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This is a delicious, healthier carrot cupcake recipe - perfect for your Easter kids table! #carrotcupcake #easterdessertforkids

Naked Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Servings 24 approx
Author Mary

Ingredients

  • 24 Small, ice cream sugar cones Sugar cones work better than the waffle style
  • 3/4 c. Pumpkin puree
  • 1/4 c. Vegetable oil
  • 1 1/2 c. Granulated sugar
  • 3 Eggs
  • 1 tsp Vanilla extract
  • 1 c. All purpose flour
  • 1 c. Whole wheat flour
  • 1 tsp. Baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp. Salt
  • 1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
  • 2 c. Grated raw carrots
  • 1 8 oz can Shredded pineapple Drained
  • 1/2 c. Shredded, unsweetened coconut
  • 1/2 c. Dried cranberries
  • 1 c. Chopped nuts Walnuts or Pecans
  • 24 Sprigs Fresh mint

Instructions

  1. Prepare cones. To help cones stand upright while baking, fashion a stand out of empty coffee cups covered with aluminum foil. Poke a hole into each foil-covered coffee cup and stick the cone in (point first). Place all coffee cups (with upright, empty cones) on a baking sheet.

  2. Preheat oven to 350F.

  3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine pumpkin, oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Mix to combine, scraping sides of bowl as needed.

  4. Sift together the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Add the sifted dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture in Step 3 and mix to combine, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

  5. Add carrots, pineapple, coconut, dried cranberries and nuts to the cupcake batter. Being careful not to over-mix, fold these ingredients into the batter by hand until just combined. 

  6. Fill cones with batter, leaving about 1/4 inch of space to the top edge – cupcakes will rise!

  7. Bake cones for 20-25 minutes, or until tops spring back to the touch and a toothpick comes out clean.

  8. When cool, garnish each cupcake with a sprig of fresh mint. 

Recipe Notes

To make traditional cupcakes, omit the steps which call for cone preparation/filling. Instead, line a standard cupcake pan with cupcake liners and bake at 350F for approximately 15-20 minutes, or until the cupcakes spring back to the touch and a toothpick comes out clean.