Luscious Carrot Cupcakes - cooking recipe

Ingredients

Batter:
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
2 1/4 cups grated carrots
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
Cream Cheese Icing:
1 (16 ounce) package confectioners' sugar, or as needed
1/2 (8 ounce) package cream cheese (such as Philadelphia(R))
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 lemon, zested

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Mix 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons oil, eggs, brown sugar, and grated carrots together, in that order, in a bowl.
Mix flour, cinnamon, baking powder, vanilla sugar, and salt together in a separate bowl. Add flour mixture to oil mixture and stir to combine. Fill 12 cups of a muffin tin with the batter.
Bake on the middle rack of the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 12 to 15 minutes; do not overbake. Cool completely before frosting, about 45 minutes.
Mix confectioners' sugar, cream cheese, butter, lemon juice, and lemon zest together in a bowl; stir until the icing reaches a smooth, thick, and creamy texture. Cover icing with plastic wrap and refrigerate until set, at least 30 minutes, before topping cupcakes.