Carrot Cupcakes Recipe

My husband had been bugging me to buy fresh veggies so on a recent trip to Costco, I threw in a bag of baby carrots and a bag of asparagus hoping it would suffice his request.  I'm not a fan of veggies or cooking, by the way. 

It wasn't until I got home that I realized what five pounds of baby carrots really looked like.  The first night we snacked on raw carrots before dinner, but my son didn't think they were sweet enough.  The second night, I steamed the carrots and they were much sweeter and easier to eat.  The third night, I still had 4 pounds of carrots.  Of course, in the back of my mind, I had always had the intention of baking carrot cake so I got out my Martha Stewart cupcake book. 

The recipe calls for 1 pound of carrots, peeled and finely grated.  The Costco carrots were already peeled, so I started grating one of the tiny baby carrots.  I nearly grated my fingers off.  After grating one baby carrot, I gave up.  Then I realized I could throw them in the food processor.  Yay!  Work stoppage remedied!

The recipe calls for 1 pound carrots, 3 large eggs at room temperature, 1/3 cup buttermilk, 2 cups sugar, 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil, 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract, 1/2 cup golden raisins (optional), 3 cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves.  I didn't have buttermilk so I made my own by adding 1 teaspoon white vinegar to 1/3 cup milk and letting it sit for 10 minutes.  I also omitted the ground ginger and raisins (two items I do not stock in my pantry).

I started by whisking together the carrots, eggs, buttermilk, sugar, oil and vanilla.  In a separate bowl, I whisked the remaining dry ingredients together.  Then I combined the two mixtures.  I baked the cupcakes at 325 degrees for about 25 minutes.  You'll know the cake is done by inserting a toothpick in the center and it comes out clean.

I loved this recipe!  The cupcakes are super moist and taste great on their own or with cream cheese frosting.  Even my daughter, who hates vegetables, loved them!  Being super sneaky parents, when she asked what the orange stuff was, we held our breath and told her it was orange candy and to not eat too much.  We had to giggle when she promised she wouldn't.