altered from What to Expect in the First Year by Arlene Eisenberg

I changed this recipe from What to Expect the First Year
which I devoured while pregnant with Teno. (The book, not the cake.) The recipe makes a double-layered 9 inch cake but I made it into cupcakes which are easier to freeze and store for long-term use. It’s from the Best Odds diet for toddlers which breaks down the amount of yellow vegetables, proteins, etc. a toddler should eat every day. I tried it out on Lily, my adorable niece and not only did she eat them up, but my mom ate them too. My husband and I were horrified by this, as we refuse to eat cupcakes that are good for us. But anyway, if you’re cooking for a little kid, this is a good one.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups thinly sliced carrots
2 1/2 cups apple juice concentrate (you may use slightly less)
1 1/2 cups raisins
Vegetable Spray/Shortening
2 cups whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 whole eggs
4 egg whites
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup wheat germ
2 Tbsp low sodium baking powder
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 F. Place cupcake papers in pans, or, if your little one is too impatient to wait for unwrapping, spray pans with vegetable spray.

1. Combine the carrots with 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of the juice concentrate in a medium size saucepan.
2. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, covered, until carrots are tender, 15 to 20 mins. Puree in a blender of food processor until smooth.
3. Add the raisins and process until finely chopped.* Let mixture cool.
4. Combine the flour, wheat germ, baking powder, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Add 1 1/4 cups juice concentrate, the oil, eggs, egg whites, and vanilla; beat just until well mixed. Fold in the carrot puree and applesauce. Pour the batter into the prepared cupcake pans.
5. Bake until tops springs back when lightly pressed with finger. Mine took almost 30 minutes, but start checking after 20. Cool briefly in the pans, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely. When cool, frost with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Sugar-free Cream Cheese Frosting

½ cup apple juice concentrate
1 pound light cream cheese
2 tsp vanilla extract
½ cup finely chopped raisins
1 ½ tsp unflavored gelatin

1. Set aside 2 tablespoons of the juice concentrate.
2. Process the remaining juice concentrate, the cream cheese, vanilla, and raisins in a blender or food processor until smooth. Transfer to a mixing bowl.
3. Stir the gelatin into the 2 tablespoons juice concentrate in a small saucepan; let stand 1 minute to soften. Heat to boiling and stir to dissolve gelatin.
4. Beat the gelatin mixture into the cream cheese mixture until well blended. Refrigerate just until the frosting begins to set, about 30-60 minutes.

You could obviously skip the frosting if you’re going to freeze and store these, or if you’d just rather not serve it to your kids. The result will be more of a muffin than a cupcake if you don’t frost them.

Anyway, this is a sneaky way to get your kids to eat soem wheat germ and veggies and it’s not too complicated.

*I used a Martha trick when working with raisins and soaked them in hot water for a few minutes to plump them before chopping.