These are originally called Carrot Cake Whoopie Pies, but I'm calling them Carrot Cake Cream Pies because they remind me of Oatmeal Cream Pies (yum). Also because no one in my family understood what a whoopie pie was when I brought them over Easter day. I found this recipe last year at Grin and Bake It. They turned out so well! Super moist and delicious. There was also a recipe for a Carrot Cake Martini on the Grin and Bake It website, but I didn't have time to grab all the ingredients AKA alcohol. I bet they would have been delicious!
Makes 12 or 24 cream pies (depending on if you slice each one in half like I did)
Bake time: 14-16 minutes
Ingredients:
- 11 oz grated carrots
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 c vegetable oil
- 1 3/4 c brown sugar
- 3/4 c raisins (do not be afraid- you puree these before adding to the cake and you can't even taste them!)
- 2 c all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- pinch of salt
- 1 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp allspice
- 3 oz cream cheese, softened
- 3 oz (6 T) butter, softened
- 4 1/2 oz powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Feel free to skip past the picture demonstration to get straight to the listed directions.
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Grease a regular size muffin/cupcake pan with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
Start by placing the grated carrots in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes to soften, stirring occasionally. I chose to grate my own carrots for this recipe. It was incredibly tiresome. I think I'll take the easy route next time and buy a bag of grated carrots.
After the 5 minutes is up, remove from heat. Drain the water from the grated carrots and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, add two whole eggs and whisk until smooth.
Add the brown sugar and oil to the mixing bowl. Mix until combined.
In a blender or food processor, add the cooked grated carrots and raisins. Puree until smooth. I liked this step because I'm not a raisin lover. Pureeing the raisins with the carrots made the raisins go unnoticed once baked.
Add the pureed mixture to the mixing bowl and mix until combined.
Next add the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice to the bowl. Stir until just combined. Do not over-mix.
Spoon 1 rounded tablespoon of batter into each greased muffin tin. Bake for 14 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Mine took 16 minutes to reach this stage.
While those little guys are baking you can make the cream cheese filling. Cream together the softened butter and softened cream cheese in a medium mixing bowl.
Mix in the powdered sugar and vanilla extract until smooth. Set aside.
Once the baking time is up, remove the cakes from the oven and transfer onto a cooling rack. I just turned my pan upside down and they all fell out easily.
At this point you can assemble the cakes as is, or cut them down the center with a serrated knife like I did. I chose to do this because the cakes were a little thick and only made enough for 12 servings. I was bringing them somewhere as an Easter treat and thought I'd cut them down in size so I could bring 24 instead. Anyway, divide the the number of cakes in half. Pipe the frosting over half of the baked cakes.
Top the frosted halves with another cake half to make a sandwich.
Tada! Carrot Cake Cream Pies. Delish.
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Grease a muffin/cupcake pan with non-stick cooking spray.
- Place the grated carrots in a large pot and cover with water. Boil for 5 minutes to soften the carrots. Meanwhile, whisk together the eggs in a large bowl. Mix in the oil and brown sugar until combined.
- Remove the carrots from the heat and drain the water from the pot. Place the cooked grated carrots and raisins in a food processor or blender. Puree and add to the bowl with the eggs, oil and sugar. Mix well and then add in the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice). Mix until just combined- do not over mix.
- Place 1 rounded tablespoon of batter into greased muffin tin. Bake for 14-16 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Make the frosting while the cakes are baking. Cream together the softened butter and softened cream cheese in a medium bowl. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth and set aside.
- Once the cakes are done baking, transfer them to a cooling rack. Once cool, divide the cakes in half, leaving half for frosting and half for topping. Split each cake down the center with a serrated knife if desired (this will make 24 servings). Pipe frosting onto half the cakes. Top each frosted cake with an unfrosted half to make a sandwich.
Check out these other Easter recipes:
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