Jennifer Bernstein is a Brooklyn-based blogger (Local Appetite) and maker of some really good-looking food.

I’m sick of cupcakes. Sick of pastel frosting decoratively piped on top of little cakes. Sick of the buzz of the newest cupcake bakery or the requisite oohs and awws when they show up at your birthday party. So, why did I spend Saturday morning carefully decorating the tops of a batch of carrot cake cupcakes I baked the night before? Because, whether I like it or not, people like their birthday cake in cupcake form these days, and there’s nothing more I like better than hearing squeals of joy over my food.

I was a late-comer to the allure of carrot cake. As a child, I thought people were loco to put vegetables in their cake. When I got over that, I was happy to learn it doesn’t taste a thing like raw carrots, but more like a subtle spice cake. It is moist and dense, with a texture half-way between your basic yellow cake and a slice of pound cake. I’m not a nutrionist, but I’d also like to think that all those carrots add some hidden health benefits, so feel free to consider this part of a balanced diet. It was this healthy image that had me volunteer to bake a carrot cake for my nephew’s first birthday picnic. But, of course, times being what they are, cupcakes were requested. I obliged, because if nothing else, cupcakes are easier to serve at a picnic.

This carrot cake version was adapted from a recipe from America’s Test Kitchen, and I lowered the sugar a bit so you don’t mask the natural sweetness of the carrot. I’ve made this cake a few times, and I promise you that if you get your hands on some fresh, local, high quality carrots, you will be rewarded with a better flavor for the cake, and bragging rights for your conscious cooking. Plus, a generous dose of cream cheese frosting never hurts. Lastly, if you’re not convinced to try this recipe yet, or your also a little sick of the ubiquitous cupcake, it works as a sheet cake, muffins (if you skip the icing), or an old-fashioned bundt cake. Whatever you pick, as long as it tastes this good, people will get giddy at their first bite. For an extra dose of appreciation, go ahead and suck it up and bake it into cupcake form, because it’s the happy smiles that make baking worth the trouble. That, and the leftovers.

Carrot Cake Cupcakes
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoon cinammon
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 pound peeled and grated carrots
1/2 cup yellow raisens (optional)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grate carrots (medium or finely grated is best).
2. Line muffin tins with cupcake liners (If using a cake pan, use parchment paper).
3. Whisk dry ingredients together, set aside.
4. Whisk eggs and sugars together till frothy. Slowly add oil and whisk till frothy again.
5. Whisk in flour mixture, then carrots, and then raisens or nuts if using.
6. Bake 20-25 minutes for cupcakes, 35-40 minutes for sheet pan, 55 minutes for bundt pan.
7. Let cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon sour cream (optional for tang)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar

Mix all ingredients (cream cheese – vanilla) together well. Add sugar, and mix to incorporate.