Carrot Cupcakes

[fitfool]

Want an easy recipe that produces a moist, just sweet enough cupcake? One that sneaks in 3 cups of carrots so you can even try to tell yourself it's healthy?

I saw this recipe for carrot cake on allrecipes.com and just had to try it. Over 750 users had rated it an average of 5 stars so that's gotta be good, right? Many, many of them had modified it and I used most of their suggestions and tried to trim the oil and sugar as best as I could. I've never baked a cake before but this seemed well within my reach. Afterwards I was quizzing my boyfriend, Brian, on what things I could've changed.

Me: Did you taste any baking soda or baking powder? Some users complained about that so I reduced the amounts.
B: Nope...I didn't taste any of that.
Me: How about sugar? I dropped it to 1.5 cups sugar instead of 2. Was it sweet enough?
B: Yes...it was perfect.
Me: Do you think I could reduce the sugar?
B: No...it was perfect.
Me: Do you know what eggs do in cake? Do you think I could reduce it to 3 eggs instead of 4?
B: (reaching for another one) Whatever you did this time was perfect. I wouldn't change a single thing with that recipe.

Carrot Cupcakes
Yields: 18 cupcakes

INGREDIENTS:
4 eggs  
1/2 cups vegetable oil  (I might try 1/4 cup veg. oil and 1 cup applesauce next time)
3/4 cup applesauce
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
    
3 cups shredded carrots (I might increase this to 3.5 cups next time)
1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans (optional)
1/2 cup raisins (optional)
 

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour the cupcakes/muffin tin.  (Use a 9x13-inch pan if you want to make a single cake.)
   
   
2. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil (and applesauce), brown and white sugars and 3 teaspoons vanilla.
   
   
3. Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
   
   
4. Stir in carrots. If using, fold in pecans and raisins. Pour into prepared pan.
   
   
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely

NOTES:

• This was adapted from http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Carrot-Cake-III/Detail.aspx
  
  
• These are moist and tricky to get out of the pan. On one set, I sprayed it with vegetable oil and sprinkled flour.  On the other pan, I rubbed butter around and sprinkled flour. The one that had been sprayed was much easier to get out of the pan without ripping the cupcakes apart. Maybe I didn't butter it enough but the cupcakes stuck to the pan more on the buttered pan.
  
  
• For a timesaving tip, many of the commenters on the original recipe reported buying the pre-shredded carrots at the grocery store and used those with no problem.
  
  
• If you fill the muffin tins to the top, they will overflow the top and the tops might merge together. Better to leave a little room at the top. I could have filled mine up a little more than what's shown in the photo below.
  
  
• I didn't make the icing but the original recipe also includes directions for making a cream cheese and butter icing. Many of the comments said they reduced the amount of confectioners' sugar.
  
  
• I used fitday.com to calculate the nutritional info for this recipe. What a pain!  I can't imagine having to add that stuff up for everything I cook.
  
  
• So...are the other substitutions feasible? Can I use just 3 eggs instead of 4? How about changing the ratio of applesauce and vegetable oil? I'm pretty sure increasing the amount of carrots to 3.5 cups is probably ok but I didn't do it this time since I got tired of shredding carrots.

Batter poured into the tins. I could've filled them up a little more.


YUM!  Here are the finished cupcakes


I broke one apart so you could see the inside

Nutritional Info per cupcake

	grams	calories	% of total
Fat:	9.8	88.1	36%
Saturated	1.2	10.6	4%
Polyunsaturated	5.2	46.7	19%
Monounsaturated	2.8	24.9	10%
Carbohydrates	36.3	138.1	57%
Fiber	1.8	0	0%
Protein	3.5	14	6%
Alcohol	0.2	1.7	1%

TOTALS: 242.5 calories, 9.8g fat, 36.3g carb, 3.5g protein


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Comments

[razz.livejournal.com]

These look fantastic, too! As for your substitutions, I'm going to make some educated guesses here. Among other things, eggs bind, leaven, and add flavor--usually richness. You could try omitting one, but you might end up with denser, less rich cake. Adjusting the oil, applesauce, and carrot amounts will change the moisture in your recipe. If you do reduce the oil, it may not stay moist as long, but if you eat it up quickly, it may not matter. Adding more applesauce and carrot, though, may make your cupcakes a bit mushy. It would be interesting to try, though!

