Carrot Cupcakes

Every year I forget how much I love carrot cake.  It's one of those things like St. Patrick's Day...you eat corned beef, cabbage and boiled potatoes once a year and always on that day remember how much you love it.  You swear that you will make it again sometime during the upcoming year...and then you forget again, and never do.

Yep, that's what happens with carrot cake - only remembered at Easter time.  Well, it's that time of year again and I made up a batch of these for both my and husband's offices. I must try to remember to make these more this year - delish.

Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing
Courtesy of Barefoot Contessa

For the cupcakes:

2 cups sugar
1 1/3 cups vegetable oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 extra-large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
3 cups grated carrots (less than 1 pound)
1 cup raisins
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

For the frosting:
3/4 pound cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 pound confectioners' sugar

**Jelly bean designed "carrot" - optional

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Beat the sugar, oil, and vanilla together in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the eggs, 1 at a time. In another bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low speed, add 1/2 of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Add the grated carrots, raisins, and walnuts to the remaining flour, mix well, and add to the batter. Mix until just combined.

Line muffin pans with paper liners. Scoop the batter into 22 muffin cups until each is 3/4 full.

Bake at 400 degrees F for 10 minutes then reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F and cook for a further 35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a rack.

For the frosting, cream the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the sugar and beat until smooth.

When the cupcakes are cool, frost them generously and serve.