For those celebrating, the happiest of Easters! As with all holidays, hope you’re surrounded by good food, yummy beverages and great friends and family. I definitely was, and am very thankful for each and every food coma this weekend. I planned ahead for the mass consumption of deliciousness by running my first half marathon yesterday– the Hop Hop Half. Highly recommend for all runners wanting to try one. It was a beautiful course, 10 miles of which were directly along the Columbia River. Portland weather behaved for about 85% of it before dumping rain/wind/questionable hale (?) on me during the last two miles 🙂 Very glad to check that one off the bucket list, and feel even more entitled than usual to sugar and booze during the rest of the weekend.
Carrot cake cupcakes were a bit of a no-brainer today 🙂 Disclaimer– I normally don’t like carrot cake. I won’t say “hate”, but it’s been a long-time dislike, due to the texture that the carrot creates in what I believe should normally be smooth and (moist). Now however, I think I’ve changed my tune. I’m going to thank my new food processor for that. Less than a minute created a smooth puree of apple sauce, walnuts and carrots which all added their own dynamic layers to the flavor of the cupcakes. Frost with a batch of the most sinful cream cheese frosting I’ve made to date, garnish with an Easter candy of your choice and enjoy with loved ones.
Recipe (makes 12):
Cupcakes:
- 2 cups mini carrots (peeled)
- 1 cup apple sauce
- 1 cup walnuts
- 2 cups flour
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp ginger
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
Frosting:
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 16 oz powdered sugar
- 1 tsp heavy cream
Blend apple sauce, carrots and walnuts in food processor until pureed. Combine with dry ingredients and add eggs/vegetable oil. Beat until smooth. Fill cupcake liners and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. While cooling, combine frosting ingredients and beat on high power for 4 minutes. Frost and garnish with candy of your choice– jelly beans, Peeps, chocolate, etc. Enjoy!
Any kind of sparkling wine is especially applicable on a fun holiday like today, but in my personal opinion…it should be pink. And pink it was. Lunch today offered multiple complements to the Charles Smith Secco Rosé 2012. The Secco Rosé is super drinkable with flavors of strawberry, cherry and biscotti. It’s a blend of 80% Raboso Piave and 20% Pinot Noir hailing from vineyards in the Piave Valley in Italy. No photos of the bottle, but here’s an image as reference to find.
Hope everyone has a wonderful week!
Cheers,
Jenna
bubbles+sprinkles 