Carrot Cupcakes!

Hi everyone! Hope you've been enjoying your summer! Training is in full swing for us and I can't wait for all of you to see our new programs! Colin and I are so excited for the upcoming season :). I know it's been months since my last post, and I know I always promise to post more often, but this time I swear I'm really going to try! This recipe is a little odd considering there's baby food in it, but I promise its delicious, and definitely worth the awkward walk down the baby aisle at the grocery store. Carrot cake is something I've always loved and I wanted to make one that didn't have the usual nuts and raisins. So, I went with pineapple and coconut instead. I recently made these cupcakes for one of my friends and he was a fan so I hope all of you are too :)

Carrot Cupcakes
adapted from Sticky Gooey Creamy Chewy

• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 4 extra large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 2/3 cups firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 4oz jar strained carrot baby food
• 1 cup crushed pineapple - drained
• 2 cup finely grated carrots (approx 3 carrots)
• 1 1/2 cup shredded coconut

Yield - 2 1/2 dozen

Preheat oven to 350°

Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners and set aside.
Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg together in a bowl. 

In a separate bowl beat the eggs, sugars, oil, buttermilk, vanilla, and baby food together. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until fully incorporated. Stir in the carrots, pineapple, and coconut just until evenly distributed throughout the batter.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan filling cupcake liners 2/3 of the way up. Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool cupcakes in the pan for a few minutes before transferring onto a cooling rack. 

Want to bake a cake instead? Coat and line two 9-inch cake pans with parchment and bake for 35-40 minutes :)

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 16oz cream cheese at room temperature

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter at room temperature

• 4 1/2 cups powdered sugar

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine the cream cheese and sugar. One cup at a time slowly incorporate the powdered sugar, be sure to scrape down the sides in between each addition. Once all the powdered sugar is incorporated mix in the vanilla extract. Frost your cupcakes and enjoy!

I'm going to be posting cookies next, and I already have an idea, but if you want to see something in particular please let me know!