I'm doing a tasting for a friend's wedding cupcakes.  One of the flavors she mentioned she really likes is carrot cake.  I have a great recipe that I usually bake as a bundt and top with an orange glaze, but i have never made it as cupcakes.  The cakes will be made in DC and driven to Ohio the day before the wedding (Memorial Day weekend, but all indoors), so less stable options like the more traditional cream cheese are out of the question.  Do you guys have any suggestions for tasty frosting pairings?  Right now, I'm considering vanilla bean SMBC or flour frosting, dulce de leche ABC, coconut flour frosting, or orange ABC (flavored with zest and orange flavor).  Thoughts?  Suggestions?  I'll be making batches of SMBC and ABC that I can flavor in smaller batches for the other options I'm showing her. 

i do have a wild idea but perfect substitute for cream cheese icing :) but stable and a great tangy-ness --

american buttercream for example 2# powdered sugar, 1 cup butter, 1/2 cup cream*, two teaspoons to a tablespoon vanilla or vanilla paste, a little salt and... drum roll please... 2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar -- seriously!

i like to use buttermilk in my ABC but i was out so i tried this and it was So Good! i double dog dare you to try it -- my husband and i couldn't eat the leftovers fast enough -- totally reminded me of cream cheese mints of days gone by -- 

*so about that half cup cream -- maybe start with a quarter cup and add the vinegar to that -- you'll probably want it this consistency -- i might have added 3 tablespoons vinegar  -- just add to taste if indeed you even try it --

white balsamic can be tricky to find at the stores sometimes -- we love it in salads so i buy several when I find them --

best to you -- lemme know if you try it

*two teaspoons to a tablespoon of vanilla or vanilla paste

Intriiiiiiiiiiguing.  I'd have to figure out what to call it, since balsamic buttercream probably doesn't sound appealing :).  Maybe tangy buttercream.  I've never heard of using buttermilk in ABC.  That's really interesting.  I only really use ABC when it's going to paired with something tangy or with a strong flavor since it can be so cloyingly sweet.  What's the consistency?  I usually only use about 2-4 tbs or cream or milk in my buttercream, so 1/2 cup plus 2 tbs of balsamic sounds like a lot, but I guess I also only use closer to 1# of sugar per cup of butter.

yes i exactly agree with you -- did you see the distinction i made in my * up there? in there i  recommended to actually start with a quarter cup of cream plus two or three tablespoons of vinegar mixed in -- or even back the cream down to three tablespoons -- and i guarantee the icing with 2# powdered sugar to one cup butter - the reason i wrote it out initially with the half cup is because this is colette peter's recipe for abc and i like to keep the lineage intact even though i've obviously tweaked the heck out of it --

yeah calling it 'balsamic bc' is a bit shocking hahaha -- the consistency is great -- i filled a two layer brownie type cake with it -- didn't budge -- i make roses out of this formula and when ever i need abc -- but i mean i only just tried the white balsamic recently -- 

but maybe it is easier to smoothy smooth with the double fat in there -- idk -- 

so all that to say -- you've got the idea -- you could tweak it into your recipe or try mine -- best carrot cuppies to you --

ps -- i have always tended to call recipes by the name of the person who gave it to me probably because one of my employers called their wedding cakes by the name of the bride who first ordered that design -- so you can call it kate's bc or call it tangy bc or whatever --