Back To The Old House

I attempted to bake again even after all my other failed attempts beforehand. I've been craving carrot cupcakes lately.. so that's what I made. These are a little bit sweeter than traditional carrot cupcakes because of the orange juice and orange zest, but still delicious!

William Sonoma Carrot Cupcakes

Ingredients:

1⁄3 cup butter, at room temperature
3⁄4 cup granulated sugar
1 Tbs. maple syrup or honey
1 Tbs. finely grated orange zest
2 eggs
1 cup grated carrot
1 cup plus 2 Tbs. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
7 Tbs. fresh orange juice, warmed
1 tsp. baking soda

Directions:

Preheat an oven to 350°F. Line 10 standard muffin cups withpaper liners.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the butter, granulated sugar, maple syrup and orange zest until pale and creamy. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Stir in the carrot.

In a bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder. In another small bowl, stir together the orange juice and baking soda. Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture in two additions, alternating with the orange juice mixture in two additions until smooth. Do not overbeat or the cupcakes will be tough.

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Bake until the cupcakes are risen and lightly golden, about 20 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let the cupcakes cool for 10 minutes, then turn them out onto a baking sheet and let cool completely, about 1 hour.

To make the mascarpone icing, in the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the butter and confectioners sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in the lemon zest and mascarpone until blended.

When the cupcakes are cool, frost them and garnish with strips of driedmango. Cupcakes may be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Makes 10 cupcakes.

And for the icing I used Wilton Buttercream.