Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Every time a birthday rolls around in my family and the birthday boy or girl is asked what they want for their birthday dinner, they always ask for carrot cake. My mother has been making the same carrot cake for birthday dinners since I was born. This cake goes down as her signature recipe, and I will defend it to the grave as the best carrot cake I have ever had. For years I refused to try it ("Carrots in a cake?" my skeptical 8-year-old self thought) but this recipe turned a carrot cake hater into a fanatic.

I decided to transform this family favorite into cupcakes. The original recipe has a homemade cream cheese frosting with pecans and coconut, but much against my belief that all sweets should be 100% homemade, I cheaped out and bought the $3 can of Betty Crocker frosting. Still, the end result was as phenominal as always. The secret is in cake; one bite of this moist, decadent treat and you won't look at carrot cake the same way again.

Enjoy! :)

Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Makes: 24 cupcakes  Prep: 15 minutes  Total: 35 minutes

Ingredients
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
3 cups grated raw carrots
1 can Betty Crocker cream cheese frosting

Directions
Sift all dry ingredients. Add oil and vanilla and mix well.  Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each. Grate carrots in food processor, add and mix well. Pour into greased cupcake tins.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.  Cool completely before icing.