carrot cake cupcakes with a cream cheese frosting, from my most favourite member of the ford and carter administrations, ina garten (office of management and budget, 1974-78). they were good--moist, spicy, good balance of sweet frosting to not-so-sweet cake, but i didn't find these carrot-y enough, even though i added an extra cup of grated carrots more than the recipe called for. however, they made a darn tasty spice cake. if you decide to try these, be careful with the cooking time--the 10 minutes at 400˚F then 35 minutes at 350˚F was excessive; i'd go with 25 minutes at 350˚F all the way, or the prescribed 10 @400˚F, then 10-15 minutes at 350˚F. use your intuition or the force, young cupcake warrior, and the cake universe will be yours.
20070517
the barefoot contessa's carrot cake cupcakes.
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23 comments:
5/17/2007 05:31:00 PM
the little carrots on top are so nice!!! So cute!!!
5/17/2007 06:01:00 PM
they're just made of royal icing, but they really make the cupcakes special :)
5/17/2007 09:44:00 PM
Carrot cupcakes are one of my favorites, and I don't think I've seen a more adorable one than yours! I wish I knew how to keep my icing firm like yours. Mine just oozes down the sides, even if I lessen the butter.
5/17/2007 10:19:00 PM
hello christine! i was just catching up on your dumaguete posts, very enjoyable! you know, i think there might be too much water in the butter you can get in the philippines--i've been having the same problem here lately. i try to keep everything slightly chilled (even the sugar), and do some aggressive beating. if i have to use more sugar, then i just use less frosting in the final product. i do chill the frosting for 20 minutes before piping it--usually that firms it up enough to be pliable. after that, i try to keep the cakes out of high humidity but you know how difficult that is!
5/18/2007 12:59:00 AM
how beautiful!
5/18/2007 04:53:00 AM
These are so lovely, Santos! The carrots are the cutest little things!
5/18/2007 01:02:00 PM
OMG, you are so ready for your own TV show! These are the fanciest carrot cupcakes I have ever seen!
5/18/2007 01:07:00 PM
hi purplegirl, patricia, and lannae! i have to admit, i didn't make the carrots myself, i bought them in the philippines. but i knew i had to use them when i saw them :)
5/18/2007 02:10:00 PM
They're beautiful! Wow - 4 cups of carrots and they still weren't carroty enough??
I had no idea Ina Garten used to be at OMB!
5/18/2007 03:03:00 PM
cathy, it's the darnedest thing. maybe carrots aren't as good as they used to be or i have to go organic. sheeeesh. they seemed carroty enough before they went in :{ and yes! ina was in the OMB working on nuclear issues, can you believe it? i think that's where she met her husband, jeffrey, who was on the white house council on international economic policy under the nixon admin and on the policy planning staffs of the secretaries of state in the ford and carter admins (and later undersecretary of commerce for international trade under the clinton!). wow, this is turning into a jeffrey garten wiki entry! i've only ever seen him eat on her show, though. no policy nor menu planning for him!
5/18/2007 06:49:00 PM
I love carrot cake, especially the frosting. Your little carrot decoration and colorful cups really make them wonderful.
5/18/2007 09:59:00 PM
hi acornbud! i wish carrot cake was more popular in restaurants. i'm still trying to find the perfect carrot cake recipe, but in the meantime, this will do....
5/20/2007 08:45:00 PM
Those little carrot decorations are adorable!
5/23/2007 03:33:00 PM
oh cupcake jedi, your young padewan would like to know where you get those fabby cases from... and she agrees with your observation of the difficulty in getting enough carrotness in carrot cakes. why are carrot cakes all about the frosting?
5/23/2007 07:21:00 PM
What size T-shirt do you wear?
5/26/2007 05:12:00 AM
oh these look like the most perfect cupcakes! and the wee little carrots GRINS
5/27/2007 08:25:00 AM
i love the idea of carrot cake cupcakes, but i absolutely cannot eat carroty dessert anything without ice cream. and who eats cupcakes with ice cream?
until it's socially acceptable, i'll stick to the cake.
- anne, menuism.com intern
and cupcake trendsetter
5/28/2007 03:26:00 AM
jenjen, yes! storebought, but easily fabricated. well, easily but tediously.
bramble, yes, why is that, even though i really do love the cake. it should really be all about the carrots.
saipan blogger, chamoru sized, nene. better make it an XL!
aria, they are quite sweet, aren't they?
annie, if you want to eat cupcakes with ice cream, i say go for it. you know, there are things you should really listen to society about, but how you like your dessert is not one of them. break free, young maverick, break free!
5/30/2007 02:54:00 PM
I cannot exaplin how beautiful I find your photographs. They are inspiring, rich, and delcious. Thank you for the motivation.
5/31/2007 08:11:00 AM
yum! so cute too! and i didn't know that about ina, very interesting tidbit...
6/06/2007 08:15:00 PM
Hi. these cupcakes are brilliant.
also I've put tsogb on my blogroll.
*
11/08/2007 04:13:00 PM
it would be deeply appreciated if you'll share kung saan niyo po nabili yung carrot royal icing dito sa Manila.. :)
11/08/2007 10:43:00 PM
elaine, chocolate lover in cubao has them!
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