CCCakes with CCFro

A lot of popular culture I just don't get. What is the fascination with people who have no discernible talents or attributes other than a willingness to take off their clothing, get arrested, or do bizarre things on television? I stand in line at the checkout counter puzzled and amused at the celebritrash on the magazine covers and their latest rounds of rehab, divorce, and plastic surgeries.

And why does the gossip media insist on doing a weird abbreviation of people's names so that Kevin Federline is now KFed and Rob Pattinson is RPatts? If that's the way it's done, I think I'll call Lady Gaga LGag.

Would I be CBLynn? I doubt I'll ever be famous, or infamous, enough to be abbreviated. That's OK. The weight of celebrity would chafe on me. I'd be too concerned about how I look in paparazzi photos to enjoy things like carrot cupcakes and cream cheese frosting. And those are definitely things worth enjoying. Especially when the recipe is from the celebrity jailbird cupcake queen herself, MStew.

Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
- adapted from Cupcakes by Martha Stewart

1 pound carrots, peeled and finely grated
3 large eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup buttermilk
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup plain whole milk yogurt
1-1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup golden raisins
3 cups 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

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
12 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1 lb (4 cups) confectioners' sugar, sifted
3/4 tsp pure vanilla extract

1- Preheat oven to 325 deg. F. Line standard muffin tins with 24 paper liners.

2-In a large bowl, whisk together carrots, eggs, buttermilk, sugar, oil, yogurt, and vanilla. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. Stir flour mixture into carrot mixture until well combined.

3- Divide batter evenly among prepared cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake for 23 to 28 minutes, rotating tins halfway though, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean.

4- Place tins on wire racks to cool 10 minutes, then turn out the cupcakes onto the racks and let them cool completely. (At this point, the cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in an airtight container.)

5-To make the frosting, beat the butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low. Add sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, and then vanilla, and mix until smooth and combined, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. (If not using immediately frosting can be refrigerated up to 3 days in an airtight container. Before using, bring to room temperature, and beat on low speed until smooth again.)

6- Use a small offset spatula to spread a mound of frosting on each cupcake. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.