carrot cupcakes

A few of my friends have March birthdays so I asked them what kind of cupcakes they wanted and they said carrot.  I wouldn't normally think of making carrot cupcakes for a birthday, but I am happy to give my friends what they want. Carrot cake usually tastes too heavy to me so I wanted to make sure that these cupcakes tasted light and fresh.  I added some citrus to a muffin recipe that I have been making for years and added some lemon zest to my cream cheese icing.  I had some leftover homemade graham cracker crumbs that I sprinkled on top and made them look a little beachy since the beach is all I think about these days.  I am glad that I am delivering them to my friends today, otherwise I would probably eat them all.  

Carrot Cupcakes

2/3 cup vegetable oil

2 large eggs

1/2 cup raw sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla 

2 cups unbleached flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp fine sea salt

2 tsp cinnamon

2 cups finely shredded carrot

zest from 1 organic orange

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. In a mixing bowl, beat the oil,eggs, sugars, and vanilla until well mixed.
3. In a seperate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
4. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until almost combined.
5. Add the shredded carrot, orange zest, and walnuts.  Mix until just combined.
6. Bake for 24 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
7. Wait until completely cooled before icing.

Cream Cheese Icing

1/2 cup butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup cream cheese, at room temperature

2 cups icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla

zest of 1 organic lemon

Directions:

1. Beat the butter and cream cheese until light and creamy.
2. Slowly add the icing sugar and continue beating.
3. Add the vanilla and lemon zest.  Beat until light and creamy. 
4. Enjoy!