Zucchini Cupcakes

I've been MIA for a few weeks. Well, over a month to be exact. We've moved into a new apartment since my last post, and spent labor day weekend in Boston. We're still unpacking.

Our place is larger, has wood floors, a giant bedroom and a giant bathroom, and is located in a great neighborhood close to downtown. As a bonus, the walls have an even coat of paint! That definitely wasn't true at our old place.


There are a few downsides: no attic, too few kitchen cabinets, and no garbage removal. We're learning to adapt, and I've figured out where our dump is! Woo! Another downside: no personal outdoor space. This means that I've forgotten all about our pepper plants and herbs that we put at the side of the house. We got threw out our tomato plants when we moved, which was probably for the better. They weren't looking too good.

Zucchini Cupcakes
A co-worker made a cake out of this recipe and brought it into work. I didn't eat the cake, however, I heard great things and got the recipe from her. I was more in the mood for cupcakes so I changed the cooking time and wa-lah! The zucchini cupcake.


Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cocoa
3 eggs
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 cup grated zucchini
1 cup nuts, chopped (optional)
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp grated orange peel


Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners or grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.


In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and cocoa. In a separate bowl beat the eggs until light, gradually adding the sugar. Slowly beat the oil into the egg mixture. Add the dry mixture alternatively with the buttermilk and grated zucchini. Add  the nuts (which I opted to leave out), vanilla, and orange peel. If you're making a cake with this recipe, it can be cooked for 50-60 minutes in a 9x13 inch pan. I cooked my cupcakes 20-25 minutes and they seemed to be fine.


Cream Cheese Frosting
8oz package cream cheese
1 lb confectioner's sugar (about 4 cups)
2 tablespoon lemon or orange juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon grated orange or lemon peel


Beat cream cheese and gradually add the sugar. Add the juice to thing the frosting to a thin consistency, followed by the vanilla and orange/lemon peels.


These were delicious fresh out of the oven. My problem? I can't have cream cheese frosting more than once in a week. By the time I had my fourth cupcake a few days later I was done. I'm not a huge fan of the cream cheese taste, but I will say that it's not as strong in this recipe. It was a perfect cupcake for our transition into fall.