Carrot Cupcakes and Disneyland

During the week I was in California, I had grand plans to bake four different kinds of cupcakes with my family. However, we ended up being pretty busy most of the time I was there, and I only baked one batch of cupcakes while I was there. But, I have to say, they turned out to be some of my favorites.

Before leaving for California, I talked to my sister-in-law, Maria, about which cupcake recipe she wanted to make. She decided on carrot cupcakes because carrot cake is my brother's favorite, and that's the kind of wife she is. I would also like to point out that, since I started the cupcake project, Maria has been one of my most loyal supporters, and it was a blast to get to bake these with her. Someday, perhaps, I will live closer to her, and I'll get to bake cupcakes with her and play with Brooklyn all the time. In the meantime, though, I'll take what I can get.

Of all the recipes I have ever made, this might be my favorite. It is incredibly moist and uses vanilla bean rather than vanilla extract, which gives it a great flavor.

Carrot Cupcakes

1 pound carrots, peeled and finely grated

3 large eggs, room temperature

1/2 c. buttermilk (this can be made using a tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice per cup of regular milk)

2 c. sugar

1 1/2 c. vegetable oil

1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise, seeds scraped and reserved (or 1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract)

1/2 c. golden raisins (Maria and I did not put raisins in our cupcakes, as she does not like them. Later on, when Shane bit into his first cupcake, he said, "You know what would be great in these? Some raisins.")

3 c. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. ground ginger

1/8 tsp. ground cloves

Preheat oven to 325. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together carrots, eggs, buttermilk, sugar, oil, vanilla-bean seeds, and raisins. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. Stir flour mixture into carrot mixture until well-combined.

By far, the hardest part of the recipe was turning this:

into this:

If you're lucky, you'll have some great helpers.

Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, 23-28 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool 10 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely.

To finish, use a small offset spatula to spread cupcakes with a mound of frosting. Refrigerate up to 3 days in airtight containers; bring to room temperature and, if desired, garnish with toasted coconut before serving.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 c. (2 sticks unsalted butter)

12 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

1 lb. (4 c.) confectioners' sugar, sifted (I did not sift mine)

1/4 tsp. pure vanilla extract

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and cream cheese until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Actually, I usually beat the cream cheese by itself first, and then add the butter. Reduce speed to low. Add sugar, 1/2 c. at a time, and then vanilla, and mix until smooth and combined.

Toasted Coconut

Preheat oven to 350. Spread coconut evenly on a rimmed baking sheet; toast, stirring occasionally, until starting to brown, about 10 minutes (or longer if darker color is desired). Transfer sheet to a wife rack; let cool completely.

We boxed some up to take to Maria and Shane's neighbors.

But, after a couple of unsuccessful tries at catching them at home, we had to eat them. Really, we did. We had run out already, and by that time, my mother and Melanee had arrived, and were expecting to get to eat cupcakes.

PS. After I made these, I found out you can buy grated carrots at the grocery store. Just a small tip.

Lest you think I did nothing on my vacation but bake cupcakes, here are some more pictures:

Here's Brooklyn, ready for church and eating an apple while she waits for the rest of us to finish getting dressed.

We spent a day at the L.A. County Fair. The funnel cake was the highlight of the day.

Here's a shot of Kevin. He loved everything we did that week, with a few notable exceptions:

• He hated the petting zoo part of the fair. He refused to pet any animals until George petted them first (no small feat for George, I might add).
• He hated the ocean. Maybe it's just me, but I believe he grasped the vastness of the ocean and realized his insignificance beside it. He also became very concerned about his hat.
• He did NOT want to meet the Disney princesses. Below is a shot of him clinging to Uncle Shane in an effort to be hidden from the view of Belle.

Below is a shot of him as the day wore on, and his enthusiasm was overtaken by his fatigue.

Here's a shot of Sammie at BJ's restaurant, where we had wonderful pizza.

Dad, showing off his strength at lifting two of his grandchildren. Ignore the one picking her nose. Sorry about that, Brooklyn. And the one sucking his thumb. Sorry, Mel.

Sammie, eagerly anticipating visiting the Disney princesses. If you visit Disneyland and have a huge desire to meet a Disney princess, prepare to stand in a really long line. And if you have a three-year-old with you, be prepared to dance around with her in your arms. Also, have someone there to hold your place in line in case one or both of you has to go to the bathroom.

Here she is with Belle:

And here she is with Maria, Brooklyn, and Ariel (we had some trouble figuring out who she was at first).

The funniest thing about the princesses was that, while they made Kevin nervous, Sammie loved them. Conversely, all of the rides Kevin loved, like Dumbo, Sammie did not enjoy. However, by the end of the day, everyone was having a pretty good time. All in all, it was a great week, and I look forward to seeing my family again very soon.