Unanimity for the carrot

The theme chosen by Zorra for her monthly blog event is dessert buffet. I thought first cupcakes were a good way to participate for the first time...

I had some serious doubts before baking these cupcakes. Oh, not about the fact that I would like them. No, I'm not anymore the little girl who inevitably said to her grandmother "Kuchen mit Mohren?? Beurk. I mag doch keine Gemüse." ("A cake with carrots? Sounds disgusting. I don't even like vegetables" And yes, this is German, hence the simplified phrase construction I only was able to use...and still am). I've become a lot more curious (and I've learned to enjoy vegetables, but that's another story), and a cake with carrots sounded strange enough for me to try!

It was 8 years ago. I was working in the bakery of a restaurant in Wisconsin. My main task was to prepare the donuts, and the cookies to sell, but we also prepared 2 different types of cake for dessert : chocolate cake with a chocolate mousse and buttercream frosting, and carrot cake with a cream cheese and pineapple frosting.

I remember that working with food all day, in a room at 100°F, really did spoil my appetite. So even though I could eat whatever I wanted in the restaurant, I did not really take advantage of it. But before leaving, I had to try the cake...

Of course, I loved it. The cake was moist and slightly spicy, with a hint of ginger and cinnamon. The sweet frosting was even better, and I loved the freshness the pineapple brought to it. My grandmother was so right!

So now, I try to convert the one doubting. Carrot cakes are more and more popular in France, so it becomes an easier task. But cupcakes don't have such a good reputation : lots of cream / frosting and multiple colors tend to scare people away. It's amazing how different a bakery window is in the US and in France. With my all-American cupcakes, would I have any success?

Well, it turns out, these cupcakes unite the national preferences and bring them together! My colleagues (French and Romanian) loved them. My parents (French and German) and grand parents (add Belgium to the pool) loved them. Even my Italian family, who was visiting last week, loved them.

Will you add some nationalities to the list? Tell me...

Carrot Cupcakes
Adapted from Garrett, on Simply Recipes
The frosting being by nature very sweet, I cut down the sugar in the cake. If you like it sweeter, the original recipe calls for 2 cups. I also removed the cinnamon because one of my tester doesn't like it, but you could use it instead of tonka.

1 pound carrots
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 orange zest
1/2 vanilla bean
1 cup oil
3 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon ground tonka bean

For the frosting
1/2 cup butter, softened
8 oz Philadelphia cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Peel and grate the carrots.
Mix carrots, buttermilk, oil, sugar, eggs, vanilla seeds and orange zest together.
Fold the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cardamom, and tonka in one addition into the carrot mixture, being sure not to overmix*.
Scoop into cupcake papers about 1/2 to 3/4 full and bake for 19-21 minutes at 350F. The baking time depends on your muffin size. The big ones in the pictures were in the oven for 20 minutes, but the little ones were done after 12 minutes of baking. Allow to cool before frosting.

Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Sift powdered sugar into the bowl and beat until smooth. The sieve is important to avoid any lump.
Fill a pastry bag with the frosting. Holding pastry bag vertically over cakes, pipe frosting on top of every cupcake (touching top of cake) to resemble soft-serve ice cream. If desired, decorate with colored sprinkles.
Here's a link for an "how to" frost cupcakes.
Keep in the fridge until serving.

* When the flour is exposed to liquids and stirred around, the gluten (protein) in the flour starts to develop into a network that will give the cake its structure. An excessive mixing of the dough will therefore make baked goods tough and "rubbery".
So when a recipe instructs you not to overmix, what it means is that you should just do the minimum amount of mixing necessary to make a uniform dough.


Cupcakes aux carottes
Adapté de Garrett, sur Simply Recipes
J'ai utilisé de la fève tonka car certaines personnes n'aiment pas la cannelle, mais si ce n'est pas votre cas, je vous recommande de l'utiliser à la place de la tonka (plus difficile à trouver en plus...).

400g de carottes
300g de sucre
12,5 cl de lait
1 cuillère à café de jus de citron
le zeste d'une demi orange
les graines d'une demi gousse de vanille
25cl d'huile végétale
3 oeufs
375g de farine
1/2 sachet de levure
1 pincée de sel
1 cuillère à café de cardamome moulue
1 cuillère à café de fève tonka râpée

Pour le glaçage
250g de fromage à tartiner (type St Moret), à température ambiante
100g de beurre ramolli
100g de sucre glace

Préchauffez le four à 180°.

Epluchez et râpez les carottes.
Versez le lait et le jus de citron dans un petit récipient et laissez à température ambiante pendant 10 minutes. Cela sert comme substitut au lait fermenté.
Battez les oeufs, le lait fermenté, l'huile, le sucre, les carottes, les graines de vanille et le zeste d'orange pendant 2 minutes.
Ajoutez d'un coup la farine, la levure, le sel et les épices à travers un tamis. Incorporez le tout au batteur, en faisant attention à ne pas mélanger trop longtemps*.

Versez l'appareil dans les moules à cupcakes, et faites cuire environ 20 minutes (selon la taille des moules).
Laissez refroidir avant d'appliquer le glaçage.

Pour le glaçage :

Battez le beurre ramolli avec le fromage, jusqu'à ce qu'il soit bien souple. Ajoutez ensuite le sucre, en le passant à travers un tamis pour éviter tout grumeau.
Décorez vos cupcakes avec le glaçage (avec une poche à douille ou tout simplement une spatule).
Conservez au frigo jusqu'au moment de servir.

* Lorsque la farine est ajoutée à des ingrédients liquides et mélangée, le gluten qu'elle contient développe une sorte de réseau collant et élastique. C'est ce réseau qui permet d'obtenir la texture du gâteau. Si la pâte est trop mélangée, on aura des gâteaux et muffins caoutchouteux ou une pâte brisée dure à cause du gluten qui aura pris trop de "force".