Pineapple Carrot cupcakes

Attempt #2. I'm still on the hunt for that delicious recipe that my high school home ec. teacher gave out. Here's a recipe I tried tonight for pineapple carrot cupcakes. Figure cupcakes are so much cuter to eat!

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/carrot-cupcakes-with-white-chocolate-cream-cheese-icing/detail.aspx

pre-icing. Serious quality control issues!

For some reason, some cupcakes totally rose and some didn't. I skipped the walnuts and white chocolate icing since my sister is allergic to nuts and I didn't have any white chocolate on hand.

• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 1/8 cups white sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups shredded carrots
• 1/2 cup crushed pineapple
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease 12 muffin cups.

Beat together the eggs, white sugar, and brown sugar in a bowl, and mix in the oil and vanilla. Fold in carrots and pineapple. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Mix flour mixture into the carrot mixture until evenly moist. Transfer to the prepared muffin cups. 

Bake 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool completely on wire racks before topping with the icing. 

I used this recipe for the cream cheese icing. Holy moly, did it ever use a lot of cream cheese. (Handy tip: go to the States to buy the cream cheese. Sooooo much cheaper! It was $6.45 for a 3 lb or 48oz brick. Yeah. I know. You can pick your jaw up off the floor now.)

• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners' sugar. Store in the refrigerator after use. 

final product

I think the cupcakes are ok. Nica keeps sneaking into the kitchen to eat them so he must think they're pretty good. Wait... he just told me he gives them a 9 out of 10. Personally, I think I'm closer to 7.5 or 8. We'll see what the family says at Thanksgiving tomorrow!