Carrot Cupcakes with Orange Icing

I was in a baking mood this weekend. I am not much of a baker - I lack the patience for cookies and I have an aversion to rolling pins - but it is one aspect of cooking that I would like to get better at. We still had several pounds of carrots left in the crisper, and I found this recipe for carrot cupcakes on Epicurious (I love Epicurious - the majority of the recipes I use from their site have been excellent). My husband really likes carrot cake, so I thought this would be a winner. It's a little different because instead of cream cheese frosting, you use orange icing; I've never combined oranges and carrots before, but I figure these recipe writers know what they're doing, after all it is their job.

These were tasty, and very moist. They even stayed moist for several days after baking, much like carrot cake. The orange flavor is subtle, but blends well with the carrots. My husband still prefers cream cheese frosting, but this is a nice, slightly lighter alternative. The only downside to these cupcakes was that they are a little bit oily - I would use a little less oil the next time around.