Barefoot Contessa's Carrot Cake Cupcakes Modified

I am a huge Ina Garten fan - never seen her cooking show but own every cookbook! 

Her carrot cake cupcakes are a favorite at my house. However, over the years I have made some modifications. The original recipe calls for raisins. My family is a collective of raisin-haters. So, originally, I just eliminated the raisins. While the cupcakes were delicious they were really greasy and they fell a bit in the middle. My suspicion is that the raisins absorb some of the oil and without them the cupcakes become too oily.   

So, with a few tweaks, here is the Barefoot Contessa's Carrot Cake Cupcakes (Sans Raisins) Recipe.

Ingredients:

CAKE

2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup canola oil

3 extra large eggs (or 4 medium eggs)

2 cups all-purpose flour (whole wheat flour substitutes nicely)

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp kosher salt

1 lb. grated carrots

1 1/2 cups raw pecans pieces, toasted and chopped

FROSTING

1 8oz package of cream cheese, softened

2 sticks (16 Tbsp) unsalted butter, softened

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 1/3 cups powdered sugar

GARNISH (this is really easy and makes the cupcakes look very pretty, tastes good too)

3 carrots
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 stick of unsalted butter

To make the cake
Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Place cupcake liners in 2 muffin tins (makes 24 cupcakes)

Combine the sugar, vanilla, and oil  in a large bowl. With a mixer beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Then add one egg at a time, mixing on medium speed, incorporating thoroughly before adding the next.  In a separate bowl place a sifter. Combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt in the sifter. Sift. Add almost all of the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, reserving about a 1/2 - 3/4 cup in the bowl. Mix the dry and wet ingredients together until combined. Now, add the grated carrots and pecans to the remaining flour. Using a wooden spoon coat evenly. Fold the carrots and nuts into the batter. Make sure they are completely incorporated.

Spoon batter into cupcake liners, filling almost to the top. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Turn the oven down to 350 degrees and bake for 20-30 minutes more.

Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before frosting.

To make the frosting
Cream the butter, cream cheese and vanilla using an electric mixer. Beat for 3-4 minutes. Add the powdered sugar in 1/3 cup increments, thoroughly incorporating before adding the next 1/3 cup.

Pipe the frosting on the cupcakes using a 1 gallon ziplock freezer bag and pastry tip. Cut a small hole in one corner of the ziplock bag, insert the pastry tip, fill the bag with frosting, and close. Now you can pipe the frosting  mess-free.

To make the garnish
In a small skillet, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Stir in the maple syrup. Increase heat to medium- high.

Using a vegetable peeler, peel strips of carrots (wider strips work best). Place the carrot strips in the butter/maple syrup mixture. Cook for 1-2 minutes (the carrots should be bright orange). Remove from the syrup with tongs and drain on paper towels.

After they have drained for a minute or two, place several carrot strips across the top of the frosted cupcakes.