Spring Cupcakes with Citrus Icing

Описание: Cupcakes are all the rage these days, and for good reason. These diminutive desserts are automatically portion controlled, and they’re just darn cute!

Minutes to Prepare: 5
Minutes to Cook: 20
Number of Servings: 18

Ingredients

1 egg, at room temperature
1 egg white, at room temperature
3⁄4 cup brown sugar
2 cups grated carrots
2 small zucchini, grated (about 1 cup,
excess moisture pressed out with a
paper towel)
1⁄3 cup canola oil
1 tbsp orange zest (see Note)
1 tsp baking powder
1⁄2 tsp baking soda
1⁄2 tsp cinnamon
1⁄4 tsp salt
2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
For the Icing:
1 tbsp orange zest (see Note)
2 tbsp orange juice (see Note)
1⁄2 cup confectioners’ sugar


Tips

Instead of traditional vanilla and chocolate, we chose a garden variety: Carrots and zucchini aren’t just for salads; they add moisture and texture to desserts as well. There aren’t enough veggies to count for one of your daily servings, but you are getting a tasty treat that has more fiber and less fat than even a slice of traditional carrot cake. Carrot cake usually has a spicy taste, but we lightened that up by adding a fresh orange flavor. These cupcakes are perfect for an Easter brunch, a children’s birthday party (no need to tell them the “confetti” inside comes from vegetables), or a graduation celebration. These cupcakes were a hit during our taste test for "The SparkPeople Cookbook."


Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Fill 18 muffin cups with cupcake liners.

2. Combine the eggs and brown sugar in a bowl, then beat at medium speed with a hand mixer for 2 minutes. Add the carrots, zucchini, oil, and orange zest to the mixture and stir to combine.

3. In a separate bowl, combine the baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and flour using a fork; then add to the wet mixture. Using the mixer, blend just until combined.

4. Divide the batter among the muffin cups, and bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a cupcake comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. (If your oven has hot spots, rotate the pans halfway through cooking.)

5. Allow to cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then remove and cool completely on a wire rack.

6. While the cupcakes are baking, prepare the icing by whisking together the orange zest, the orange juice, and sugar. After the cupcakes have cooled, top each one with 1 teaspoon of icing.

Note: You should be able to get plenty of zest and juice for both the cupcakes and the icing from one large orange.