Last year I went to an event/competition called Cupcake Camp.

Lots of us brought one or two dozen cupcakes, a few winners were chosen, and hundreds of cupcakes were consumed. I wasn’t too crushed that I didn’t win, as professionals from cupcake shops and people who bought theirs at the supermarket were allowed to enter along with the amateurs. I just noticed that it’s happening again in DC next month, but now costs money, you have to bring at least 3 dozen, and there are not that many spots for amateurs. I’ll probably pass.

Everything brought within arm's reach of the crowd immediately disappeared.

One of the great things about last year’s was that so very many people had brought cupcakes that you ended up making friends with people standing near you so that you could share cupcakes to be able to try more flavors. I met a nice couple near the start, and for the next few hours we tried a third of every kind of cupcake we could grab. Only because of them did I try this cupcake.

I normally hate carrot cake and refuse to eat it, but when a bit of this one was waved at my face, I at first didn’t even recognize it was carrot cake. This particular recipe makes a much lighter yellow cupcake than the brown I generally picture, and doesn’t have any random fruit mucking things up. I ended up loving the cupcake, and so did the judges – it came in second. Happily, the people behind Cupcake Camp DC got the recipe, and posted it on their website. My friend Brooke came over recently and I finally tried making it myself. Just as good as I remembered! Huzzah for that.

For the cupcakes:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 3 cups finely shredded carrots
• 1 cup Mazola oil
• 4 extra-large eggs (I just used 5 …standardly large eggs. Worked fine.)

For the frosting:

• 3-oz softened cream cheese
• 1/4 cup softened butter
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 cups sifted powdered sugar

Happily, this is another really fast recipe to throw together. Once the carrots are grated, these can be in the oven in minutes! I would definitely suggest peeling your carrots before grating, and then using the smallest holes your grater has. The finer shred makes the fact you’re eating vegetables much less noticeable!

Brooke does the hard part.

Once your carrots are grated, sift together your dry ingredients in one bowl, and beat your wet ingredients together in another bowl. Carrots count as wet, here.

Carrots, eggs, and oil.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and beat for two minutes. This makes a much thinner cupcake batter than I was used to, but it baked up fine.

Spoon into a lined cupcake tin, filling 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 25-28 minutes, and then let cool on a wire rack. This makes 24-26 cupcakes. If you’re baking two trays at once, it’s not a bad idea to rotate halfway through and add a minute or two to your baking time to help them cook evenly.

Once the cupcakes are cooled, make the frosting by combining the cream cheese, softened butter, and vanilla. Add the powdered sugar and beat until light and creamy.

Yum!

No weird fruit, or other hard to identify ingredients.

Carrot cake I will eat. Who would have guessed?!

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

From Beth F., second place winner at Cupcake Camp DC 2010.

Cupcakes:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 3 cups finely shredded carrots
• 1 cup Mazola oil
• 4 extra-large eggs

Frosting:

• 3-oz softened cream cheese
• 1/4 cup softened butter
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 cups sifted powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line two cupcake pans.

Sift together dry ingredients. Mix together wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Pour wet mixture into dry and beat 2 minutes. Spoon into liners until 3/4 full and bake 25-28 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Beat together cream cheese, butter, and vanilla, and then add powdered sugar. Beat until fluffy, and then frost cupcakes.