Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Happy birthday, Alex!!

My friend's birthday was recently, and he's also in my writing group, so I thought it'd be fun to bake cupcakes so we could all enjoy them together! I asked him what his favorite cake was, and with his reply of "Carrot cake" I set out on a mission-- to perfect my cream cheese frosting recipe! ...And to bake him birthday cupcakes. ;)

Admittedly, I didn't make the carrot cake from scratch. (And by that, I mean I rarely make ANY cakes from scratch.) But it suuure tasted like it! I didn't know this secret until I started baking much more often with my mom: If you put a cup (one 8-oz container) of sour cream into any box cake mix you're making, it'll add an incredible amount of moisture. It also adds just a bit of denseness, so unless you really over beat them, they'll be more level.I also finally got the cream cheese recipe right! It's the perfect balance between the tartness of the cream cheese, and the sweetness of the powdered sugar. I was tempted to go through the cabinets and find other stuff to put it on!Carrot Cake Recipe

• 1 box carrot cake mix
• Eggs (varies depending on brand)
• Vegetable oil (varies depending on brand)
• 1- 8oz container sour cream

Preparation

• Preheat oven according to box.
• Line 24 cupcake tins with paper liners.
• Combine the ingredients.
• Blend on low speed for 30 seconds, then medium for 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally.
• Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, fill the 24 liners.
• Bake according to box.
• Remove from oven, let cool completely.

Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

• 2- 8oz packages cream cheese
• 1/2 c butter, softened
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 5.5 c powdered sugar

Preparation

• Cream together cream cheese and butter.
• Scrape sides, add vanilla, and quickly mix in.
• Add powdered sugar 1-2 cups at a time.
• Note: If you're frosting these with a knife, you'll probably only need about 1/2 of the recipe. This is larger for piping purposes.

And to toot my own horn (Toot toot!) I had more than one person say that these were the best carrot cake cupcakes they'd ever eaten. YAY!!