Baking With Vegetables - Mom Would Be Proud

Yesterday Sam was pretty disappointed that I had given away all of the banana cupcakes and hadn't saved any more for him. So, I thought I'd be a good doobie and bake another batch.

Much like yesterday, I searched through the contents of my fridge and found an unopened bag of baby carrots that needed to be consumed ASAP. Inspired, I exercised my Googling fingers and found this Carrot Cupcake recipe from joyofbaking.com.

Mom should be so proud of me for finding tasty new ways to eat my vegetables (and fruit, since apples and raisins are also included in this recipe)!
I won't mention the sugar... or butter.... or, well, maybe I won't tell her. :)

I was also more successful in photographing this batch:

Cooling off - they rose the perfect amount!

Lessons learned while frosting: 1) flat-bottom Ziplock bags do NOT make good pastry bags, and 2) cream cheese frosting melts REALLY quickly in hot, humid weather. :/ 

... and now I know.

Ain't it cute? :)

Yum.

These came out quite well. The carrots, apples, raisins, and walnuts are all coarsely chopped which gives the cake a lot of texture and the cream cheese frosting is delicious. Personally, I wish they were a little sweeter - I'm thinking that they are more suited for breakfast than for dessert.

I'm brining this batch to dance tonight (minus a few for Sam - I've learned that lesson!) and am looking forward to getting more breakfast vs. dessert feedback.

Here is the recipe:

Makes 20 cupcakes

INGREDIENTS
Carrot Cupcakes:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
4 large eggs
1 cup granulated white sugar
1 cup safflower, corn, or canola oil    *I used canola oil
2 cups finely grated raw carrots
1 cup grated apple (approximately 2 large)  *I used Granny Smith and only needed 1 to make a cup
1/2 cup pecans or walnuts, coarsely chopped  *I used walnuts
1 cup raisins or currants  *I used raisins

Cream Cheese Frosting:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
3 cups confectioners' (powdered or icing) sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract  *I accidentally used WAY more than 1 teaspoon - still came out great

DIRECTIONS
Carrot Cupcakes: 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and place rack in center of oven. Place paper liners in 20 muffin cups.

In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and ground cinnamon.

In another large bowl whisk the eggs, sugar, and oil until slightly thickened. Fold in the flour mixture until incorporated. With a large rubber spatula fold in the grated carrots, grated apple, chopped nuts, and raisins. Evenly divide the batter between the 20 muffin cups and bake about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean.   *I used my Kitchen Aid; fastest speed for 'whisking' and slowest speed for 'folding'

Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack. Pipe or with a knife or small metal spatula spread the cream cheese frosting on top of each cupcake. Cover and refrigerate the cupcakes until serving time.

Frosting:

In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese until very smooth and creamy. Gradually beat in the powdered sugar until fully incorporated and smooth. Beat in the vanilla extract.