Paula Deen & a carrot cupcake recipe

We are halfway through October already. That means we're halfway to Halloween and a little over a month away from Thanksgiving. And then... Christmas. Confession: I definitely spent a good amount of time watching Christmas movies this week.

Before you start sending the hate mail, just know it was merely for inspiration to finish a few holiday projects.  And what does this all have to do with cupcakes anyway? Well, these carrot cupcakes were adapted from one of my mom's favorite recipes: Paula Deen's carrot cake.

My mom is sort of a Paula Deen fan girl. It all started when we switched tv providers and suddenly found the Food Network. She watched endless Paula Deen episodes and bought one of her cookbooks.

For Christmas that year, my dad and I bought her the rest of Paula Deen's cookbooks at the time and there were tears. I'd even go so far as to say they were waterfalls. It rivaled the Christmas when my dad bought her a mothers ring. She loved the cookbooks that much.

The carrot cake was the first recipe she tried, and she's made it many times over. It's a favorite in our family. I was happy to take that cake recipe and make it my own. Except it's not. It's a little bit of Paula Deen, a lot of my mom, and a little bit of me.

Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Yields approximately 2 dozen cupcakes

Ingredients

Cake:
2 1/2 c. flour
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar, packed
4 eggs
1 1/2 c. vegetable oil
3 cups grated carrots

Frosting:
1/4 c. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
8 oz. cream cheese, cold
2 to 3 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
chopped pecans (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350*F. Prepare muffin pan with cupcake liners. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of a mixer, combine the eggs, sugar, and brown sugar. Slowly add in the oil and stir until the mixture is smooth. Mix in the dry ingredients being careful not to over beat the batter. Fold in the grated carrots.

Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full. Bake 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from pan and allow to cool.

For the frosting, mix together the butter and cream cheese until smooth. Stir in the powdered sugar until the frosting reaches the desired consistency. Stir in the vanilla.

Frost cupcakes and sprinkle with chopped pecans, if desired.

Adapted from Paula Deen.

Enjoy!