The same thing happened this week when I found this recipe for carrot cake cupcakes with marscarpone cream cheese frosting on the Williams Sonoma website. I had visions of cupcake wars worthy cupcakes that would be placed on a pedestal in the center of our Easter table. I pictured deliciously moist cupcakes, lightly frosted with a creamy frosting and topped with beautifully toasted coconut nests with tiny chocolate eggs nestled inside. Unfortunately what I ended up with was something completely different than the image that I had pictured in my mind. Sure, they look fine - but I had visions of a much more grand and elegant cupcake.
Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Marscarpone Frosting
1/3 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon maple syrup
1 Tablespoon orange zest
2 eggs
1 cup grated carrot
1 cup + 2 Tablespoons flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
7 Tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 teaspoon baking soda
Marscarpone Frosting
6 Tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
4 ounces cold marscarpone
Preheat oven to 350. Line 10 muffin cups with paper liners.
Beat butter, sugar, syrup and orange zest until pale and
creamy.
Add eggs, one at a time.
Stir in carrots.
Stir together orange juice and baking soda.
Stir together flour and baking powder. Add flour mixture to butter in 2 additions, alternating with juice.
Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups. Bake 20 minutes.
The cupcakes were good but I thought they lacked a little salt. I did use salted butter in the recipe but I should have added a little extra salt to the flour mixture. I really liked how the the orange zest paired with the carrot flavor in the cake though.
For icing, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in lemon zest and marscarpone. Frost cupcakes.
I wanted to create a little coconut "nest" on top of each cupcake so I started by toasting my coconut. Since I had visions of elegant and formal looking cupcakes, I decided against dying the coconut green.
As I started to build my coconut nests, I realized that they were not going to stay together. I ended up just piling the toasted coconut on top of the marscarpone frosting.
Part of the reason that I think that they don't look as dressy as I had hoped, is that cupcake liners that I chose to use are not very elegant.
Perhaps if I had chosen a plain white or a black liner, it would have dressed my cupcakes up a bit more.
The cupcakes weren't a total loss, even though I deemed them unworthy of my Easter table, I knew that I could send them to school with my daughter this week. Teenagers are not really interested in elegant or formal looking food anyway so these are the perfect snack. I think the kids are going to love them even though they didn't turn out exactly what I had intended them to look like.
Ciao!
Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Marscarpone Frosting
1/3 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon maple syrup
1 Tablespoon orange zest
2 eggs
1 cup grated carrot
1 cup + 2 Tablespoons flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
7 Tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 teaspoon baking soda
Marscarpone Frosting
6 Tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
4 ounces cold marscarpone
Preheat oven to 350. Line 10 muffin cups with paper liners. Beat butter, sugar, syrup and orange zest until pale and creamy. Add eggs, one at a time. Stir in carrots. Stir together orange juice and baking soda. Stir together flour and baking powder. Add flour mixture to butter in 2 additions, alternating with juice. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups. Bake 20 minutes.
For icing, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in lemon zest and marscarpone. Frost cupcakes.
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