Lemon Frosted Coconut Carrot Cupcakes

As promised, here are the cupcakes my family had to celebrate Easter.

I had requests for coconut, lemon and carrot. I was worried about picking one flavor and ignoring the other flavor suggestions.

So after brainstorming ideas, it came to me. A carrot cupcake loaded with coconut and topped with a light lemon frosting with an extra sprinkle of coconut. 

The cupcakes were super moist and the frosting was the perfect addition. You can also make this in cake form with or without frosting.

Lemon Frosted Coconut Carrot Cupcakes Adapted from The New Me and Isa Chandra Moskowitz

Makes 16 cupcakes or one 9 x 9" square pan

Ingredients

Cake

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp cinnamon 

• 3 cups shredded carrots

• 3/4 cup canola oil

• 1/2 cup orange juice

• 1    1/2 cups shredded coconut

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Combine dry ingredients from first column. Stir in carrots. Pour in canola oil and mix. Batter will be thick. Pour in orange juice. Batter will slowly thin a bit. Fold in shredded coconut.

Grease muffin tin or 9 x 9" square pan. Pour batter into greased dish. If making cupcakes, bake 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. If making cake, bake for 45 - 50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Frosting

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup Earth Balance Shortening
• 1/4 cup Earth Balance Buttery Stick

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• Juice of 2 lemons

• Zest of 2 lemons

Instructions

Blend shortening and butter until combined with hand mixer. Add powdered sugar in 1/2 cup increments alternating with lemon juice. Beat three minutes or until fluffy. Fold in lemon zest.

Frost cupcakes with frosting and sprinkle with coconut.

Cinnamon Heart Cupcakes

I didn't get to make as many Valentine's treats as I wanted to this year. Luckily for me there were still plenty of ideas and decorations for one extra treat. The decorations included a variety of cupcake wrappers and valentine treats like cinnamon hearts. So this could only mean one thing, Cinnamon Heart Cupcakes. I got some inspiration from Megan at TAKE A MEGABITE. Her Valentine's Brunch Party had beautiful everything - decorations, invitations and food. Also, while coming up with ideas of how to use the cinnamon hearts I came across beautiful cupcakes from Sweet Tooth and Created by Diane. So without further ado, I introduce you to my version of Cinnamon Heart Cupcakes.

These, just like the Maple Chocolate Chip Cookies, come together quickly. Just one bowl for the cupcakes and one bowl for the frosting. Once you put the cupcakes in the oven, go ahead and get started on the frosting. When the cupcakes come out of the oven let them cool for about 30 minutes. Below you'll see my dog, Winston, doing quality control.

Once everything's ready, you can have a decorating party. In "Sweet Celebrations" by the sisters of Georgetown Cupcake, they talk about having a cupcake decorating party. It's a fun way for family or friends to come together and decorate cupcakes.

Then you can display, them in a cupcake tree, like the one below, or get some festive ideas from TAKE A MEGABITE.

Just a quick word about cupcake wrappers - if you're using a light colored wrapper, like the ones below, you'll want to use a light colored batter. If you're doing red velvet or chocolate cupcakes, the batter will overtake your wrappers and you won't be able to see the pretty design.

Also, an important thing to note is the frosting makes enough for two baked treats. I'm pretty sure I've used all this frosting for one batch of cupcakes before, but this time I only used about half. Maybe it was because the frosting was piped on? I don't know, but the extra frosting just gave me an excuse to make another cinnamon treat. So, come back later in the week for another cinnamon treat!

Cinnamon Cupcakes Adapted from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar 

• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon extract

• 1  1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine almond milk and vinegar in a measuring cup. Set aside for three minutes, allowing milk to curdle like buttermilk.

Whisk curdled milk with liquid ingredients from second column (oil, sugar, vanilla and cinnamon extract.)

Add dry ingredients from third column (flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda and salt.) Whisk until almost all lumps are gone from batter.

Line muffin tin with cupcake wrappers. Scoop cupcake batter evenly among tins.

Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and cake bounces back when touched.

Let cool 30 minutes before frosting.

Cinnamon Frosting Adapted from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World Note: makes enough for two recipes

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup Earth Balance shortening
• 1/2 cup Earth Balance buttery spread 

• 3   1/2 cups powdered sugar

• 1    1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon extract
• 1/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk

Instructions

Beat shortening and butter with a handheld mixture until combined, about one minute. Scrape down sides to ensure completely combined. 

Add powdered sugar. Cover mixing bowl with dish towel to protect against spills. Beat for three minutes.

Add vanilla and cinnamon extracts and almond milk. Beat for five minutes or until icing is fluffy.

Using either a spatula or piping bag spread frosting over cupcakes. 

Decorate as desired. Suggestions - red sprinkles and cinnamon hearts.

Nutrition Facts

One cupcake - makes 12 (does not include decorations - includes amount of frosting used if use half a batch)

Calories                            300

Total Fat                          14 g

Saturated Fat                    3 g

Cholesterol                     2 mg

Sodium                         230 mg

Potassium                         40 mg

Total Carbohydrate            42 g

Dietary Fiber                        1 g

Sugars                               30 g

Protein                                2 g