Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

 

I have used this recipe many times to make cakes, however this time I altered it slightly by leaving out the walnuts and used raw cacao in place of cocoa powder. I used the batter to make 24 cupcakes and also a 2 layer 6" cake for Max's Birthday. If you like carrot cake, you will love this recipe!

Carrot Cake Cupcakes:

1 cup dark raisins
1 pound carrots (to make 4 cups shredded, firmly packed)
2 cups minus 2 tablespoons sifted all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon raw cacao or unsweetened cocoa powder
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
11/4 cups corn oil

Cream Cheese frosting:

16 ounces Philadelphia-brand cream cheese at room temperature
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups sifted confectioner's sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line the muffin tins with cupcake liners.
Steam the raisins: place them in a steamer basket over shallow water in saucepan. Cover the pan, place on high heat and let the water boil for about 10 minutes. Uncover and set aside.
Wash, dry, and peel the carrots. The carrots can be grated on a metal grater or in the food processor.
Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and  raw cacao together and set aside.
In a large bowl beat the eggs. Beat in vanilla, both of the sugars, and the oil. Next on a low speed, add the dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated. 

Stir in the carrots and raisins.
Scoop the batter into the muffin pans. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes. The top of the cupcakes should spring back when gently touched with your fingertip.
Remove from the oven and let stand for a few minutes before removing the cupcakes from the pans.

To make the frosting: In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth. On a low speed beat in the vanilla and confectioner's sugar. Then beat on high for a few minutes, until smooth.

Recipe modified from Maida Heatter's book Maida Heatter's Cakes. 

 

Homemade Bubble Valentine

Here is a kids valentine idea that is something other than candy. A bottle of bubbles (can be store bought or homemade) with a homemade heart bubble wand. The bubble wand I made from a pipe cleaner and a paper straw. It's amazing the things you begin to use paper straws for when you look at them everyday! If you are looking for paper straws you can find some in my shop HERE. I also have four different printables available below.

 You can use store bought bottles of bubbles or fill small plastic jars with homemade bubbles. I colored my bubbles with food coloring. Just add a drop of food coloring, tighten the lid, and shake. You can find the "BUBBLES" label below, along with three labels options for the tops of the jars.

 To make the Valentine's you will need the following:

• Bubbles in jars
• Labels printed on sticker paper
• Pipe cleaners
• Paper straws
• Baker's Twine
• Scotch tape
• Scissors

 First cut your pipe cleaners and paper straws in half. You can make two wands from one of each.

 Next bend the one end of the pipe cleaner around to make a circle and wrap end around pipe cleaner to hold in place. Then bend the pipe cleaner to create a heart shape.

 

 Then push the pipe cleaner into the paper straw.

 Use a small piece of tape to hold the bubble wand to the back of the bubble jar. Then tie with twine. I tested these out with Hudson and the paper straw does start to come apart after sitting in the bubbles for a while. But I think it adds a cute touch to the bubble want. You could make these without the straws too, and you can make small little bubbles by just dipping the end of the straw in the bubbles. 

I also made some bigger wands by not cutting the straws and pipe cleaners in half.

 Linking up HERE!

10 DIY Kids Valentine Ideas

 Pop Rocks Valentine by Fiskars

(pop rocks)

 Superhero Valentine by Zakka Life
(tootsie pops)

Crush Photo Valentines via Design AGlow
(crush soda)

 Pencil Valentines by Simply J Studio

 Eye Love You Valentines via I Must Have Cute

 Monster Valentines by Make and Takes

 Mustache Valentine by Craft Monkey

 "O-Fish-Ally Be Mine" Valentine by Tammy Mitchell

 Valentine Kisses by I am Momma Hear Me Roar

 Lollipop Valentines by Design Mom

I am loving all of these creative DIY Valentines! Found them via Pinterest and have provided the links to all the sources where you can find more information. Some have provided free printables and tutorials!

Valentine's Day Cupcake

Made some cupcakes for Amy's Birthday and decorated these for Valentine's Day. They are vanilla cupcakes with vanilla butter cream frosting, and they have a raspberry mousse filling. I piped on the hearts on top with some raspberry preserve. Then I rolled the edges of the cupcakes in white sanding sugar from Williams Sonoma. The cupcake liners are by Meri Meri, and can be found at Francesca's Collections. Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day Kid's Crafts

Make some paper valentine's by tracing your child's hand, hang some hearts in the window using wax paper and crayons, or make flower valentine's using paper and lollipops. You can find more kids crafts and the details to these on Martha Stewart's site.

Valentine's Day Treat

Ingredients

• 15  caramel squares
• 32  vanilla wafers
• 16  lollipop sticks
• 1  cup semisweet- or milk-chocolate chips
• Valentine sprinkles

Directions 1. Melt unwrapped caramels in a microwave according to package directions. Working quickly, spoon small dollops of caramel onto 16 wafers. Place a lollipop stick in center, and top each with another wafer to make a cookie sandwich.
2. Melt chocolate chips according to package directions. Dunk each cookie sandwich in chocolate and shake to remove excess. Top lollipops with sprinkles and place onto wax-paper-lined baking sheet. Chill for 5 to 10 minutes or until firm.

I haven't tried making these yet, but think you could try many different variations of fillings and cookies. I found this recipe at Parents.com

Happy Valentine's Day

Chocolate Sweet Heart Cookies

Here's a great recipe for chocolate cut-out cookies. I have tried several recipes for chocolate cut-out cookies before and most of them came out a little dry; when rolling them out the dough cracks. But this recipe does not have that problem. You roll the dough out between two pieces of parchment paper and it rolls out beautifully! Not sticky, not dry, but very moist and perfect! I cut out hearts for Valentine's day, but this recipe can be used any time of year. It is found in the February 2009 issue of Everyday Food.

Chocolate Sweet Hearts

• 1 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 large egg

1. In a bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl set over (not in) a saucepan of simmering water, place chocolate, butter, and brown sugar; stir frequently until almost completely melted. Remove from heat, and stir until completely melted; let cool slightly.
2. Add egg to chocolate mixture. With a mixer on low, beat until well blended. Gradually stir in flour mixture (dough will form a ball).
3. Divide dough in half; roll out each half on a sheet of parchment paper to a 1/4-inch thickness. Transfer each half (still on paper) to a baking sheet; freeze until firm, about 20 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Working with one half at a time, flip dough onto a work surface; peel off paper. Using a 2-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut out cookies; place, 1/2 inch apart, on two baking sheets. Bake until firm and fragrant, about 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer cookies to a rack to cool.

Valentine's Day Napkins

These are a quick and easy craft that can be made for any holiday or season. I made four valentine's day napkins. Here's how I made mine: I bought four fat quarters of fabric, washed and pressed them. Then I cut them to 16" squares and made a 1/2" fold twice on all sides and pressed with an iron. Then I sewed around all the sides.