Carrot Cupcakes

This is a Martha Stewart recipe with my modifications.

Ingredients:

(For 18 cupcakes)

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp cinnamon

A pinch of powdered cloves

½ tsp powdered cardamom

Salt

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup oil

¼ cup orange juice

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups grated carrots

¼ cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with paper baking cups.

Put the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, powdered cloves, cardamom, and salt in a bowl and mix.

In a large bowl, mix the sugar, oil, orange juice, vanilla extract and eggs.

Combine the dry and wet ingredients. Stir in the grated carrots and walnuts and mix well.

Divide the batter among the muffin cups and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the cupcakes are lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

I skipped the cream cheese frosting in the original recipe and used nutella instead.

Lemon Cupcakes With A Greek Yogurt Topping

I made these cupcakes last night as an after-dinner treat. I’d made a dozen of these yesterday but I only have four left now, less than a day later!
The cupcakes have a wonderful flavor and a fresh, tart taste that comes from adding both lemon zest and lemon juice to the batter.

(For 12 cupcakes)
Dry Ingredients:
1 and 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
¾ tsp baking powder
¾ tsp baking soda
A pinch of salt

Wet ingredients:
2 eggs
1 cup brown sugar
¼ cup oil
¼ cup buttermilk
Freshly squeezed lemon juice (I used 2 lemons)
Grated lemon zest (2 lemons)

For the topping:
Greek Yogurt (I used this)
Honey
Lemon juice
Lemon zest

Method:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.

Mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, brown sugar, oil, buttermilk, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. With a rubber spatula, make sure it's all incorporated.

Spoon the batter into the muffin tray, filling each paper-lined cup till it is three-fourths full. Bake for 20-22 minutes or so till the tops of the cakes are nice and golden brown or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean.

Allow the cupcakes to cool a bit before topping.
For the topping, combine Greek yogurt, honey, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a bowl. Mix well till smooth. Spread over the tops of the cupcakes.

Chocolate And Prune Cupcakes

After seeing this post on Lucullian Delights, I made a mental note to pick up some prunes during my next trip to the grocery store. I brought home a pack of prunes over the weekend and wasted no time in trying Ilva’s recipe out.

(Recipe adapted from here)

Ingredients:
(For approximately 6 cupcakes)
4 oz Hershey's baking chocolate
2 Tbsp butter
1 egg
¼ cup brown sugar
6 Tbsp all purpose flour
7-8 prunes, chopped
A pinch of salt

Method:
In a microwave safe bowl, melt the chocolate and the butter. Mix well.

Whisk together the egg and sugar. Add to the slightly cooled chocolate-butter mixture and mix. Incorporate the flour into the batter and stir until smooth.

Toss in the chopped prunes and mix to bring everything together.

Spoon the batter into a muffin pan. (I used a 6-cup pan.)
Bake for 10 minutes or until set but still soft in the center. Serve warm.


Prunes are a fantastic addition to the recipe and the chocolate-prune combination was absolutely fabulous. In my opinion, the prunes helped to intensify the chocolate flavor. I know that I will be making this very often.

Chocolate Cupcakes