a week in cupcakes: july 21

my father spent the last year

in texas, and his july 17 birthday

was no exception.

so the next local celebration

was my mother's the tuesday

following blair's.

there was nothing i could do

about the fact that her birthday

fell on a tuesday

(in fact, when it comes to birthdays,

mine, my mom's and blair's always

falls on the same day of the week),

but this time i had learned from

my mistakes.

there was no way that i was

getting caught in a meeting,

coming home from work

late or tossing (delicious)

sauteed cabbage on the table

after 10 pm

and calling it

dinner.

yes, i had matured,

lived to see some things that

weren't pretty about my behavior

and set out to

change them.

all in one week.

i've talked before about

our love for carrot cake and

how sadly we were never

given the recipe to our favorite

one ever. yes, we're people who

like to cook, enjoy food that

comes out of our kitchen and like

little italian bistros, japanese joints

and tiny seafood restaurants

over the chains. but years ago,

my sisters and i loved friday's.

for the most part, i have

no idea why and i won't even

bother to try to explain it.

while i'm sure that the vanilla coke

and pizzadillas and salads

and sandwiches are nowhere near

what i remember, i am positive

that their carrot cake - which we

were only allowed on birthdays (yes,

that's where we chose to go) and after

dance recitals - was

delicious.

a big part of the reason i'm sure?

my mom still swears it was

amazing too,

and she is not clouded

by blurry childhood memories.

she knew what she was tasting:

a cake, ultra moist from the pineapple,

very orange from all

the carrots,

dotted with toasted nuts,

coconut

and juicy raisins,

then smeared with sweet

cream cheese frosting.

the huge piece, so loaded

with ingredients, was impossible

to trim into a perfect square,

but instead, always looked like

it had been cut by a child with

a plastic knife and, in turn,

was uneven in shape

and ragged around the edges.

it was the best carrot cake ever.

it hurt just a little when they

refused to give us the recipe,

and years later, when as i've already

told you, i tasted a cake just as good

and again, i was refused the recipe.

and we've had good carrot cakes

over the years, but never one

that has matched the quality -

or that we were made privy

to the recipe.

we try. a few years ago for my

mom's birthday, i made one

from emeril and while it

was ok and frosting, probably

the best i've ever had,

it wasn't it. but it did teach me

one thing, i like carrot cakes made

with oil, not butter.

i made these a year or two

later and they were very good,

but obviously not a cake.

and so this time, while in

cupcake mode, i knew

that it was time to give a

new recipe another try.

this one had pineapple,

coconut, nuts (and i could add raisins),

plus it received 4 forks

from a combined 129 reviewers -

who was i to argue?

i immediately decided that i would

change a few things, like swap the

macadamia nuts for pecans,

leave out the crystallized ginger,

add the aforementioned raisins

and add nutmeg.

plus, it was oil-based.

it looked pretty straightforward.

and delicious.

the monday before my mom's

birthday, i followed my rules:

i left at 5:30 on the dot,

shopped for the pineapple,

pecans and cream cheese

and was home before 6:20.

the hiccups were few -

actually just one, sad thing:

i really thought that i had

coconut leftover from a batch

of marshmallows, but after

emptying the cabinets,

i had an epiphany, one hour too late:

no coconut. i had toasted the whole

bag last time. it was a bummer,

but we were pushing on.

with larry's help,

i toasted the pecans

and ground them with the flour

he had just sifted, while he filled

the muffin pans with liners.

then, as he

whisked together the dry

ingredients (and turned me into

his sous chef, responsible

for putting the baking powder,

salt, cinnamon and baking soda

away), i was able to measure

raisins, drain the pineapple

and mix together the oil,

sugar and eggs.

it was synergy in the best way.

we were so efficient, however,

that the pictures are not

plentiful. the first time i

remembered to pull out the camera,

the batter was divied out.

the frosting came together

well - a traditional cream cheese

base with a cream of coconut

swirl. i loved that the mixture

had the flavor of coconut,

without the texture

that for some, can be off-putting.

i do wish, that i had the coconut

extract that most likely, took

the whole mixture to another

level. i've just never been able to

find a natural coconut extract

locally.

they rose beautifully,

but i did notice right away

that instead of the orange color

that sings true delicious carrot cake

to me, they were a golden brown,

more of a spice cake ringer.

