Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Box cake? What box cake!? This recipe may start with this cheat, but it’s much better than the recipe on the box. I recommend starting a fire in the fireplace before you start cooking so you can burn the box afterward.

Ingredients

  • One 15.25 oz. box “Carrot Cake” mix. (I like the one that has the little orange pieces of fake carrot in it, but any brand will do.)
  • Three Eggs, 1/2 cup Oil, and 1 cup Water (or whatever your brand of cake mix requires)
  • Three Large Carrots
  • 3/4 cup Golden Raisins
  • 1/2 cup Coarsely Chopped Walnuts (Or you Southerners can use Pecans instead, bless your hearts!)
  • Cream Cheese Frosting (I won’t judge you if you use ready-prepared frosting. I really won’t. But, I’ll be posting my recipe for this soon!)

Directions

  1. Pre-heat oven per directions on the box.
  2. Run carrots through a food processor until finely ground (or grate and chop them if you need an upper-arm workout.) Set aside.
  3. Chop walnuts. Set Aside.
  4. Prepare cake mix per the instructions on the box.
  5. Add carrot, golden raisins, and walnuts and mix thoroughly.
  6. Spoon into muffin/cupcake tin prepared with paper cupcake liners, filling each one about 2/3 full. (If you don’t have paper cupcake liners, I’m sure it will be fine with just a coating of cooking spray, but they really turn out better with liners…. Actually, go get some liners before you start your batter, OK?)
  7. Bake per directions on the box.
  8. Remove from oven and transfer to rack to cool.
  9. After thoroughly cooled, frost with cream cheese frosting.
  10. Decorate with Sprinkles, or if you’re feeling especially ambitious, you can mix some orange and green food coloring into a bit of your frosting and pipe those cute little frosting carrots on the top instead. (Show off!)