Hooray for fitday! I used to use that, too. =)

[marathoner452.livejournal.com]

Those look delicious. I wonder if I could substitute bananas for some of the oil, since I have a bunch of bananas in the freezer.

[smoochie.livejournal.com]

oh WOW !

perhaps i could use these in my cafe' ???? i'll give them a try !!!

i just posted, can you check it out for me ???

thanks ! glad to see you posting ! :)

[normalcyispasse.livejournal.com]

I was all set to hate you. Really, I was. "Argh!" I thought. "I love carrot cake, but baking in Korea sucks because you can NEVER find the ingredients you need!" I've experimented for years but sometimes substitutions just don't work, and there are many, many things you can't find here.

Then I looked at the recipe. "Wait," I thought, "I can get all of those things except for vanilla extract and pecans -- and I have some vanilla extract I brought from America, and I can use almonds!" Hurrah! Today I will bake a carrot cake, and it will be delicious!

[jessacord.livejournal.com]

Yummy! I agree with razz on the eggs, but if you are trying to cut cholesterol and not adversely affect texture you could do reduce the number of whole eggs and substitute egg whites for some -- not all -- the eggs. Fitday and a lot of other similar sites are kind of a pain to use, but unfortunately I can't think of another program or website that is available for free and more user friendly.

[carmen-5354.livejournal.com]

thanks for the recipe! i was wondering what to make for classes this week - will definitely try it out (seeing as i have a bunch of carrots in the fridge!)

[angelninas.livejournal.com]

I think I'll try to make this in a gluten free version! Thanks for sharing :)

[stubby-toes.livejournal.com]

These look amazing!!

[2c-tom.livejournal.com]

I used to work at a place that had a chef on-site, and she used to bake carrot raisin muffins that had walnuts, I think. They were darker in color. I think maybe she used bran flour(?). Or maybe dark molasses? Anyways - they were great, and the tops got almost crispy - if that makes sense. These look good. Thanks for sharing the formulas.

[crimson-singer.livejournal.com]

Wow, those look amazing.

Do you think I could use melted butter instead of the vegetabe/canola/whateveryouwant oil?

[ala-too.livejournal.com]

These look yummy. I'm going to make these for breakfast next week. Thanks for posting them.

I have a cheap program (MasterCook) which stores my recipes, creates my weekly shopping list, and gives me nutritional information. So for $20 it's much easier.

Oh yes, definitely there are other substitutions you can do. It rather depends on your goal. I watch calories so, as is this recipe is too high in calories for me, I immediately altered it to decrease the calories.

You could use 3 eggs instead of 4 but I'd suggest substituting egg whites instead of getting rid of the eggs entirely. That decreases the calories and cholesterol while leaving the binding agent. You could probably get rid of all of them without noticing. The eggs here seem to be a binding rather than creating richness. I make a carrot cake with only egg whites and its plenty rich.

I'd leave the ratio of applesauce to oil. I find that baked goods get too sticky with too much applesauce. This looks like a good ratio. Alternatively, substitute prune baby food for the oil. That seems to provide the chemical goodness of oil without the sticky side affect. I have a killer carrot cake recipe which does just that.

What I would do is use unsweetened applesauce. Less calories and you've already got 1.5 cups (!) of sugar to sweeten them. You might consider substituting Splenda for the sugar.

Here is my, lightened version of your very yummy looking recipe.


