The past few months have been somewhat chaotic for me. A huge project at work (launching a revamped website), a new dog, plus another move for us — our third in 20 months.
Finally, I think we’ve found somewhere to call home…at least for longer than a 12-month lease. Our new apartment is in a converted old textile factory in northern Massachusetts. When it was originally built back in the early 1900s, it was called the “Eighth Wonder of the World” because it was just so enormous. In today’s world, the building is still a monster. Only about a third of it has been rebuilt into modern, eco-friendly housing, with the remaining two-thirds still being gutted for future residential and commercial use.
I’ve always wanted to call a loft home — with the exposed brick and wooden beams. There is just so much personality to such a building. I’m seriously convinced there have to be some sort of ghost stories with our new home, but still haven’t been able to uncover any mysteries.
One of my favorite features with our new place is our kitchen. It’s so spacious that I don’t even remember the last 12 months spent in that galley kitchen in our old place. Plus, all of the appliances are brand new and energy efficient. I am so in love!
To christen this most-used-room of the house, I made some “thank you” cupcakes for the staff in the leasing office. They were absolutely incredible during every step of the process. So, what better way to thank people then by baking them some home-baked treats! I chose these sweet and summery carrot cupcakes with a cream cheese frosting (using fresh carrots from the weekly CSA crops) using a recipe originally from “Joy of Baking.”
Ingredients
- 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional – note you also may want to toast these for a few minutes in the oven to get rid of some of their rawness)
- 2 large eggs
- 2/3 cup granulated white sugar
- 2/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 1/3 cups finely grated raw carrots
For the cream cheese frosting
- 1/4 cup butter
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 2 1/4 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Putting It Together
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place cupcake liners in a standard 12-cup muffin pan.
In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Fold in the chopped walnuts, if using.
In another bowl, whisk the eggs until lightly beaten. Then, whisk in the sugar, oil and vanilla extract until slightly thickened. Fold in the applesauce and grated carrots. Next, fold the sugar/oil/vanilla/applesauce/carrot mixture into the dry ingredients, until incorporated. Using a cookie scoop, fill the muffin cups with the batter. Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Remove from the oven, place on a wire rack. After about five minutes, remove cupcakes from the pan to cool completely on the rack.
While cupcakes are cooling, you can prepare the frosting. In a bowl, beat the butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add the powdered sugar until smooth. Next, beat in the vanilla extract. Add more powdered sugar until you reach your desired consistency.
Once the cupcakes have cooled, pipe the frosting onto the cuppies. Store any leftovers in the fridge. These can be saved in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Enjoy!
Eats by Xtina 
You’re so sweet and thoughtful to take the time to make cupcakes from scratch as a thank-you! They look gorgeous. Good luck moving in and getting settled!
Aww thank you! I love baking for others!
Me too… I tell people I “talk” through my baking!
:0)——-MARC
Yummmmm. Your new place looks wonderful too – the kitchen is fantastic. good luck with it and keep up the good work on the blog – love it. I am in New Zealand and love getting your updates. Thanks so much for taking the time.
Thanks Toni! Wow I have a reader in New Zealand!! Love to hear you enjoy my stories!!