CARROT CUPCAKES

     I made some sweets for my sweet. Carrot cupcakes from Eats Well With Other, who adapted it from Smitten Kitchen. I topped them with regular cream cheese frosting with some fresh lemon zest instead of Maple Cream Cheese. I also didn't have enough apple sauce so I replaced it with olive oil. Yes, olive oil. And they were as moist and delicious as can be.  Next time I will use fresh grated ginger and some orange or lemon zest in the batter to freshen them up. 

    I also wanted to make some cute carrot designs but wanted to avoid Yellow No. 5, which as a kid after eating cheetos and grape soda made my throat close up and I broke out into hives, so I experimented with a few colorful things from my pantry and garden. 

   For orange, I used a combination or saffron, turmeric and cinnamon. And for the green stems, I used mint leaves. I ground everything up in a mortar. The colors were a lot more natural in a nice way. They also had subtle spice hints, which were a fun surprise.