* Exported from MasterCook *

Carrot Cupcakes

Recipe By :The Sour Dough with adaptions by Moonaloon
Serving Size : 18 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories :
Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 Large Egg
6 Whole Egg White
1/2 cups Baby Food Prunes -- (I might try 1/4 cup veg. oil and 1 cup applesauce next time)
3/4 cup Unsweetened Applesauce
3/4 cup Splenda
3/4 cup brown sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
3 cups Shredded Carrots -- (I might increase this to 3.5 cups next time)
3/4 Cup Raisins -- was 1/2
1/4 Cup Pecan -- toasted; was 1/2; optional

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour the
cupcakes/muffin tin. (Use a 9x13-inch pan if you want to make a single
cake.)

2. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, brown and white sugars and
3 teaspoons vanilla.

3. Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and
nutmeg.

4. Stir in carrots. If using, fold in pecans and raisins. Pour into
prepared pan.

5. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a
toothpick inserted into the center of the cake. Let cool in pan for 10
minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely

Source:
"Moonaloon (moondroplette) wrote in bakebakebake
http://community.livejournal.com/bakebakebake/917341.html?view=1050377
#t10503773"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 132 Calories; 1g Fat (10.0%
calories from fat); 3g Protein; 27g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 10mg
Cholesterol; 237mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1/2 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 1/2
Vegetable; 1/2 Fruit; 0 Fat; 1/2 Other Carbohydrates.


Nutr. Assoc. : 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

[ala-too.livejournal.com]

These look yummy. I'm going to make these for breakfast next week. Thanks for posting them.

I have a cheap program (MasterCook) which stores my recipes, creates my weekly shopping list, and gives me nutritional information. So for $20 it's much easier.

Oh yes, definitely there are other substitutions you can do. It rather depends on your goal. I watch calories so, as is this recipe is too high in calories for me, I immediately altered it to decrease the calories.

You could try 3 eggs instead of 4 but I'd go with others suggestion of egg whites instead of removing the eggs entirely. That decreases the calories and cholesterol while leaving the binding agent. You could probably get remove of all of them without noticing. The eggs here seem to be a binding rather than creating richness. I make a carrot cake with only egg whites and its plenty rich. I left one in just in case there is a richness component.

I'd leave the ratio of applesauce to oil. I find that baked goods get too sticky with too much applesauce. This looks like a good ratio. Alternatively, substitute prune baby food for the oil. That seems to provide a good fat substitute without the sticky side affect. I have a killer carrot cake recipe which does just that. No one ever knows.

What I would do is use unsweetened applesauce. Less calories and you've already got 1.5 cups(!) of sugar to sweeten them. You might consider substituting Splenda for the sugar.

Here is my, lightened version of your very yummy looking recipe.


* Exported from MasterCook *

Carrot Cupcakes

Recipe By :itfool ([info]fitfool) with adaptions by ala_too http://fitfool.livejournal.com/122118.html?view=1168902#t1168902
Serving Size : 18 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : 2 points Bread Breakfast
Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 Large Egg
6 Whole Egg White
1/2 cups Baby Food Prunes -- (I might try 1/4 cup veg. oil and 1 cup applesauce next time)
3/4 cup Unsweetened Applesauce
3/4 cup Splenda
3/4 cup brown sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
3 cups Shredded Carrots -- (I might increase this to 3.5 cups next time)
3/4 Cup Raisins -- was 1/2
1/4 Cup Pecan -- toasted; was 1/2; optional

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour the
cupcakes/muffin tin. (Use a 9x13-inch pan if you want to make a single
cake.)

2. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, brown and white sugars and
3 teaspoons vanilla.

3. Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and
nutmeg.

4. Stir in carrots. If using, fold in pecans and raisins. Pour into
prepared pan.

5. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a
toothpick inserted into the center of the cake. Let cool in pan for 10
minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely

Source:
"Moonaloon (moondroplette) wrote in bakebakebake
http://community.livejournal.com/bakebakebake/917341.html?view=1050377
#t10503773"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 132 Calories; 1g Fat (10.0%
calories from fat); 3g Protein; 27g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 10mg
Cholesterol; 237mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1/2 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 1/2
Vegetable; 1/2 Fruit; 0 Fat; 1/2 Other Carbohydrates.


Nutr. Assoc. : 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0