February Cupcake: Carrot Chocolate Chip with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

I know you probably expected something more chocolatey and decadent for Valentine's Day. But that's just so predictable. Instead, my friends, I'm going to seduce you with carrots.
Not only is this vegetable quite sexy, it's also in season. Yes. That's right. Carrots are so hot right now.  (Or so I think because I bought 5 pounds of carrots for $2.99.)

I'm sexy and I know it.

These cupcakes are my new favorite way to eat the veggie. The cake is the perfect consistency -- I would use the term "moist" to describe it but A) that word is extremely overused in the food world and B) it grosses out 95 percent of the population.
So to put it another way, these cupcakes are filled with moisture.
Holla!
The maple cream cheese frosting is a phenomenal topping. The heart, on the other hand, is just plain ol' store bought decorating icing.
But it's super fun to draw hearts out so I definitely recommend the extra step. And it looks pretty.
{Get the recipe -- and a glamor shot -- after the jump.}
Carrot chocolate chip with maple cream cheese frosting
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Makes 18 to 24 cupcakes, depending on how much you fill each tin. I love ginormous cupcakes so I overfill mine.
Ingredients
For the cakes:

• 2 cups all purpose flour 
• 2 teaspoons baking soda 
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg 
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger 
• 2 cups sugar 
• 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil 
• 4 large eggs
• 3 to 4 cups grated carrots (about 5 to 6 carrots)
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

For the frosting:

• 16 ounces cream cheese
• 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature 
• 2 cups confectioners’ sugar 
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup maple syrup (depending on your preference) 

For the heart:

• Betty Crocker Decorating Icing in red

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and line your cupcake tins.
2. Whisk flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger in a medium bowl.
3. Whisk sugar and oil in a large bowl until well blended. Whisk in eggs, one at a time. 
4. Add the flour mixture to the liquids, and stir until blended. 
5. Stir in carrots, and then add the chocolate chips. 
6. Divide batter among cupcake molds, filling each mold 3/4 (or all) the way. 
7. Bake cupcakes 14 to 18 minutes. (If your tins are pretty full, you'll be closer to 18 -- if you went 3/4, you'll probably be good at 14.) 
8. Let cool before frosting.
9. For the frosting, beat all the ingredients until very well combined -- 5 to 6 minutes. If it's slightly runny, chill it for 10 to 20 minutes in the fridge before frosting your cakes.

Special thank you to Alex for taking pictures of me with cupcakes.
I now have the cover to my cupcake recipe book.