Carrot Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Haven't posted for a week!!  We had 4-day-weekend and everything slowed down but the good thing was that I had time for baking, which I rarely do.  I love baking, actually, but I avoid it in order not to have sweet temptation around the house.  

We organized a Mexican lunch party on Friday, inviting hubbie's colleagues and their families. I baked carrot cake with maple cream cheese frosting and also Pasteis de Nata (Portuguese egg tarts) for desserts.  To go with the sweet frosting, I prefer the carrot cake a little lighter than normal so I used my mom's recipe.  I literally grew up with this cake!  As is often the case with Japanese baking, she used minimum amount of sugar so it's much less sweeter than American carrot cakes.  

Ingredients (for about 20 cupcakes/4'X10' loaf pan)
 ...<for carrot cake>
200g/7oz carrots
150g/5.3 flour
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tbsp. baking powder
a pinch of salt
3 eggs
50g/1.8oz butter
130g/4.5oz sugar

 ...<for frosting>
120g/4oz cream cheese
60g/half a stick butter
1 cup confectioner's sugar
3 tbsp. maple syrup

Directions
1. Shred carrots.  Combine and sift flour, cinnamon, baking powder and salt.  Melt butter in a microwave for 30 sec. and cool.
2. Beat eggs with an electronic mixer adding sugar gradually until the mixture gets thick and foamy.
3. Mix in flour mixture. (do not stir too long!)
4. Mix in melted butter and shredded carrots.
5. Pour into buttered foam and bake at 180°C/350°F until tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
*40-45min. for a large pound cake form, 20-25min. for regular size cupcakes.
6. To make frosting, beat all the ingredients together with an electronic mixer until smooth and fluffy.
7. Frost the cooled cake and serve.                     

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