Carrot Cake Cupcakes

I love carrot cake. I've made carrot cake before, but I wasn't thrilled with the recipe. It was very dense and heavy. This time around, I used a different recipe and was very pleased. The cake was light and fluffy and the icing was perfection.

Ingredients:
cake:
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp table salt
1 lb medium carrots (6 to 7 carrots)
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 c. packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
4 egg whites
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup applesauce

icing:
8 oz cream cheese, softened but still cool
5 tbsp unsalted butter softened, but still cool
2 tbsp plain greek yogurt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 c confectioners sugar

Directions:

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Spray your muffin tins with baking non-stick spray. You can use muffin liners, but I prefer not to.

3. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt in large bowl; set aside.

4. In food processor fitted with large shredding disk, shred carrots (you should have about 3 cups); transfer carrots to bowl and set aside.

5. Wipe out food processor workbowl and fit with metal blade.

6. Process granulated and brown sugars and eggs until frothy and thoroughly combined, about 20 seconds.

7. With machine running, add oil/applesauce through feed tube in steady stream.

8. Process until mixture is light in color and well emulsified, about 20 seconds longer.

9. Scrape mixture into medium bowl.

10. Stir in carrots and dry ingredients until incorporated and no streaks of flour remain.

11. Pour into prepared pan and bake until toothpick or skewer inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 50 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking time.

12. Cool cake to room temperature in pan on wire rack, about 2 hours.

13. When cake is cool, process cream cheese, butter, yogurt, and vanilla in clean food processor workbowl until combined, about 10 seconds, scraping down bowl with rubber spatula as needed.

14. Add confectioners' sugar and process until smooth, about 10 seconds.

15. Remove cupcakes from tin and ice.

If you want to add the icing carrots, follow the directions found here.

Bon Appetit!
The Food Whore