Ooey Gooey Carrot Cupcake Recipe

Here's the winning recipe from today's cupcake tasting:

Cupcakes:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 Tb ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 Tb vanilla
• 3 cups shredded carrots
• 8 oz. crushed pineapple, juice drained but reserved
• 1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine eggs, both sugars, buttermilk, oil and vanilla and mix until well combined. Add in spices and other dry ingredients. Stir in carrots, pineapple and nuts by hand. Batter will be quite runny, but do your best to scoop it into muffin pans lined with cupcake papers. Fill the cups almost to the top because batter does not rise much. Bake for 20 minutes, until browned on top. While cakes are still warm in muffin pans, poke holes in top with toothpick or fork and drizzle with buttermilk glaze (below). Let cool and frost with Pineapple Cream Cheese frosting (below)

Buttermilk Glaze:

• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 3 Tb granulated sugar
• 1 Tb light corn syrup
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

Combine all ingredients in saucepan over low-medium heat until smooth and simmer for 5 minutes, being careful not to get it too hot or glaze will break and separate.

Pineapple Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 2 Tb unsalted butter, softened
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1-2 Tb drained pineapple juice
• 3 1/2 to 3 3/4 cups confectioners' (powdered) sugar

Combine all ingredients in bowl of electric mixer, using only 1 Tb of the pineapple juice to begin. After mixture starts to come together, add more juice or sugar, depending on desired consistency.

Based on recipe from American Home Cooking, by Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison.

carrot cake cupcake