A blogpost by Eugene-Oregon bottle shop & taphouse Sixteen Tons recently mentioned the great flavor combination of carrot cake and India Pale Ale. I immediately exclaimed, “by golly (radio edit)… I’m going to make some carrot cake IPA combo… somehow!!” And thus this recipe was born…

Ginger Carrot-cake Cupcakes
.

with IPA buttercream frosting

…

Cupcake Ingredients:
makes about 12 cupcakes

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups peeled, grated carrots
• 2 tsp peeled and finely grated fresh ginger

Frosting Ingredients:
makes about 12 cupcakes

• 2/3 cup Ninkasi Tricerahops Double IPA (or any other hoppy beer of your choosing)
• 4 oz. (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 12 oz. low-fat cream cheese, softened
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2-3 cups powdered sugar
• candied ginger for garnish

(click for larger)

Steps:

Cupcakes~

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Insert 12 cupcake liners into a 12-muffin tin.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon, and ground cloves.
3. In a large bowl, stir together granulated sugar, unsweetened applesauce, and canola oil until thoroughly combined. Add 2 eggs, one at a time, stirring well after each addition.
4. Gradually add the flour mixture and stir until just combined. Add grated carrots and grated fresh ginger. Stir to combine.
5. Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin tin, filling each liner about 3/4 full. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cupcakes comes out clean, about 18 to 22 minutes. Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then remove and let cool completely on a wire rack.
   

Frosting~

1. In a saucepan, add the IPA and place over LOW-medium heat. Reduce the beer by half (until it measures approximately 1/3 cup). It will be a darker caramel color from the original beer.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, add the cream cheese and butter. Beat with a whisk attachment until light and fluffy.
3. Add in the vanilla, powdered sugar and beer reduction. Whip again until fully combined, and the finished product is light and fluffy.
4. Cover the bowl and chill for 1 hour.
5. If the frosting seems too thin when you remove from the fridge, add more powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it reaches desired consistency.
6. Frost when the cakes are at room temperature and garnish with candied ginger.
   Enjoy!

(click for larger)

Seeing as Ninkasi Tricerahops comes in a 22oz bottle, you still have about a pints-worth of the beer to pair with a cupcake… well, if you didn’t drink it while you were baking.

Speaking of cupcakes…

Just around the corner is the 2nd annual Eugene Beer Week, and one of the events on Thursday, May 10th is a beer & cupcake tasting (FB event). Join 16 Tons and Divine Cupcake at the Supreme Bean Coffee Company (2864 Willamette, Eugene, OR 97405) for this unique event. They’ll be serving up 5 different pairings with Divine Cupcakes and a great flight of specialty beers:

• Boneyard’s Hop Venom IPA with IPA frosting carrotcake
• Widmer’s Imperial Stout with Death by Chocolate
  
• Rogue’s Hazelnut Brown Ale with Salted Caramel
• Elysian’s Avatar Jasmine IPA with Tao of Green (matcha green tea cake)
• Elysian’s The Peste Chocolate Chili Beer with The Swizzle (Mexican Chocolate Cake)

Cupcakes served 5:30pm-10pm on Thursday, May 10th.  Free Entry, $3 per 3oz Beer + Mini Cupcake.  Free Widmer Glass to first 60 people.  Full Food, Beer, Wine, and Coffee Menu offered.  All ages welcome.

Bon appetit!

This is a mainly music-based blog. If you stumbled in on a recipe search, check out my other recipes at THIS LINK. For specific “cooking with beer” links, go here:

• Oakshire Overcast (espresso stout) Chocolate Pudding
• Flat Tail Pumpkin Stout Tiramisu
• Framboise Cranberry Relish
• Blue Moon orange sherbet float
• Oakshire espresso stout float

~Dan – np: O.S.I. – Fire Make Thunder