake in a preheated oven at 160C for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
8. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting :
1. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and butter using a hand mixer until creamy.
2. Add vanilla extract and icing sugar and continue to beat until smooth and creamy.

Note : This recipe makes slightly more than 12 regular cupcakes. 

36 comments:

  1. That reminds me. I should make this for my girl when she comes back for the summer.

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  2. We tend to see carrot cakes being sold everywhere now, when it was unheard of in Malaysia some 20 years ago. I have also eaten in many places bad countries. So I could declare that my wife bakes the best carrot cakes in the world. It is very similar to yours in looks and ingredient choices. I can pry open her safe and give your her top secret recipe in exchange for delicious food of yours!!! Deal???
    **Evil laughters**

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  3. I don't remember eating any carrot cakes so I won't be able to tell the difference between good and great ones. Your frosting looks very nice.

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    Replies
    1. Hope you get to try some one day :)

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  4. Wallah sedapnya LL. OK jugakkan buat guna cup mcm ni. Terus masuk mulut seketul seketul haha...

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    1. LL suka cupcake sebab tak payah hiris kek. Bab potong kek tu, malas lah sebab kadang2 potongan tak kemas :(

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  5. Hi Phong Hong,
    My boy has been asking me to bake a carrot cake ! Ok ok ... seeing your pretty carrot cupcakes, I must bake one ... really love the rose cream cheese frosting! So pretty!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Karen! Then you must fulfill your boy's wishes :)

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  6. Wah! Carrot cupcakes!
    My friend baked a carrot walnut cake yesterday.
    Now all I think is to go eat carrot cake!

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    Replies
    1. Carrot and walnut cake sounds good!

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  7. Who says you got no talent? You got talent in baking and cooking! How I envy you

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    Replies
    1. You are so kind to say so, Libby :)

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  8. I want!!! Dijamin sampai hari esok, minus the frosting. :D

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  9. Wow..Lamanya x makan kek karot...Smooth betul cis frosting..you make me drooling...

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  10. I like carrot cakes too... those days when my kids were schooling, I used to buy them carrot cakes from Secret Recipe, they taste fabulous... never get to baking them as yet... will try one day.. one fine day! :)

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    Replies
    1. Perhaps I should try Secret Recipe's carrot cake hee..hee..

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    2. Perhaps I should also go try it. :)

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    3. I used to love Secret Recipe's Carrot Slice, until I found that Carrot Slice standard has been disappointingly dropping. That was the sole reason why I started to search for a good carrot cake recipe and bake it myself instead...

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  11. The cream on top is really tempting! But when I eat, I will just scoop them away, heheheh :p

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    Replies
    1. hee..hee.. yes, some people don't like the frosting.

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  12. Don't know why, I never like carrot cake. Funny taste. Maybe I cannot accept carrot in the cake. Lol.

    Your topping cream is so beautifully made. Tempting lah.

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    Replies
    1. I think you don't like the smell/taste of the spices. I am ok with cinnamon but I don't like nutmeg.

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  13. Since you are in search of the best carrot cake, perhaps you would like to try this one instead... one day.... http://allrecipes.com/recipe/7402/carrot-cake-iii/?internalSource=hub%20recipe&referringContentType=search%20results&clickId=cardslot%204 (I have made this numerous times and each time received great comments)! This one can bake a large sheet cake.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for the link, Lily! I have printed the recipe and will try it one day :)

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  14. Wonder is there any left for my tea break later? Hehe

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  15. I'm not really fond of carrot cake probably because I don't like carrots per se. I use them in soups and stews only to bring a sweetness to the broth. After that, I would just discard them....hehe! ;)

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    Replies
    1. Oh dear, you don't like carrots hah..hah...

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  16. I know not many people like carrot cake but I do. I like the texture of the cake as well as the unique flavors.

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    Replies
    1. That's great. I do like it but want to find one that I will love.

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  17. This is the carrot cupcake recipe we use, if you have time, you can try! http://goodyfoodies.blogspot.my/2012/08/recipe-carrot-cupcakes-with-lime.html (can also be topped with cream cheese frosting)

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