This morning I stood under a blossoming orange tree that hummed with honey bees. I found my way under this tree after a walk through my neighborhood on one of those mornings that couldn’t decide if it wanted to laugh or cry.
The sidewalk showed evidence of midnight rain. The smell of rain on asphalt… ooh so perfectly dreamy. The sky, bright blue with clusters of pure white and angry grey clouds.
The air was just cold enough to chill me through my sweater and carried the scent of orange blossoms nearly a block. That’s the scene that lead me, arms hugging my chest, to the bee humming orange tree, live with blossoms and heavy with fruit.
The scene screamed of Spring.
Standing there under that tree, it felt like life was just bursting out into the world. What a pure expression of life and beauty that tree was this morning.
Happy Spring.
Have some life… enjoy it!
Carrot Cake Cupcakes are a spring classic. Right? I paired mine with Dulce de Leche Buttercream, but feel free to groove on with a classic Cream Cheese Frosting. These beauties are unadulterated carrot yum, the kind of treat you might find at a church bake sale…. like, the best church bake sale ever!
Carrot Cake Cupcakes
adapted from Martha Stewart
makes about 28 cupcakes
- 4 cups peeled and finely grated carrots
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
- 1/3 cup buttermilk
- 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped, pod reserved for another use (or 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract)
- 1/2 cup crushed pineapple, well drained
- 1 cup walnuts or pecans, toasted and finely chopped
- 1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line 2 standard muffin tins with paper liners. In a bowl, whisk together carrots, eggs, sugar, oil, buttermilk, vanilla seeds, and coconut, pineapple and nuts if desired. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. Stir flour mixture into carrot mixture until well combined.
- Divide batter among muffin cups, filling each 3/4 full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until testers inserted into centers come out clean, 23 to 28 minutes. Let cool in tins on wire racks, 10 minutes. Turn out cupcakes onto wire racks, and let cool completely. Unfrosted cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen for up to 2 months in airtight containers.
- Frost cupcakes with dulce de leche or cream cheese frosting. Frosted cupcakes can be refrigerated for up to 3 days; bring to room temperature, and sprinkle with toasted coconut (press gently to adhere) before serving.
Dulce de Leche Buttercream Frosting
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Happy Spring! These cupcakes look like a perfect way to celebrate the season, and that dulce de leche buttercream looks totally killer. Man, I might not be so cold in my heater-less apartment right now (yeah, in reality, it’s probably only like 50 outside, but I’m always cold) if I had one of these springy, sunshiny cupcakes!
Joy, have I mentioned lately that you always make me smile? These cakes sound great, although dulce de leche is hard to get in Oz. More South Americans moving in is changing that a bit. God bless immigration.
Gorgeous Joy! The perfect thing for me to bake for tomorrow night celebratory drinks for my half Aussie, half Argentinian, 1 week old niece Abby. Thanks for the inspiration. Love the image you created of the orange tree and bees too…
I’m jealous; I want spring, too! No bees yet, just sleepy gross flies. Ahh, March.
Oh no its so cold out today in New York! Wish I was there…
This looks so great! I’m really getting in to the whole cupcake movement and these look delicious! I have started a blog and I was wondering how, and if you advertise?
Joy, I love Spring and I love carrot cake! Where on earth did you find the dulce de leche you have pictured? I would love to be able to purchase some for this recipe. Keep up the delicious recipes.
Oh, how I love carrot cake! But I am the only one in the house who does. And eating an entire cake by myself (although that sounds quite yummy) is never a good idea! Thanks for posting the cupcake version. The icing sounds divine!
I just learned why/how there are different kinds of honey. Quite interesting!
You uttered the magic words: dulce de leche frosting. Bring it on baby!!
This sounds like an amazing combination…dlche de leche is just…well…yum.
Ooh, I’ve never had carrot cake with anything but cream cheese frosting. Dulce de leche is a great idea!
I am so excited to see these! I’ll be using this recipe for a bunny cake I’ll be making for Easter. I’d love to try the dulce de leche frosting – but I’m making it for cream cheese frosting purists (I’ve already been told!)
Oh my. I want these right now! I think they would be enough to make me forget that it’s cold and rainy today…
I am a major fan of the classic carrot cake and cream cheese frosting combo. But I think I could probably just eat this dulce de leche frosting by itself!
I think carrot cake is my favorite of all! I made a carrot sheet cake this weekend. Wish mine looked as good as yours!
I love that first day when you can smell actual plants and, better yet, flowers. Montreal is slowly on its way to spring too :)
What an awesomely creative move to do dulce de leche frosting! Until recently, I had only had cream cheese frosting on carrot cake. A while ago, I tried making irish cream frosting and it turned out pretty well, if I do say so myself.
I blogged about it here: http://bitchinlifestyle.tv/Articles/Bitchin-Kitchen/Articles/Baking-with-Booze.html
sounds like a beautiful morning, and looks like an even better treat :)
What a lovely thing to find on a walk<3 I know it’s spring because the flowerpots on my windowsill are showing signs of life :)
I’ve always been a little scared of baking carrot cake- all the carrot cake I’ve ever had has been so delicious, how could I measure up to that? But I’m going to give these a try :)
This just makes you smile!
You are my new best friend!! Carrot cupcakes with dulce de leche sounds like a perfect diet breaker.
