Ginger Pecan Carrot Cupcakes
These cupcakes were so incredibly delicious, made with fresh carrots from the Boulder farmers market and crystalized ginger from Savory Spice Shop. This recipe make 12 cupcakes.
Cupcake Ingredients:
- 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 TB ground cinamon
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 1/4 cup coarsely chopped crystalized ginger
- 3/4 cup evaporated cane juice
- 1/2 cup plus 1 TB walnut oil
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups grated carrots
Maple Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
- 4 oz cream cheese
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
Preheat oven to 350 (375 if at altitude, like here in Boulder). Line a cupcake pan with paper baking cups (I prefer the 100% unbleached compostable IF YOU CARE brand).
In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinamon, pecans, and ginger. Mix this with a fork or whisk so all of the ingredients are relatively evenly combined. Add the grated carrots and toss to coat.
In your KitchenAid mixer, add the evaporated cane juice and walnut oil. Turn it to speed 2 for 30 seconds or so, and then add the eggs and beat another 30 seconds. Add the flour and carrot mixture and mix another minute or so until you have an even batter.
Scoop into the cupcake tray and bake 15-20 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Remove your cupcakes from the cupcake tray and allow them to cool completely.
Next, make the frosting. Unless you have an extra KitchenAid bowl, you’re going to have to wash the bowl you used for the batter. First, pour the heavy whipping cream into the bowl, and with the wire whisk attachment, beat on speed 10 for 3-4 minutes until you have butter. Then, add the cream cheese, maple syrup, and powdered sugar and beat on speed 10 another couple minutes to make nice and fluffy fresh frosting.
Frost your cupcakes as you like. I filled a plastic sandwhich bag and cup off the corner in order to squeeze it out like piping. Get as fancy as you desire, and enjoy.
Kahlua and Baileys Chocolate Cakes
Kahlua and Baileys- so perfect together. These little cupcakes are a twist on my “Not-So-Unhealthy-Chocolate-Cupcakes” from earlier in this month. The basic recipe is the same, but instead of 1 cup coffee, I used 3/4 cup coffee and 1/4 cup Kahlua.
For the glaze, I mixed 1 shot of Kahlua, 1 shot of Baileys, and 1/2 cup powdered sugar. I drizzled this on top and they were irresistible!
Not-So-Unhealthy-Chocolate Cupcakes
The chocolate cake part of this dessert is vegan and takes 5-6 minutes to put together. For this particular batch, I made a maple cream cheese icing just for fun.
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I prefer to use Scharffen Berger for all of my chocolate needs)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- a pinch of sea salt
- 1/3- 1/2 cup evaporated cane juice (I usually use 1/3 cup)
- 1/2 cup walnut oil
- 1 cup cold brewed coffee
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 5 tsp apple cider vinegar
icing:
3 TB cream cheese
3 TB butter
3 TB maple syrup
Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. In another bowl, combine the coffee, walnut oil, and vanilla extract. Measure out the vinegar into a small dish and set aside. Pour the coffee/oil mixture into the dry ingredients and mix well. Finally, add the vinegar and mix until it is just combined. Do not over mix this.
You can bake this as a cake, make cupcakes, or use whatever baking dish you prefer. Just be warned: this cake does not easily come out of the dish, so if you are planning to bake a chocolate cake that will stand on its own outside of the dish, you might look for a different recipe. I usually make cupcakes.
Lightly oil your baking dish and bake at 375. Cupcakes take 15-20 minutes, a cake will be 25 minutes or so. They’re done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
For the maple cream cheese frosting: Put all 3 ingredients in the KitchenAid mixer and whip a few minutes until light and frosting-like. Spoon some on, or get fancy and decorate as you like.
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