Happy Eatings Friends! 🤗

Firstly, I'd like to take the opportunity to thank my first 2,000+ Steemit followers! 🎉 Woo-hoo! Thank you all for your continued support! To commemorate this milestone, I'd thought we'd kick off the celebration with some petite treats - BOOZY MINI CUPCAKES!

Today, I'll share with you the recipes for these darling carrot cake cupcakes made with spiced rum raisins, candied carrot topping, and vanilla cream cheese frosting. 😍

May is just one short week away! This year 💐 Mother's Day 💐 will be observed on Sunday, May 13th in the U.S. These yummy bite-sized cupcakes could make for a sweet surprise for that special someone (hint hint)! 😉

Do these guys kinda look like little chickens? Or, Chicken Little? Maybe both?! 😝

Spiced Rum Raisin Carrot Cake Cupcake Recipe

Ingredients

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For the spiced rum raisins:

1 cup spiced rum
1 cup dark raisins

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For the cupcakes:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups light brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups coconut oil
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract
2 tablespoons spiced rum
2 tablespoons finely grated ginger
1 cup spiced rum soaked raisins
3 cups finely grated carrots
1/2 cup pecans, chopped

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Yield: 2 dozen standard size cupcakes or 6+ mini size cupcakes | Oven temp: 350°F (175°C) | Prep Time: 30 minutes | Bake Time: 18 - 20 minutes

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For the cream cheese frosting:

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract
2 cups confectioners' sugar

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For the candied carrot topping:

1 large carrot (or 2 medium sized)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water

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Directions

For the spiced rum raisins:

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1. Place dark raisins and spiced rum in a small bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and allow the raisins to soak and absorb the rum for at least 8 hours or overnight.

2. Drain raisins and reserve 2 tablespoons of the rum. Set both aside to be used in the cupcake batter.

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For the carrot cake cupcake batter:

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1. Preheat oven to 350°F (or 175°C). Grease cupcake baking cups or line tin with two dozen foil and/or paper liners.

2. Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt together in a large bowl. Next, add coconut oil, eggs, vanilla, and rum and mix. Add carrots, ginger, rum raisins and pecans. Mix all until well blended.

3. Spoon batter into the lined cups, filling each cup 2/3 full. Bake for 18 - 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Allow pan to cool and then remove cupcakes from the pan to completely cool.

That was quick and easy! A cakewalk, so to speak. Next, we'll make the vanilla cream cheese frosting...

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For the vanilla cream cheese frosting:

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1. Beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla extract in large bowl until light and fluffy (2 - 3 min.).

2. On low speed, slowly beat in confectioners' sugar (one cup at a time) until frosting is smooth.

3. Now you're ready to frost your cupcakes! Use immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.

For the candied carrot topping:

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1. Pre-heat oven to 225°F (110°C) and line a baking sheet with lightly greased parchment paper.

2. Wash and dry carrots well. Using a vegetable peeler, peel long strips from carrots (about 2 dozen).

3. In a medium saucepan, bring 1 cup of water and 1 cup of granulated sugar to a boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, add carrot strips and reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer carrot strips for 15 minutes and then drain in a wire-mesh strainer. Allow the strips to cool for 5 minutes.

4. Once cooled, place strips onto the lined baking sheet (forming whatever fun shapes you like!) and bake for 20 minutes.

5. Remove from the oven and allow the strips to cool before using them as a cupcake topper.

Again, easy-peasy! Now that your cupcakes and candied carrot strips have cooled you can get to the fun part of decorating them. Frost and add the candied carrot strips and chopped pecans on top and you're finished! 😋

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Thanks for commenting, upvoting and resteeming this post! I hope my post will inspire you to treat yourself to something sweet! Until next time...

Cheers!

Michelle

xx

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P.S. If you enjoyed this post (and I hope you did!) FOLLOW @michellectv for more Fun, Food, Drinks, Beauty, Travel & Style! ❤