I have a lot to catch up on…all the other recipes sound marvelously dreamy! Thx!
I LOVE carrot cake anything!
oh you made me dream with your description of spring :) These cupcakes looks delicious. I like the variation with dulche de leche :)
Oh my! Those look great! I only wish I had blossoming orange trees….heck I’d settle for blossoming anything right now. I’ve barely got buds on my lilacs!
Thanks for sharing!!
Dulce de Leche Buttercream…How great is that?!?
I didn’t think Carrot Cake could get better but Dulce De Leche Buttercream c’mon now. Why must you tease me like this, I can’t wait to try to make these.
Oooh, it’s been ages since I’ve had carrot cake and those cupcakes look amazing!
Poetic embrace. I think that is the real title…forget those lovely cupcakes and go back to the sidewalk, the rain and those orange blossoms.
You are such a talent!!!!!
These sound delicious! Love the flavor combo!
:) I’d like one of these when I get home, please! What about that banana cupcake recipe from 2 birthdays ago with the dulce frosting? That sounds delicious too.. I think I just want a cupcake. I haven’t seen any cupcakes in France. I’ll keep looking..
Do you ever make your own Dulce de Leche? I read on D. Lebovitz’s site that it’s just baked/reduced sweetened condensed milk. He uses it in ice cream, of course. In any case, it sounds like a good idea—-one that I maybe want to try soon (after hummus and roast chicken and granola—the things on my list to cook today).
Oh yes, and three giant cheers for spring. My asparagus is up (!!!!!) and the kids play outside barefoot (even though it’s only 50 degrees).
Oh my ! I can’t wait to make these!
For all those who want to know how to make Dulce de Leche, here’s a super easy recipe:
Ingredients:
1 (14 ounce) can condensed milk
aluminum foil
Directions
Pour 1 can condensed milk into 9 inch pie pan (though I use a disposable foil pan which is probbly 8 inches).
Cover with aluminum foil.
Put in large pan or a roasting pan
Fill pan with boiling water.
Bake at 425°F for 1 hour or until thick and caramel colored.
Beat until smooth.
Refrigerate, covered, when not in use.
I have made dulce de leche with this recipe a gazillion times and it stays good in the fridge for long, long time.
Good luck!
These look amazing! Amazing.
Oh my, these are pure bliss and what a way to welcome in Spring!
What a beautiful day for a walk….I’ll bet the orange blossoms smelled amazing and fresh and perfect.
The recipe looks fantastic and frankly, when I scrolled down to the dulce de leche caramel, that was it for me. Will make these soon.
Oh yum! These look too delicious for words. Thanks for sharing.
It’s still a bit too chilly where I am to believe it’s spring yet, but it won’t be long… why just this morning, two of my crocuses decided to they were ready to greet the world. :)
i love how dreamy your writing is… and the thought of pairing fragrant carrotty, coconutty cakes with a salty sweet icing is just brilliant. beats cream cheese frosting any day :)
hi joy! i just found you through cakespy.
holy goodness, i scrolled all the way down to the bottom and took in all of your scrumptious looking foodstuffs. actually felt my mouth salivate. your photos are gorgeous and your writing is hilarious and personable!!! really wonderful blog and great looking food!
:)
What a lovely description of the arrival of Spring! Unfortunately, here in the northeast, it’s still very much touch and go! But there’s always dulce de leche!
These look amazing, and your message at the end of the post was great too. We have to remember… we really do!
What beautiful cupcakes! Straying away from the usual cream cheese frosting is a wonderful idea, they look delicious
Stunning cupcakes!
Oh my goodness, Joy, these look amazing! I love, love, love carrot cake. Ooh, maybe I’ll try these out this weekend…(ideas brewing)…
Happy Spring to you! I, too, love this season. Just to hear the birds singing again and to feel a crisp breeze seems to breathe new energy into my winter weary soul. :) Your cupcakes look amazing and I love the idea of a different variation on the icing. Mmmm!
wish we had spring so we cld have orange blossom trees here and less heat and humidity and sweat so that I cld wakl around and write what you wrote…:) love the cupcake and what you wrote……………
Dulche de leche buttercream? Does life get any better than that? I may have to make it and have it on my English muffin tomorrow morning while I listen to the red-winged blackbirds singing their warm weather song!
Thought I would share a recipe that my friend aka “the amazing baker” gave me. Enjoy!
Dulce de Leche (“Candy from Milk”):
Sweetened Condensed Milk (Eagle Brand truly does work best for this!), unopened, label removed
Place unopened can(s) on side in deep, heavy pan. COMPLETELY cover can(s) with water and place over low heat. Bring to simmer, but DO NOT BOIL, and cook for five to seven hours to achieve desired consistency. Check water level hourly to ensure can remains completely submerged throughout cooking time. Consistency at five hours will be creamy and somewhat fluid with a lightly caramel flavoring, but will thicken to near candy consistency and have a more intense nearly butterscotch flavor at approximately seven hours.
Just when I thought there was no way to make carrot cupcakes even yummier — dulce de leche buttercream! How fabulous!
What a sweet post. I totally saw you ambling along. And the carrot cupcakes… So yummy! Love dulce de leche yet have never used it myself. I wonder if they carry it at the regular supermarkets around here??
I LOVE carrot cake. These look amazing! So delicious!
Judy, Thanks for sharing your innovative technique!
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