In honor of the Easter holiday, it only seemed appropriate to make a carrot cake (or something in the family). Martha Stewart’s classic Carrot Cupcake recipe, with a few of my own tweaks, is my go-to around this time of year. The result is moist, cinnamon-and-clove infused little cakes that are an instant hit – and (in my humble opinion), do not even require icing! Frankly I think it would weigh these light and bright treats down (and, disclaimer, I am not a big fan of cream cheese frosting). The most labor-intensive aspect is grating the carrots – I have a suffered a few minor scrapes while making it through the pound of carrots proscribed by Ms. Martha – but it is worth it, I swear.
Ingredients
– carrots (grated) – eggs – buttermilk – white sugar – vegetable oil – vanilla bean/vanilla extract – flour – baking soda – baking powder – salt – cinnamon – cloves (ground) – ginger (ground) – walnuts (chopped, optional)
Directions
Grate 1 pound of carrots – careful of your fingers! Once complete, preheat your oven to 325 degrees, and layer two muffin tins with paper cups (or grease the pans, if you prefer). Mix together the 1 pound grated carrots, 3 eggs (Martha always recommends using room-temperature eggs when baking, and I tend to follow her lead on this one!), 1/3 cup buttermilk, 2 cups sugar, 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil and 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract. Once mixed, add 3 cups flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 2 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp cloves (her original recipe suggests 1/8 tsp, but I like the spiciness and body this adds to the batter), 1 tsp ginger and 1/2 cup walnuts. I decided to swap the golden raisins from the original recipe as well because it adds a little crunch and additional texture.
Fill the tins, ensuring each muffin cup is 3/4 full. Bake for 24-30 minutes (depending on your oven), rotating the pans halfway through. You will know they are done when the tops are springy and a toothpick, inserted into the middle, comes out clean. Let them cool in their pans for 10 minutes, then remove them and let them cool completely.
Because these are sans-frosting, they may be considered muffins (and that is fine by me!). These would be a great addition to any holiday brunch, particularly around Easter time. It couldn’t come as a surprise if guests swing by for seconds.
Until next time,
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