I can never watch Julie and Julia without migrating to the kitchen and baking while I watch.  Seeing Julia in her Paris kitchen inspires me to close my eyes, forget about the hideous wood-panelling all around me, and dive into creating something pretty enough to be in that French kitchen.  So, this chilly Sunday, I decided to brighten up the day with some carrot cake cupcakes.

These cupcakes, courtesy of A Pinch of Yum, were unbelievably soft and moist, and stayed that way until the last delicious bite was devoured days later.   The original recipe noted that the cakes were even better when refrigerated and eaten cold.  We thought they were a win either way.

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Recipe adapted from A Pinch of Yum, found on Foodgawker

2 cups sifted flour

2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 teaspoons soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 cups grated raw carrots

4 eggs

1 1/3 cups vegetable oil

¼ cup sour cream

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tins (these came from HomeGoods, aka Heaven).

Combine dry ingredients, then stir in oil and carrots.

Add your eggs one at a time, stirring well in between.  At this point, I took a good look at my batter.  And then dumped in the sour cream.  Although the original recipe didn’t call for it, I figured it couldn’t hurt.

And it definitely didn’t.

Fill muffin tins ¾ full of batter. Bake for 12-15 minutes; they are best when you take them out when just cooked through.

If you would rather have a full-sized cake, the original recipe has alternate baking instructions.

Allow the cupcakes to cool completely (impatience = melty frosting).  In the meantime, beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla.  Add powdered sugar and beat until completely combined.  Make sure you sift your sugar, to avoid clumps in the frosting.

Divide your frosting into three bowls; one large and two small, with maybe ¾ cup frosting.  Add red and yellow food dyes to one of the small bowls until you get an orange you like.  Add green to the other small bowl.

Once the cupcakes are completely cooled, it’s time to frost.  I was experimenting with my new set of frosting tips and ended up using a large star tip, frosting in spirals, from the center outwards.

I let the white frosting sit for a moment before adding the orange and green.

And voilà!  Beautiful mini-carrot cakes!

Enjoy!