Carrots seem to be the least expensive vegetable on the market so we always have a lot of them on hand. You can, however, get mighty tired of steamed carrots with dinner too many evenings of the week. My goal in life is to find different ways to use this healthy vegetable and keep it interesting and tasty. The most popular use of carrot has always been carrot cake. Carrot cake, it turns out, is one of the most fattening desserts out there probably because of the cup of oil that the recipe calls of and the cream cheese frosting. I'm learning to substitute ingredients to bring the fat level down and still make an enjoyable dish. Here is my offering of the day!
Carrot Orange Pineapple Cupcakes
1 cup granulated sugar
6 tablespoons of your favorite vegetable oil
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon orange extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
Dash of nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups finely shredded carrots
1/2 cup diced, dried pineapple bits
1 tablespoon freshly grated orange zest
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line your muffin tin with cupcake papers. This recipe should make 20-24 cupcakes depending on the size of your tin, etc.
Combine all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir to mix throughly. Fill the muffin cup about half full to allow for rising and bake for approximately 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cupcake comes out without any wet crumbs. Cool in the muffin tin for about ten minutes and then remove the cupcakes to a rack to comple cooling.
Orange Frosting
3 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon orange extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 stick softened butter
1/4 cup shortening
2 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest
Fresh orange juice as needed
Combine the powdered sugar, extracts, butter, and shortening in a mixing bowl and beat to combine. A drops of orange juice as needed to form a spreadable frosting. If you put in too much, don't worry, just add some more powdered sugar. When you have the consistency you want, mix in the orange zest, and frost your cupcakes!
Ideas . . .
No pineapple? Leave it out!
Like some crunch? Add 1/4 -1/2 cup chopped nuts.
Treating the children? Add some chocolate chips.
Dried cranberries go will in this cupcake.
You can even sneak in some crushed bran cereal to the mix.
Still want a cream cheese frosting? Use non-fat cream cheese instead of the butter and shortening.
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