Easter Carrot Cake Cupcakes
These cute cupcakes taste as good as they look. The carrot adds nice moisture to the dough and the pistachios which are browned in butter release incredible flavor which goes perfectly with the cardamom. For the frosting, cream cheese and butter create the perfect creamy texture.
Ingredients
For 8-10 cupcakes
For the dough:
200 g carrots (3 large carrots)
125 g flour
110 g brown sugar
65 g butter
60 vegetable oil
40 g pistachios (optionally more for garnish)
2 eggs
1 tsp baking powder
0.5 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cardamom
pinch of salt
For the glaze:
100 g cream cheese
60 g soft butter
220 g powdered sugar
splash of lemon juice
For decoration: chocolate eggs, mini Malteser Easter bunnies, sugar deco carrots
What you need
Cupcake tin and /or cupcake paper cups
Medium-sized saucepan
kitchen scale
fine-mesh sieve
large mixing bowl
small bowl
chopping board
hand mixer
peeler
spatula
grater
mortar and pestle
sharp knife
Method
Peel and grate 200 g carrots. Set aside.
Melt 65 g butter in a small saucepan on medium heat until foaming, then add 40 g chopped pistachios and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently until pistachios start browning.
Pour mixture through a sieve. Set aside.
Add 2 eggs, 60 ml vegetable oil, 110 g brown sugar, 0.5 tsp cinnamon, and 1 tsp cardamom to a large mixing bowl. Mix with an electric hand mixer until well combined.
Add 125 g flour, 1 tsp baking powder, and a pinch of salt to the mixing bowl and continue mixing with the hand mixer until an even dough comes together.
Reduce the speed and slowly pour in the melted butter, beat until combined.
Add carrots and pistachios to the dough and mix under with a spatula.
Fill cupcake paper cups with dough. Leave 1/3 room as the dough will expand whilst baking.
Bake for 20 minutes at 180°C on the middle oven rack.
For the frosting, mix 100 g cream cheese, 220 g powdered sugar, 60 g soft butter, and a splash of lemon juice on low speed with your hand mixer.
You can either use a piping bag or a knife to frost the cupcakes. Decorate them with the Malteser Mini Easter Bunnies, Easter chocolate eggs, and mini deco carrots. Refrigerate the cupcakes until you serve them.
Enjoy!
