Carrots and Ginger Cupcakes

After I used butternut squash for a dessert (see previous post) I thought it was time to try carrots in a popular for them use on the island. Sweet.
Mostly known as a vegetable, despite its relative sweetness, or should I say mildness, carrot is not traditionally used in sweet dishes in Bulgarian cuisine (as far as I know). I could mention here that I've recently had goat cheese and butternut squash pie, kinda salty. That was unusual for my taste, but I can't say it wasn't good. Interesting combination. :)

Stem ginger has entered the Bulgarian market just in the past several years and I doubt it gained much popularity, despite its irrefutable health benefits.
On the other hand, here I could find a wide range of foods with ginger, as well as ginger in a variety of forms. This of course woke my curiosity. For this recipe I used stem ginger in light sugar coating, cut in small bits, for decoration.

The third star ingredient in this recipe is the Italian mascarpone. I am very glad to find this recipe for icing.




So, this is what I used:

for the dough:
110 gr softened butter
160 gr brown sugar with 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
several drop of orange flower water
2 eggs
2 large carrots - grated (about 150 - 170 gr)
200 gr flour
baking powder
60 gr chopped hazelnuts (or other nuts)
nutmeg, cardamom

for the icing:
150 gr mascarpone
the juice of half lemon (or a bit more if needed)
100 gr caster sugar
zest from unwaxed orange (I skipped that part, but it would give nice flavour)

for the decoration:
stem ginger cut into small bits
desiccated coconut (if needed)



I beat the butter with the sugar and lemon juice until smooth, then I added the orange flower water and the two eggs.
When everything was well beaten, I added the carrots and spices, mixed well and at the end the flour with baking powder and the nuts. The mixture makes about 12 cupcakes that should be baked on about 180 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

For the icing: mix thoroughly the ingredients stirring well. Decorate with the icing and stem ginger.

As easy as that :) The taste was really interesting and I am definitely a stem ginger and ginger tea fan. Fresh ginger too.