Dandelion Carrot Cupcakes

These cupcakes remind me of a spring version of pumpkin bars with their creamy rich finish of cream cheese frosting on top. The dandelion and carrots work well together to create a moist cake full of texture and a sweet earthy flavor.

I was looking for a recipe to add dandelion to and thought the texture of the pedals and shredded carrots would work well together in these super soft muffins. I ended up preferring the taste of the cupcakes with dandelion in them better than without.

Interesting Tid-bits

Because of their natural sweetness early bakers used carrots when sugar was expensive. It became popular around World War II when sugar along with other food items were being rationed.

Using carrots in desserts goes back to the middle ages along with reports of George Washington serving carrot cake at his parties.

Harvesting Dandilions

Dandelion petals, leaves, and roots are used in many different recipes. For this recipe, I use only the petals. Pick dandelions in the morning right after they have started opening up and before the afternoon sun comes out. You want the ones that are at their peak, I go for fully opened flowers.

After you have picked them go through and remove the green base that is attached to the stem. You can remove the petals by hand or use a knife to cut the base off or a pair of scissors works well too. Simply cut at the spot where the stem and the bottom green outside petals meat.

Give them a soak in 1 part vinegar to 3 parts water for 5-10 minuets to remove any bugs and dirt.

Strain off the water and give them a good rinse, I even gave them a gentle squeeze before placing them on a paper towel and spreading them out to air dry for a while.

I thought it would be fun to use these seasoned terracotta flower pots to bake the cupcakes in. I lined each one with parchment paper and baked them at the same time and temperature you would in a cupcake pan.

Tips

You can peel and shred the carrots by hand but baby carrots are already peeled and easy to throw in a food processor to shred in a few minutes

Make sure to set the cream cheese for the frosting out in advance to bring it to room temperature. If the cream cheese is too cold it will result in a lumpy frosting.

I also used room temperature butter for this recipe, melting the butter you risk making the frosting runny.

Store in an airtight container and once frosted keep it in the refrigerator so the the cream cheese in the frosting doesn’t spoil.

You can freeze cupcakes in a freezer ziplock or reusable freezer bag up to 3 months in advance before frosting. Defrost them before frosting. You can also make and freeze the frosting in advance too.

A butter knife works well to frost cupcakes if you don’t have any decorating equipment.