My first time baking Carrot cupcake

After reading a mouth-watering post of a carrot cupcake, I set out to buy ingredients. I bought flour, cream cheese, butter, carrot, apple, almonds, confectioners sugar and even a Wilton decorating cupcake set. Frankly, I'm not a detail-oriented person and I have no patience to focus on little things. I never ever used a tip to decorate cupcakes before in my life, but I wanted to try new things, so here I go :)

It's not easy at first to use a tip because the icing melts so quickly in the summer.  I had to put it in the freezer for 15 - 20 mins to cool it first then put it in a pastry bag to decorate. It's the first time I baked cupcakes and if I can do it, so can you :)

Here is the recipe for you to try (Apdapted from Food network)

Makes 12 cupcakes.

Carrot Cupcakes:

1 1/3 cups (175 grams) all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup walnuts or almond chopped

2 large eggs

1/4 cup organic sugar

2/3 cup canola oil

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2/3 cup grated apple or crushed pineapple

1 1/3 cups  finely grated raw carrots

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1/4 cup (55 grams) butter, room temperature

4 ounces (115 grams) cream cheese, room temperature

1 1//4 cups confectioners' (powdered or icing) sugar sifted (because I dont eat too sweet, normaly, they use 2 1/4 cup confectioners sugar)

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 tablespoon of lime juice (My invention). It makes the frosting tastier

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Lightly butter (or spray with a non stick Olive oil spray) or line 12 muffin cups with paper liners. In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and ground cinnamon. Fold in the chopped walnuts/almond.
In another large bowl whisk the eggs until lightly beaten. Then whisk in the sugar, oil, and vanilla extract until slightly thickened. Fold in the apples and grated carrots. Then fold this mixture into the flour mixture until incorporated. Evenly fill the 12 muffin cups with the batter and bake about 20 - 23 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Remove from the oven, place on a wire rack, and let cool completely before frosting. 

Frosting: In the bowl of your electric stand mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese until very smooth and creamy. Add the powdered sugar and beat until fully incorporated and smooth. Beat in the vanilla extract and lime juice. Add more confectioners sugar if needed. Pipe the frosting on the top of each cupcake. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate the cupcakes until serving time. Can be stored in the refrigerator for several days.