Carrot Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

I was one of those weird kids that LOVED carrot cake growing up. But I always picked the raisins out (seriously, who decided that putting raisins in baked goods was a good idea?). It wasn't until my mom's friend graduated from college and had a carrot cake with pecans in it that I had ever thought of the idea, which was apparently just as popular as raisins. My mom can't stand nuts aside from almonds, and definitely doesn't like them in her baked goods, so I came up with a basic carrot cake cupcake that can be kept as is or have raisins, nuts, or whatever else you want added to them. Bear in mind that this recipe only makes 12 cupcakes, so if you need more it's really easy to double, triple, etc.

As always, click on the pictures to view them larger!

HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL NEED

*1 large egg (room temperature)

*1 cup golden brown/medium strength brown sugar (packed)

*1/2 cup of vegetable oil

*3 cups of shredded carrots

*1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

*1 tbsp ground cinnamon

*1/2 tsp baking powder

*1/4 tsp baking soda

(for the frosting-not pictured)

*4oz plain cream cheese (room temperature)

*1/2 stick butter (room temperature)

*1 tbsp ground cinnamon

*1/2 lb powdered sugar

*milk


LET'S DO THIS!

First off, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Farenheit and line a cupcake pan with liners.

You're going to whisk the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and baking soda in a bowl.

In another bowl (or a mixer if you have one) beat the egg, oil, and brown sugar together. It should look almost like a gooey caramel.

Once those ingredients are mixed together well, add the carrots in.

After the carrots are incorporated, slowly mix in the dry ingredients. Scrape the sides at this point to make sure all of the ingredients are evenly mixed in.

Next, fill the cupcake liners up evenly.

Bake until you can pull a toothpick/knife out without anything coming off it-it should only take about 15-20 minutes.

When the cupcakes are cool, make the frosting by beating the cream cheese, butter, cinnamon, and a small splash of milk (about 2 tbsps) together. Slowly add the powdered sugar until you reach your desired consistency. If you add too much powdered sugar, simply add milk about a tbsp at a time. I knew I wanted the frosting on these to look more rustic, so I added less powdered sugar than I would if I were going to pipe the frosting on.

As soon as these came out of the oven my mom was asking every thirty seconds when she could eat one. The kitchen smelled like a Yankee Candle store in the middle of October, so I don't blame her.

These babies are so moist that I seriously don't understand how they hold together when the cupcake wrappers are taken off.

They got a thumbs up from everyone in the house, so hopefully you'll like them too if you make them!

Until next time...


Stay Stellar,

Paige Elise