I did it.

I put a vegetable in a cupcake. And I didn’t do it alone.

Remember when I made these breakfast cookies? I love those things. Anyhoo, I made them with facebaby’s sister (my best friend’s kids… no, no relation) who is pretty much my favoritest little person in the universe. If you click on that cookie link, you can see how much older she looks here. I sort of hate it. Every time I see her I just want to scream STOP GROWING!!

I’m so maternal.

And ever since we made those cookies, she has been asking her mom when we were going to do it again. If we are being honest here… things like this aren’t just for her. I mean, did you know I might not be the most patient person in the world? Yeah. It sure does benefit, well… everyone around me when I spend a good chunk of time with a four year old. Oh the things I learn.

I also encourage them to do this. I sense I may regret it one day. Never mind that when my husband is around, I don’t exist. She loooooooves him.

So – the cupcakes with vegetables. Yes. I feel like carrot cake can be a cult favorite or get no love at all. I am pretty apathetic on the whole situation – it’s not the first cupcake I’d ever choose and I’d possibly even turn down a big slice, but the cream cheese frosting is what draws me in most. AND you guys know how obsessed I am with bananas these days… I just felt like adding some in would be the best choice in the world.

It was.

Oh… and we also made these cupcakes with coconut oil! No butter. Isn’t that crazy talk? I love it.

By now, you know I’m a bit on the lazy side and prefer mixing my cupcakes by hand. Sometimes you guys ask me why I do this in hopes for some special scientific baking answer, but the truth is that I just don’t want to drag my mixer out constantly. Plus, this way things were a bit easier and hands-on for my little friend. It results in a slightly denser cupcake – almost muffin like – but the banana and coconut oil contribute to the texture as well.

We left shredded coconut out of the cupcake itself, mostly because not everyone we were spending time with loooooves coconut like I do. How rude. If you’d like, you can throw a big old handful inside the batter, no other substitutions necessary. The frosting itself is flavored with coconut extract, but in my attempts to be crafty and entertain a small child, we put little nests on top with toasted coconut and Cadbury mini eggs.

Ugh. These stupid eggs. They are killing me. I thought I could be the cool, festive, domestic person that has a bowl of mini eggs sitting in their living room for hungry guests to snack on, but ummm…. no. I ate them all myself. Major fail.

Worth it though. This was so.much.fun.

Banana Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting

5 from 8 votes
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Ingredients

frosting

  • 1 1/2 (8 ounce) blocks of cold cream cheese
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon coconut extract
  • toasted unsweetened flaked coconut
  • cadbury mini eggs

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cupcake tin with liners. In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together sugar and eggs. Whisk in coconut oil, then once combined, stir in bananas, carrots and vanilla extract. Once mixed, add in half of the dry ingredients. Mix with a large spoon until incorporated, then add in the buttermilk. Add the remaining dry ingredients and stir until batter is somewhat smooth and not many lumps remain. Using a 1/4 cup measure or an ice cream scoop, fill lines 3/4 of the way full with batter. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until cupcakes are set in the centers. Set aside to cool completely.

frosting

  • In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth. Gradually add in powdered sugar with the mixer on low speed, increasing the speed once all of the sugar is added. Add in vanilla and coconut extracts, then beat on medium to medium-high speed for a good 2-3 minutes until creamy, scraping down the sides if needed. If you find the frosting it a bit too thick, add in some milk 1 teaspoon at a time until desired consistency is reached. If it is too thin, add additional powdered sugar gradually. Frost cupcakes once cooled. Roll the edges in toasted coconut and top with cadbury mini eggs if desired.

Notes

[cupcakes adapted from allrecipes]
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Ooooh and that neon pink headband? Yeah. Just guess who bought her that.