For some reason, it’s been ingrained in me that cupcakes take forever to make. I suppose it could still be true if you were trying to make enough for a large party, but both this recipe and the Yellow Cupcakes go from ingredients to finished product in hardly any time. The most tedious step is dolloping out an equal amount of batter in each cup. But that process can be made easier with a good scale.

Like other spice-forward cakes, the carrot cake goes hand in hand with the cream cheese frosting. The addition of fresh carrots makes these very moist and provides good texture. Overall, though, I do think I prefer the yellow cupcakes just a bit more.