I had the pleasure of visiting Albuquerque during the Balloon Fiesta. It is a beautiful city and the big balloons are not the only things to see there. While I was there, I had the opportunity to visit Old Town and eat some great food.
This was the 40th annual Balloon Fiesta and it was as colorful and exciting as any Balloon Festival I have attended. The crowds that this one draws swell the population of the city and surrounding areas to over 1 million, according to one of the cab drivers. It is amazing!
Old Town is the original part of Albuquerque that was established 300 years ago. It was well kept and had lovely shops. Normally I write about food but I have to comment on a tiny little clothing shop. It is the Peruvian Perfection. It is owned and run by a husband and wife team. The husband, Brian runs the shop and the wife, Katina , is the designer of the pieces. She is Peruvian and has studied design in Peru. Her designs were classic, beautiful, and well made. She uses Alpaca and Cotton cloth for her line. The Alpaca is so light it was unbelievable. You can visit them at 323 Romero St. NW Suite #4 or on the web at http://www.peruvianperfection.net/.
The lunch I had was at St. Clair Winery and Bistro. They had a Bistro Dip which was delicious and I sampled two of their wines, Blue Teel White Merlot and St Clair Shiraz. All in all, a lovely afternoon.
While I was in Albuquerque, I also had one of the best pieces of Carrot Cake, ever. The icing was a thin vanilla glaze with a drizzle of more vanilla glaze, so I am sharing my version with Cream Cheese Icing. While having the Carrot Cake, I also had a pot of New Mexico Pinon coffee. The coffee had a chocolate undertone that really set off the cake.
The bag of coffee I purchased lists pinon nuts in the ingredients. It is different and delicious. If you would like to order the coffee, the website is http://www.nmpinoncoffee.com/
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| Carrot Cake Cupcakes with iced New Mexico Pinon Coffee (the milk has not yet combined with the coffee) |
Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing
2 cups Flour
2 cups Sugar
2 Tablespoons Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon of Salt
3 cups Shredded Carrots
4 beaten Eggs
3/4 cup Oil
*a note about shredded carrots; I have tried using the pre-shredded carrots that can be purchased in salad section of the grocery store. I did not have much success. I felt that it ruined the texture of the cake once it was cooked. However, like any other food, it is totally subjective. If you like it, do it.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line 12- 3 1/2" muffin tins with paper liners.
Sift the first 5 ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Toss carrots in the dry mixture to keep from settling. Stir in eggs and oil. Mix until dry ingredients are coated. Try to not over mix.
Spoon batter evenly into lined muffin pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 and 25 minutes. Let cool completely. Frost with Cream Cheese Icing.
Cream Cheese Icing
8 ounces Cream Cheese
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 teaspoons Vanilla
1 box Powdered Sugar
Cream together cream cheese and butter. Add vanilla and beat until fluffy. Slowly add powdered sugar, beating after each addition. Use for icing cupcakes.
Here are a couple more photos of the balloons.
Enjoy!
Deloris
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