Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

There’s something wonderful about carrot cake cupcakes that won’t allow you to have just one. Maybe it’s the justification that since they have a veggie as the main ingredient, it’s okay to splurge! Or maybe it’s the warm moist cake with bursts of cinnamon and nutmeg mixing with the decadent cream cheese frosting.. My conclusion is that it’s a bit of both that will have you and your guests coming back for seconds on Easter Sunday!

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(Makes 12 cupcakes)

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

A pinch of salt

2 eggs

½ cup unsweetened apple sauce

1 ½ cups finely grated carrots (2-3 large carrots)

For frosting:

4 oz (half of a package) cream cheese, softened

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 ½ cups powdered sugar

Don’t forget adorable spring themed cupcake liners and candy bunnies for the top!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.

(1.) In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. (2.) In a separate bowl, lightly beat two eggs. Stir in applesauce and grated carrot. (3.) Pour carrot mixture into dry ingredients and stir until mixed well. (4.) Fill muffin cups ¾ of the way full with batter.

Place in the oven and bake for 13-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool within the pan for 5-10 minutes. Remove from pan and place on cooling rack to finish cooling for another 10 minutes. While waiting for cupcakes to cool, prepare frosting.

In a medium sized bowl, mix cream cheese, butter, and vanilla extract with an electric mixture until creamy. Slowly add the powdered sugar about a ½ cup at a time until smooth. Use a rubber spatula to scrape any excess powdered sugar from the sides and mix again.

Once cupcakes have cooled, spread frosting on with a butter knife, use a pastry bag and frosting tip, or just place in a large zip-lock bag and cut the tip of the corner off.