Carrot, Orange, Raisin Cupcakes

My beautiful cousin Victoria had a nice visit this week and we decided to make something fun so we decided on these DELICIOUS carrot cupcakes. I know it's not fall but carrot cupcakes are too good to pass up the rest of the year. These are absolutely amazing cupcakes with an equally amazing orange infused cream cheese icing.

Recipe:

Cupcakes:
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup canola or corn oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp grated orange zest
• 1 cup grated carrots ( about 2 large carrots)
• 3/4 cup golden raisins
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Icing:
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)
• 6 ounce cream cheese (room temperature)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tsp grated orange zest
• 1 tsp juice from an orange

Preparation:
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Line muffin pan with paper cupcake liners.
• Sift the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon into a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the eggs and sugar until smooth and thick (about 1 minute). Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. On low speed, mix in the oil, vanilla, and orange zest until blended.
• Mix in the carrots, raisins, and walnuts.
•Fill liners with about 1/4 cup batter. Bake for about 28 minutes. Cool cupcakes for 10 minutes. Remove cupcakes to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
• Make the frosting: In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on low speed, beat the butter, cream cheese, and vanilla until smooth and blended thoroughly. Add in the powdered sugar, mixing until smooth, then beat on medium speed for 1 minute to lighten the frosting further.
• Using a spoon, mix in orange zest and juice into the frosting. Spoon about 1/4 cup of frosting on each cupcake. place walnut halves on top to decorate. Serve, or cover and refrigerate.