Carrot Sweet Ginger Cupcakes

I love carrot cake. I am a big fan of vegetables disguised as delicious desserts, but I am also a lazy baker. The recipes with fewer ingredients typically draw my eye, and those with long lists wrinkle my nose. Nothing turns me away from a recipe more than when I spy a difficult ingredient that probably won't be stocked at the local supermarket. So, when I saw the list of spices, nuts, and sweets needed for this next recipe I avoided it for years. Yes, years! But, one determined weekend I tracked down the crystallized ginger and made the most beautiful carrot cake that it is now the official birthday cake in our house. Since then I have mashed up this cake recipe with a cupcake recipe to make a deliciously rich, cupcake spiced to perfection.

Ingredients:
(Adapted from Vegan with a Vengeance and Vegan Cupcakes http://www.theppk.com/)
2/3 C flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1tsp pure maple syrup
2/3 C sugar
1/3 C canola oil
1/3 C yogurt (vegan) or pineapple juice, whatever you have
1 tsp vanilla
1 C grated carrots
1/2 C coarsely chopped macadamia nuts
1/4 C finely chopped crystallized ginger (this is like candy!)
1/8 C unsweetened coconut

Icing: ( From Vegan with a Vengeance)
1/4 C margarine
1/4 C coconut milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 C sifted confectioner's sugar
1 C unsweetened coconut

• Preheat oven to 350
  
• Mix together sugar, oil, yogurt (or juice), maple syrup and vanilla.
• Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices and stir until well mixed.
• Fold in the nuts, ginger and coconut.
• Fill cupcake liners almost to the top and bake for 25-30 minutes.
• Let completely cool.
• Ice with coconut icing and fleck with tiny slices of carrot and coconut.

These cupcakes are best the next day when they are moist and hearty. This recipe only makes about seven heaping cupcakes for me, and as you can see I like to overdose a bit on the icing!