Inspired by the Incredibly Moist and Easy Carrot Cake recipe by Adam and Joanne Gallagher, this version packs in more veggies and uses a topping that is primarily lightly sweetened whipped cream with a hint of cream cheese.

• 2 Cups unbleached flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda (comes in the yellow box)
• 1/2-1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1-1/4 Cups canola or other vegetable oil (but not olive oil)
• 1 Cup light brown sugar, packed lightly into measuring cup
• 1 Cup white granular sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 4 large eggs
• 3 Cups of shredded carrots
• 3 Cups of shredded zucchini
• 1/2 Cup raisins
• 1 Cup chopped pecans for cake, plus 1/2 Cup more to scatter on topping
• 1 Cup heavy whipping cream
• 6 Tablespoons powdered sugar
• 8 oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature

Preheat the oven to 350° F.

Spray muffin tins lightly with Pam and insert 30-36 paper muffin liners.

Place a small mixing bowl and meringue or whisk style beaters in the freezer to chill.

In a food processor, finely chop 1-1/2 cups shredded carrots and 1-1/2 cups shredded zucchini. Repeat with the remaining carrots and zucchini. My food processor can’t chop all the veggies at once, so I only do half a batch, remove that and do the other half.  Set aside (can also be prepared and sealed in an airtight container the night before).

Using a standing mixer with a large bowl, blend the 2 Cups of brown and white sugars with the oil. Stop the mixer. Crack the eggs into a cup one at a time, break the yolk with a fork and whisk lightly before adding to batter. When all four eggs are in the bowl, restart the mixer and mix on medium, using a spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl so all the eggs are combined with the oil and sugar.

Stop the mixer and lift the beaters out of the bowl. Sift the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon onto a sheet of waxed paper. Carefully lift the waxed paper and slide the sifted dry ingredients into the mixing bowl. Use the spatula to gently mix the dry ingredients into the egg-sugar in the bowl. Remove spatula, lower beaters and mix about a minute to ensure all the ingredients are thoroughly combined. Stop the mixer, remove the beaters and shake the excess batter off into the bowl.

Add in the zucchini-carrot mixture, the raisins and 1 cup of chopped pecans. Use the spatula to combine and if it is too thick to stir well by hand, use the beaters for a minute or two.

Transfer the cake mixture to the muffin cups. Use 1/4 Cup of batter for each cupcake.

Bake 20-22 minutes. If the paper cups were less than full to the rim, the cupcakes might be done at 20 minutes. If you notice any moisture in the tops or a lightly pressed finger leaves a dent, keep baking. Test again at 22 minutes. These dense cupcakes should definitely be baked all the way through by 25 minutes. If the tops were already really brown at 20 minutes, drop a sheet of foil over the tops of the pans as you continue baking.

Remove from oven and allow to cool.

Make the topping by removing the chilled small bowl and whisk-style beaters from the freezer. Add 1 Cup whipping cream to the chilled bowl and beat on high for 2 minutes. After 1 minute, begin adding the 6 Tablespoons of powdered sugar to the whipped cream. If the whipped cream doesn’t hold its shape firmly after 2 minutes of beating on high, beat one more minute. Check the consistency again and possibly bean another minute. This frosting requires the whipped cream to hold its shape, so you want to stop just short of it clotting into curds on its way to butter.

Transfer most of the whipped cream to another bowl temporarily. Beat the softened cream cheese with the whisks on high to get a smooth consistency. Add the whipped cream back to the bowl and gently (medium low speed) blend the cream cheese and whipped cream with the whisk-style beaters.

If the cupcakes are still warm, cover the bowl of topping with cling wrap and store in the refrigerator until the cupcakes have cooled to room-temperature.

Remove the cooled cupcakes from the muffin tins and top with 1-2 Tablespoons of the whipped cream topping. Scatter the remaining pecans over the topping.

Store in the refrigerator, due to the whipped cream topping.

Makes 30-36 cupcakes.