Receta Sweet Pea Cupcakes with Carrot Cream Cheese Frosting
It's hard to believe that today was the first day of Spring....we actually had a below zero windchill going on in my neck of the woods. Luckily, it doesn't have to be dreary in the kitchen. How about some brightly colored cupcakes to lighten things up?
The third Thursday of each month happens to be an Improv reveal day. Improv is a blogger challenge hosted by Kristen of Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker. This month the flavors to work with are Peas and Carrots. Very Springlike, no?
I have to admit to being a little preoccupied with things other than cooking or baking this month, so when Kristen offered up the idea to use baby food--jars of pureed peas and carrots--I latched on to the idea. This has to be one of the quickest ideas I've come up with yet for our Improv challenge...and I feel a bit lazy with my ingredients. Honestly, though, once in a while there comes a need to use convenience foods...as long as they are doctored up a little.
Oh my gosh..it's been way too long since I bought these little jars...
Sweet Pea Cupcakes with Carrot-Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients:
- 1 box lemon flavored cake mix
- 1 jar (1/2 cup) pureed peas (baby food)
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 tablespoon grated orange or lemon peel
- Frosting:
- 4 oz cream cheese, softened
- 2 tablespoons butter, softened
- 3 tablespoons pureed carrots (baby food)
- 1 tablespoon grated orange or lemon peel
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.; line a 24 cup muffin tin with liners.
In a large bowl, blend the cake mix, peas, eggs, buttermilk, and orange peel together until smooth, about 2 minutes. Divide the batter among the 24 cupcake liners and bake for 15-18 minutes, or until the tops spring back when lightly touched.
For the frosting, beat the cream cheese, butter, carrots, vanilla, and orange peel together until smooth. Add enough of the powdered sugar to reach the consistency you like. Frost the cooled cupcakes. Sprinkle with cute stuff, if desired.
Don't do what I did and dump the entire jar of carrots in the bowl...duh! I ended up with way too much frosting, and it was so thin I ended up dipping the cupcakes in the bowl to frost them!
My thoughts? This was a lemon cupcake...no indication of peas, which is probably a good thing. I like to think that I made a box mix a little healthier by replacing the peas for the oil. The frosting was good, but there wasn't a huge amount of carrot flavor. I don't think 3 tablespoons of pureed carrot negated the fat and calories in the cream cheese, butter, and sugar, however. The consistency of the cupcake was that of a sponge cake and, all in all, I feel it was a success. Of course, I had to test it all out by eating 3 cupcakes in rapid succession.
Please do yourself a favor and check out what everyone else is making with Peas and Carrots!