Pumpkin Spice Carrot Cupcakes

I made these fantastic cupcakes for a little picnic in Sleepy Hollow,  New York, with a few friends. We had a dry cider and I made a simple olive tapenade and mushroom pâté, but wanted to have an autumn-spiced treat to get in the Halloween spirit… even though it’s over a month away.

I like pull out the pumpkin spice at the very first sign of yellow in the trees and a crisp in the air!

Here’s the Process

1. First, we’ll plump the raisins in rum.
2. Then, we’ll mix dry ingredients.
3. Next, we’ll throw some carrots in the food processor.
4. Then we’ll mix everything together and bake the batter.
5. Finally, we’ll make the frosting and frost the cupcakes.

How to Make These Cupcakes – Step by Step

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. (175 C.) and put out 4 oz. salted butter to soften (for the frosting). Add ½ cup of dark rum and ½ cup of raisins to a sauce pan. Simmer on MEDIUM heat for 5 minutes, then turn off the heat. Let them sit and absorb the rum while you prepare your other ingredients.

2. In a mixing bowl, add 1 cup. flour, 1 tsp. baking soda, ½ tsp. baking powder, ½ cup granulated white sugar, ¼ cup brown sugar, 1½ tsp. pumpkin spice and ¼ tsp. salt. Whisk together. You may want to pour ingredients through a mesh strainer and push the brown sugar through if it appears clumpy.

3. Chop 2 medium carrots in a food processor or grate them until you have 1½ cups of grated/finely chopped carrot (see #3 in the photo for texture).

4. In a separate mixing bowl, stir carrots and ⅔ cup of vegetable oil until nicely mixed. Then, add the carrots and rum raisins to your other bowl and stir.

5. Add 2 beaten eggs to the mixture and stir until you have a nice batter.

6. Grease a cupcake tin with butter and fill each cup half-way, making sure to evenly distribute the raisins between the cups. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until edges are brown and the tops are spongy and not sticky. When cupcakes are done, allow them to cool for 15 minutes before frosting. While the cupcakes bake, make your frosting.

This is how your cupcakes should look when they’re done. A little brown around the edges and spongy on top, not sticky.

How to Make Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting – Step by Step

1. In a mixing bowl, combine 8 oz. of cream cheese, 4 oz. of softened salted butter, 1¼ cups of powdered sugar and 1 tsp. of real vanilla extract. Use a spoon to chop the cream cheese into the powdered sugar a bit so that when you mix with a hand mixer, the sugar doesn’t fly all over your kitchen. With a hand-mixer, whip the frosting together until nice and smooth.

2. Place a pastry tip in a pastry piping bag and use a twisty-tie or string to seal it above the tip.

3. Place the bag upright in a jar and fold over the top edges for easy filling and sealing. Spoon in 2 large spoons of frosting, press it down into the bottom, then add a ½ tbsp. drizzle of salted caramel.

4. Add two more big spoons of frosting, then another drizzle of salted caramel. You can be a little sloppy, it makes for a nicer marble. Keep adding layers until your pastry bag is full. Lift it out of the jar, remove the tie and frost your beautiful cupcakes!

A Few Tips

1. If you don’t want to use rum for the raisins…

Whisky works just as well and is just as tasty. You can also use brandy or cognac, they’ll just be a little more intensely flavored. You can also simply use water to plump the raisins if you don’t want to use alcohol.

2. Keep in mind, bake times may vary from oven to oven.

Check the cupcakes after 13 minutes in the oven. You’ll know they’re done when the edges are lightly brown and the tops are spongy. If they’re still still sticky or the edges aren’t quite brown, leave them in for 3-5 more minutes.

A Little More Sweet Autumn Inspiration

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