as they cooled and the frosting

chilled, i actually had

time to make a real

honest to goodness dinner,

which larry cleaned up as

i frosted the cake. i had intended

to use a different tip than i had

for blair's, but unfortunately,

my other piping tips seemed

to have gathered together for

a summer strike - they were

nowhere to be found.

once frosted, they were pretty,

but i felt they needed just a bit

more. a gentle sprinkle of

clear crystals from my sugar

stash made them sparkle.

for the third time in less

than 10 days,

we pulled out the cupcake

carrier and carefully loaded

the cupcakes inside.

the whole thing was tucked

into its faithful spot in

the fridge, ready and waiting

for the next day.

this time, larry and i were

able to drive down together

making me happy for me

and the cupcakes.

last minute,

we ended up at a different

restaurant and we were there

first. i handed the large

carrier to the hostess, with

a candle, asking her to fridge

them for us until they were

ready.

after a good, fun dinner that was

somewhat different than

we expected - who knew that

they only serve large pizzas

for takeout? - they carried out

the carrier (i learned my lesson

this time and just left the cake plate

in the car), holding cupcakes

that looked kind of wilted,

and one candle lit.

we sang happy birthday twice.

the cupcakes were good.

they made me remember how much i

love pineapple in carrot cake,

which was probably worth it,

just for that.

i think that if it was our first

exposure to carrot cake,

we probably would have

considered them very good.

but there was something missing.

yes, they were void of coconut,

but i think it was more than that.

for me, i could have left off the frosting

and called them a hearty muffin.

so, i'm still looking for the ultimate

carrot cake recipe.

but, for one night, it didn't really

matter.

we still were together,

celebrating another birthday

with another round of cupcakes.

and that's worth more than

all of the best recipes,

huddled together,

mocking us, in our pursuit

for carrot cake perfection.

loaded carrot cupcakes with cream of coconut cream cheese frosting

adapated from bon appetit magazine

i did make quite a few changes to this recipe, which i suppose could have contributed to the final this-is-not-the-cake-we've-been-searching-for-cake, but i know in my heart, that this is just not the one. that being, said, i have to express that it's still a yummy cupcake or muffin - it's just in its own category. as i already said, i switched the nuts out, left out the crystallized ginger, accidentally had to leave out the coconut (which i would have loved), added raisins and sprinkled in some nutmeg.

2 1/3 sifted all-purpose flour (sift, then measure)

1 cup pecans, toasted

1 tablespoon, plus 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

4 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups finely grated peeled carrots

3/4 cup golden raisins

1 can (14 ounces) crushed pineapple, juice drained

heat oven to 350˚f. line 24 wells of muffin pan with cupcake liners. set aside.

in food processor, combine 1/3 cup flour and pecans until just chopped; you still want pieces of the pecans; set aside.

in bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, salt and baking soda; set aside.

in bowl of an electric mixer, beat sugar and oil until completely blended. add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. add vanilla extract; beat until combined. add flour mixture in two parts, stirring slightly to combine before beating the mixture. beat to completely combine. add pecan mixture; beat to combine. stir in carrots, raisins and crushed pineapple.

divide cupcake batter among muffin liners, filling 2/3-3/4 of the way full. bake 18-22 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in cakes comes out completely clean. let cool in pan on rack 10 minutes.

transfer cupcakes to rack; let cool completely.

when cool, frost cupcakes with frosting, using offset spatula or piping bag (i used a large plain tip). sprinkle with clear sugar crystals, if desired.

cream of coconut cream cheese frosting

to use the frosting for cupcakes instead of the cake, i reduced the amounts by one-third and it was the perfect amount. i didn't add the coconut extract, because i didn't have any, but i think that if you have it on hand, the 1/2 teaspoon would add a really delicious element.

2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, at room temperature

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 cups confectioners' sugar

1/2 cup well stirred cream of coconut, like coco lopez

2/3 teaspoon vanilla extract

in bowl of electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter until completely combined, making sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl with a spatula. stir in confectioners' sugar; beat to completely combine. add cream of coconut and vanilla extract; beat just until combined. adjust confectioners' sugar, if necessary, for flavor and texture. chill 30 minutes, or until firm enough to spread.