Carrot Cupcakes with Meringue Frosting (+ video)

Happy Spring!

The sun is shining, rabbits are hopping, daffodils are blooming, and carrots are growing.  You know what that means…carrot cupcakes!  But not only I am bringing you super moist, complete and utter carrot decadence, but also a silky, soft Italian meringue frosting to go with it.  And the goodness continues – we’re topping these cuties with homemade marzipan carrots dyed with 100% natural food coloring.  So basically, your spring dessert plans just can’t get any better than that.

After reading my recipes for Chocolate Walnut Truffle Cookies and Classic Coconut Cake (and if you haven’t, you totally should ?), you’ve probably realized that I love Pastiche, a small pastry shop in Providence, Rhode Island.   Aside from their cookies and tarts, they have top-notch cakes, one of which is the classic carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.  In testing this recipe, I tried to make cupcakes that tasted very similar to their cake.  However, their version contains pineapple and coconut, which I did not include in this recipe, but feel free to add!  I would recommend using about ½ cup of finely diced pineapple and ½ cup of shredded unsweetened coconut.  In addition, chopped walnuts around the edges of the cupcakes would look so adorable.  Let’s just take a moment to admire this:

As far as the ingredients go, we’re switching it up a little!  You see that extra ingredient in there?  Yes, that’s right – applesauce!  After making these cupcakes, I’ve realized that applesauce is my best friend.  So little fat, but adds so much flavor and moisture to the cupcakes.  Make sure you’re using unsweetened applesauce since we are already adding plenty of sugar – brown sugar that is – and additional sugar would just produce sugar overload.  We want not too little, not too much, just right.  Think Goldilocks.

Furthermore, the frosting I paired with this carrot cupcake recipe is not the traditional cream cheese frosting, but rather the classic Italian meringue.  That means that this entire recipe is completely butter-free.  Instead, oil and applesauce are substitutions for butter in the cake and egg whites contribute to the fluffiness of the frosting.  Winning! ?

These carrot cupcakes would not be carrot cupcakes if you did not finish them off with marzipan carrot toppers.  Because marzipan is so expensive, I decided to make homemade marzipan.  My love for marzipan grew when I visited Salzburg, Austria last summer.  Aside from everything being Mozart-themed (check out my                          !), there was marzipan sold in at least one shop on every block.   But I’m not talking about just ordinary marzipan (they have plenty of that).  I mean fruit-flavored, chocolate-coated, (dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate) nut and praline-filled, pistachio-flavored, rum-flavored, and the list continues!  It was basically chocolate and marzipan heaven.  They also had music clef and instrument-shaped baked pretzels!

Today, we’re making a five ingredient, basic marzipan that is dyed with this 100% natural food coloring made from fruit and vegetable extracts and juice.  I purchased this one by India Tree at Whole Foods.  Although it’s a little pricey ($15.00 for a package of three dyes), it’s totally worth it.  The package also includes red and blue colorings.  If you’re not willing to spend the money, you can of course make your own orange food coloring using carrot juice.  Leftover carrots from the cake batter?  Blend them in a blender or juicer and pour it into a sieve.  Voila!  NATURAL orange food coloring.  Done.

All in all, I believe the extra time and money spent on making or purchasing natural food coloring is completely worth it.  Don’t settle for the synthetic orange food dye found in craft stores! 🙂 Basic ingredients of unnatural food dye include propylparaben and propylene glycol.  Have you ever heard of these compounds?  I sure don’t like to consume ingredients I can barely pronounce.  In addition, food dye consumption has contributed to hyperactivity, learning impairment, irritability, and aggressiveness.  In fact, research has linked benzidine and 4-aminobiphenyl, two compounds in synthetic food colorings, to cancer.  So those chocolate eggs with their pastel candy shells you see in the photo – I don’t think I’m really in the mood to eat them now. 🙁

I’ve pretty much touched upon just about everything in this post.  From marzipan to food coloring safety, I think we’re all set here.  Get out those fresh carrots and whip these up because I’m sure you won’t regret it.  Happy spring!

Carrot Cupcakes with Meringue Frosting

Carrot Cupcake

  • 2/3 cup of light, packed brown sugar
  • 1/8 cup of white, granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup of coconut oil, melted
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3/8 cup of unsweetened applesauce
  • 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract
  • 1-1/4 cups of all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp of baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp of baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp of salt
  • 3/4 tsp of ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp of ground ginger
  • 1/8 tsp of ground cloves
  • 1/8 tsp of ground nutmeg
  • 2 cups of fresh carrot, shredded ((I recommend shredding carrots yourself for the best flavor!))
  • 2/3 cup of toasted walnuts, chopped ((optional))
  • 1/2 cup of pineapple, chopped ((optional))
  • 1/2 cup of unsweetened, shredded coconut ((optional))

Meringue Frosting

  • 3/4 cup of white, granulated sugar
  • 3 large egg whites
  • 2 tbsp of water
  • 1-1/2 tsp of vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp of lemon juice

Marzipan Carrots

  • 1 cup of almond meal
  • 2/3 cup of confectioner's sugar
  • 1/3 cup of cold water
  • 1 tsp of lemon juice
  • 1/2 tsp of almond extract
  • red, yellow, and blue food dyes ((mine are from the brand India Tree))
  1. Preheat oven to 350?F. Line cupcake tin with cupcake liners. Set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together brown sugar, white sugar, coconut oil, eggs, applesauce, and vanilla extract. Set aside. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg.
  3. Fold the flour mixture into the wet mixture with a spatula until it is just combined. Be careful not to overmix the batter. Fold in the shredded carrot. If you would like, fold in the walnuts, pineapple, and coconut. With an ice cream scoop, add the batter into the cupcake liners, filling each about 3/4 of the way full.
  4. Bake the cupcakes for 25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  5. While the cupcakes are cooling, prepare the marzipan. Sift the confectioner’s sugar and almond meal into a small bowl. In a separate small bowl, mix together the cold water, lemon juice, and almond extract. Add 1 tsp of the water mixture at a time to the sifted almond meal and confectioner’s sugar. The marzipan should come together after about 4 tsp of the water mixture. Mix completely with a spatula.
  6. Place about 3/4 of the marzipan into a small bowl and the other 1/4 into another small bowl. Dye the larger portion of marzipan with the yellow and red food dyes. To make orange, it should take about 20 drops of yellow to 4 drops of red. Dye the smaller portion of marzipan green by using 20 drops of yellow to 6 drops of blue. To test the colors to make sure they are the desired colors, place 1 drop of the mixed colors into a cup of water. The dyed water will have the same color as the marzipan.
  7. Once marzipan is prepared, take about 1 tbsp of the orange marzipan and form it into a carrot shape. Take about 1/2 tsp of the green marzipan and form it into the carrot leaves. Stick the leaves on the carrot, and set each marzipan carrot aside on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
  8. To make the meringue frosting, add all the frosting ingredients to a medium-sized bowl. Whisk until well combined. Fill a medium saucepan with 2-3 cups of water. The bowl should fit over the saucepan, but should not touch the water in the saucepan. Place the saucepan over medium to low heat, and place the bowl on top of the saucepan. Heat the sugar mixture over the simmering water until all the sugar is dissolved, and the mixture reaches a temperature of 140-160?F.
  9. Add the mixture to the bowl of a standing mixer, and beat on high speed for 12-15 minutes until the mixture reaches very stiff peaks and has a glossy white color.

  10. Pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes, and add the marzipan carrots on top. This treat is perfect for Easter or any spring party!

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