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Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Dulce de Leche Buttercream

March 22, 2009 by Joy the Baker 102 Comments

Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Dulce de Leche Buttercream

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 with Dulce de Leche Buttercream

Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Dulce de Leche Buttercream

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 with Dulce de Leche Buttercream

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

adapted from Martha Stewart

Print this Recipe!

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
    1. 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.
    2. 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.
    3. 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

from The Pastry Queen
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened
3 Tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar
pinch of salt
3/4 cup prepared dulce de leche
Cream together softened butter and powdered sugar on low using an electric mixer.  Add cream and vanilla and beat on medium speed until smooth and no lumps appear.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl.  Add the prepared dulce de leche and beat to incorporate.  Frost cooled cupcakes using a knife or a pastry bag and tip.  Top with toasted coconut.
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Filed Under: Buttermilk, Cupcakes, Fruit, Holiday, Nuts, Recipes, Vanilla

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Karen

    April 4, 2010 at 3:11 pm

    I just made these for Easter, and my teenager has declared them “the best cupcakes I’ve ever had.” I had a little trouble pouring 1.5 cups of oil into the batter, which is why I don’t bake.

    The dulce de leche is easy to make, and a little fun, too. I’m told it is great in a banana cake, and the next time I feel like baking I’m going to try that. (I made three cans.)

    Reply
  2. Melanie

    March 19, 2010 at 7:21 am

    I made these yesterday to freeze for Easter… Mmmmmm… Quite possibly the best thing I’ve ever had in my mouth.

    Reply
  3. Claire

    March 15, 2010 at 8:44 pm

    These look so perfect for the sun finally coming out! Just wondering, which Martha Stewart cookbook did this come from?

    Reply
  4. Georgia N.

    March 14, 2010 at 4:27 pm

    I made these cupcakes tonight and they were lovely! I used 2 cups sugar and 3/4 cups honey but the rest stayed true to the recipe and these were amazing. The smell while they were baking was alone tempting… Thank you so much for this great treat!

    Reply
  5. Peaches

    March 10, 2010 at 5:59 am

    I’m in LOVE! Where have you been all my life?!

    Reply
  6. Tigli

    January 12, 2010 at 2:58 pm

    I was saving this recipe for my boyfriend’s birthday back in December. I wish I wouldn’t have waited… these were so wonderful. Oh man, they were awesome! I’m sure I’ll have to make these for his birthday every year now. Thanks, a lot (said in a sarcastic tone). No, really, thank you (said in a very sincere and slightly teary-eyed tone).

    Reply
  7. Suki

    December 15, 2009 at 8:47 am

    Do you have to use he crushed pineapple and coconut? Will it taste as good without them? And do any of the other ingredient amounts alter if you take these things out?

    Reply
  8. Niki

    July 31, 2009 at 3:14 pm

    I made the dulce de leche buttercream to frost Mexican hot chocolate cupcakes. It was really sweet but went well with the cupcakes, which were very dark and had a pleasant bitter edge to them. The recipe made lots of frosting.. I had about 3/4 cup leftover after frosting 24 cupcakes. And I frosted very generously!
    If I were making sweeter cupcakes or cupcakes with a milder flavor in general, I might cut down on the powdered sugar called for in the buttercream. The dulce de leche already makes it very sweet.

    Reply
  9. Rebecca

    July 25, 2009 at 3:39 pm

    Thanks for the great recipe! I make the cupcakes and iced with a citris cream cheese icing. Everyone loved them!

    Reply
  10. Nakiya

    July 21, 2009 at 9:44 am

    Hello!
    I wonder- could you add the dulce de leche to cream cheese frosting?

    Reply
  11. Kristen

    April 21, 2009 at 5:29 pm

    Happy Spring! I am just drooling over these cupcakes. So gorgeous and delicious-sounding! :)

    Reply
  12. kelly

    April 13, 2009 at 7:05 pm

    oh man… i think i need these in my life.

    Reply
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Trackbacks

  1. Joy the Baker » Blog Archive » Ode to my Box Grater says:
    March 10, 2010 at 12:56 am

    […] are Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Dulce de Leche Frosting.  These are best when unwrapped and shoved into your face. […]

    Reply
  2. Dulce de Leche Cupcakes | Newlyweds and Nesting: Elizabeth Anne Designs Living: A Food, Lifestyle, and Craft Blog says:
    February 1, 2010 at 11:27 am

    […] Dulce de Leche Buttercream Adapted from Joy the Baker […]

    Reply
  3. October Awesomeness I « tresser*ize says:
    November 11, 2009 at 1:40 am

    […] girl. We had a gorgeous chicken satay meal with peanut sauce, rice, and bean salad. And for dessert carrot cupcakes with maple cream cheese frosting. Oh swoon. If you want a good carrot cake cupcake recipe this was […]

    Reply

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