Recipes: Carrot Cupcakes

Prep Time: 1 hr    Bake Time: 25 min    Makes 24 cupcakes

Ingredients

Cupcakes
2 cups shredded carrots (about 3 carrots)

1  cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 cup brown sugar

3 eggs

Frosting

6 tablespoons cream cheese

1/4 cup mascarpone cheese

1/4 cup crystallized ginger

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup sliced almonds

Fondant

Food coloring

Pre packaged fondant
(Visit the techniques section of the Cooking With Weston Recipe book for tips on dying fondant)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Sift together dry ingredients for the cupcakes. Beat in eggs and mix in carrot shreds. Scoop into cupcake liners using an ice cream scoop. Bake for 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out fairly clean (these cupcakes are ultra moist, so you will get a little cake on the toothpick).

Let cupcakes cool. Blend together cream cheese, mascarpone cheese, crystallized ginger, cinnamon, and sliced almonds. With the nozzle of a Weston Jerky Gun, remove the centers of the cakes. Fill the Weston Jerky Gun with the frosting. Insert the nozzle of the gun into the centers of the cake and pull the trigger of the gun, filling the cakes with frosting. With a small spatula, spread a little of the frosting onto the cakes.

Visit the techniques section of the Cooking With Weston Recipe Book for tips on dying fondant. Roll out fondant with a Roma by Weston Pasta Machine (electric or manual - both work) and lay on parchment paper. With a round cookie cutter or a measuring cup (measuring cups are typically the exact size of a "cup"cake), cut out fondant and adhere to cupcakes (the light layer of the frosting will help the fondant adhere to the cake). With mini cookie cutters, cut out fondant shapes and adhere to tops of cupcakes.