Today is National Carrot Cake day. I don't get many requests for carrot cake. I like it, but it's not "out of this world" great. There are lots of other desserts that I would rather spend my calorie expenditure on!! I do have a "go to" recipe from my Betty Crocker cookbook that I have made several times.
Let me tell you a little background on my Betty Crocker cookbook. Several years ago, I visited my little sister in Iowa for the very reason of witnessing the home birth of her 5th baby. Sweet little Abby was born - it was the most amazing thing that I have ever been a part of! Of course, I was there when my 2 boys were born, but this was just different. Being there in the moment and seeing my baby sister and the incredible strength and power that she had over her body in those hours and intense moments of labor was absolutely incredible! I stayed a full week after the baby was born to help out around the house and take care of the big kids. I made some recipes from her Betty Crocker Cookbook: Everything you need to know to cook today. It is a cookbook of basic recipes with lots of helpful hints and information throughout. I like using the recipes from this and tweaking and adding to them. The other thing I love about it is that it lists the nutritional information at the end of each recipe.
A few weeks after I came home from Iowa, a package arrived in the mail addressed to me from my sister. I opened it up and there was a New Edition of the same cookbook that I had become so fond of! The note on the packing slip read, "To Sharla: I get used to living far away from my loved ones, but you reminded me how much I miss you and the rest of the family. Having you share these special moments was the best gift you could give me. From: Kayla". This cookbook will always be very special to me. I cut out the note from the packing slip and taped it inside the book so I will always remember those times.
Instead of making a 2 layer cake, I decided to make these into cupcakes. I also tried to save a little time and use pre shredded carrots from the grocery store. The shreds are a little bigger than the grated carrots that I normally use which made it a little difficult to get into the muffin pans. Overall, they were tasty and I enjoyed them.
Carrot Cake Cupcakes (Healthy Version)
Yield: 19 cupcakes (315 calories each with light cream cheese frosting)
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 large egg
- 4 large egg whites
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 3 cups shredded carrots (5 medium)
Directions:
- Heat oven to 350 deg. F. Line muffin pans with cupcake liners.
- In large bowl, beat sugar, oil, applesauce, and eggs with electric mixer on low speed about 30 seconds or until blended. Add flour, cinnamon, baking soda, vanilla, and salt; beat on low speed 1 minute. Stir in carrots.
- Fill muffin cups 2/3 full; bake approximately 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool completely; frost with cream cheese icing. Store covered in the refrigerator.
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