Everybody seems to have an opinion when it comes to carrot cake; raisins or no raisins, pineapple or no pineapple, etc...  I've noticed that most people seem to have very strong feelings about the raisins.

Me, I tend to prefer a simpler style of carrot cake, with fewer additions.  Some recipes are so densely packed with nuts, coconut, pineapple, and raisins the cake can be downright heavy.  I'm looking for something a little lighter. Omitting the optional ingredients, this recipe from Smitten Kitchen produces a really moist and nicely spiced carrot cake, the perfect ending for our Easter dinner. 

Carrot cupcakes topped with a creamy cloud of whipped mascarpone.

All you'll need to make the this light creamy frosting is a few simple ingredients.

• 1 cup ice cold whipping cream
• 100 grams Mascarpone cheese
• 1/2 cup sifted icing sugar
• 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Whip the cream with the icing sugar until soft peaks form.  In a separate bowl, stir the lemon juice into the mascarpone.  Gently fold the whipped cream into the mascarpone just to combine.  This mixture will be quite soft, too soft to hold fancy piped rosettes.  So, instead, I piped loose, soft billowy clouds of frosting by using a ziplock baggie with the corner snipped. 

I finished each cupcake with a tiny edible flower. 

Happy Easter!