snowman cupcake

My mom, and owner of Whiteley Creek Bed & Breakfast, is always baking up something in the kitchen and usually adds in a whole lot of creativity to whatever she is making! This snowman cupcake is a perfect example...


She used carrot cake batter thinking it would be appropriate..."carrot nose, ya know." The body of the snowman as well as the hat and scarf are all made from gumdrops. She could not find large gumdrops so purchased small ones instead and mushed them together to create what she desired. Popsicle sticks were cut to resemble skis and wooden skewers take the place of ski poles. The pretty blue ends on the poles are candies that she had left over from a choo choo train cupcake topper that she made last winter. So cute and perfect for this blistering cold weather! My mom strives, even while baking, to end up with something healthy and she often does this by subbing out those ingredients with higher calories and fat for more nutritious ingredients. Or, just searching for recipes that are healthy to begin with. The carrot cake recipe used for making the snowman cupcakes is healthy and passes her seal of approval for taste...

CARROT CUPCAKES from EatingWell

Makes 12 cupcakes.

Cupcakes:

½ cup pitted prunes
¼ cup hot water
1-8 oz. can crushed pineapple
1 ¼ cups sifted cake flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 large egg
1 large egg white
¾ cup sugar
¼ canola oil
1 cup grated carrots

Preheat oven to 325°. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners. Combine prunes with hot water in a food processor and process until smooth; set aside. Drain pineapple in a strainer set over a small bowl, pressing firmly to extract most of the juice. Set the pineapple aside and reserve the juice for another use. Whisk flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Whisk egg, egg white, sugar, oil, and the reserved prune puree in a mixing bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture and stir with rubber spatula until blended. Stir in carrots and the reserved pineapple. Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups, filling them about 2/3 full. Bake the cupcakes until a toothpick inserted into a cupcake’s center comes out clean, 25-30 minutes. Let the cupcakes sit in the pan for about 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool before frosting.

Frost with cream cheese icing, plain powdered sugar frosting, or simply a sprinkling of powdered sugar.