Carrot Cupcakes

with Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese Icing 

By Julie Vision in the Kitchen

Yield about 28 standard cupcakes

Cake:

2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, melted and cooled

4 eggs

2 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon allspice

3 cups finely grated carrots

1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Icing

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

2 pounds confectioners sugar

1 contents of one vanilla bean

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons milk or cream

For the cake:

Step #1 - Preheat oven to 400*F.

Step #2 - Mix butter, sugar and eggs together until mixture is smooth  Make sure the butter is cooled, or else you run the risk of cooking the eggs.

Step #3 - In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. 

Step #4 - Add flour mixture to butter mixture. Mix until well incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Step #5 - Add carrots and walnuts. Mix well with a spoon, not a mixer.

Step #6 - Bake for 7 minutes at 400*, then reduce heat to 350* and back for an additional 7-10 min, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 

For the icing:

Scrape out the contents of the vanilla bean with a knife or spoon and discard the husk. (I like to throw my husks in either a container of sugar to lend a vanilla flavor to the sugar, or in a bottle of vodka.) If you do not have a vanilla bean, just add an additional tablespoon of vanilla extract. Mix all the ingredients together with a mixer and additional milk/sugar to get desired consistency.  This recipe makes a lot of icing, since I like to pipe it on thick. I piped mine using a Wilton 1M tip. If you are spreading it and not piping, you can cut the recipe in half.