Over the weekend I experimented with a healthy carrot cake recipe. The results were quite good – moist, flavorful, and a 1/2 serving of veggies in each cupcake! I based my cupcakes on a recipe from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. However, since I used regular yogurt and cream cheese my cupcakes were not vegan.

Megan’s Version – Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Cupcake Ingredients

• 2/3 cup whole wheat flour
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 1/3 cup non-fat greek yogurt (Stonyfield Oikos vanilla flavor)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/4 cups of shredded carrots
• 1/4 cup jumbo raisins
• 1/4 cup pecan pieces

Frosting ingredients

• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 8 oz low fat cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees, fill muffin tin with silicone or paper liners, spray lightly with canola oil.
• In medium bowl, mix together sugar, oil, yogurt, and vanilla. Sift in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices. Fold in raisins and pecans.
• Fill muffin cups 2/3 full and bake 26-28 minutes. Allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes and then finish on a rack. Wait until cupcakes are completely cool before you frost them.
• To make the frosting, whisk powdered sugar, soft cream cheese, and vanilla in a stand mixer (or with a hand mixer) until smooth. Add the icing, top with a pecan, and refrigerate cupcakes until ready to eat!