Carrot Cake Cup Cakes with Cream Cheese Icing

This is the best picture, and no set up because I was in a rush, as usual.  But those eggs on top are smaller than a dime.  So cute!

  So this is going to be a super fast Easter post.  I have been working like crazy, gotten a little run down and not been on my blog for a few days.  So trying to get back on track I have this super simple Easter treat.  Of coarse it involves a cake mix.  But you all know the rule right?  "If you crack an egg, it is home made."  And I totally cracked 3 so that makes it three times home made right?  

  Well it does, so just go with it.

  So to start I chose carrot cake, because carrots are totally what bunnies eat.  And bunnies are all Easter, so you know, it works.  And I had some left over cream cheese icing and that always works with carrot cake.  So here is my super amazing, half hour cupcakes. *time will vary obviously if you don't have the icing already made, but you can solve that with canned icing, I won't tell!

So this is it, those are the cute eggs I decorated with.

  So this is what I started with.  The cute jar was an idea I got from Tidy Mom  she obviously had a really nice jar.  I on the other hand had a few used mason jars.  My mom gets these with soup in them for my dad, and well, she now hands them over to me.  I love mason jars, they are great to use as cookie jars for gifts or to store things in.  I even used a great idea I saw on another blog and made chore jars out of them for Pork Chop.

  Totally off topic Pork Chop story about the chore jars.  The idea is that you have two jars, one with chores to be done written on papers and the amount they are worth.  Then a "done" jar, where you put the chores you have done and at the end of the week you tally them all up and pay out the extra money.  Pork Chop was so excited, we worked out some chores and he told me how much he wanted to be paid.  I felt bad and changed them a bit, he figured 8 cents was lots to get paid for dusting the main floor of the house.  I was stupid and talked him up to 25 cents.  I know, I should know better.  But whatever, I don't want to take advantage.

  Just so you know, we made these jars about 3 weeks ago.

  Not one chore has moved to the "done" jar yet.  I  know, I should be surprised right?  Well I point them out and mention them when he asks to buy things, he will catch on right?  Until then, I will leave all the dust and such for him.  Not like I was taking care of it before right?  I know, I may be a horrible house keeper, but as a parent, I am awesome!

  So back to the totally home made cupcakes.

  I used a cake mix, only because I don't think I want to spend the time to shred veggies when I have other things I could be doing.  Like eating raw cake box batter.   So I made 24 minis and 6 regular cupcakes.  I took all the minis to work and ate two large ones over the next day.  I still have 4 in my fridge, they will probably have to be tossed.  Obviously Hubby won't touch anything with cream cheese, and Pork Chop will  not look at them if they are not chocolate.  So there you go, I tried.

These are the drug store knock off of Cadbury mini eggs.  The ones on the right are mini-mini eggs as they call them.  Too cute!

  Anyway,  after all that egg cracking and baking I took my left over cream cheese icing, a large round tip and a disposable icing bag and piped on a nice big swirl.  Which looks more like a blob, but who am to judge right?  Then I took these super cute mini eggs I got at the drug store and put one on each.  The large cupcakes got the regular sized eggs.

These are the large ones, and there are still 4 left. I know, but I can only eat so many!

So I just used my left over cream cheese icing, I usually make extra and then either freeze it or put it in the fridge if I am going to use it again.  And I find sometimes, especially when I freeze and then thaw it, I need to mix it up again, and add a little icing sugar.  Then it is good as fresh.

These are my minis, so cute, and if you try to think about it, the icing looks like a nest.  Okay fine, but at least you could humor me you know.

And just so you don't have to ask, here is my super amazing cream cheese icing recipe, which I totally love.

Sue's Super Amazing Cream Cheese Icing

Based on me just putting stuff in a bowl and mixing

-1/2 cup butter

-1 8oz block of cream cheese

-1 TBPS vanilla bean paste (or regular vanilla)

-icing sugar and milk to make as much as you need

So just cream your butter, cream cheese and vanilla.  Then slowly add some milk, and then sugar and alternate between the two until you have it as thick as you want and as much as you like.  And there you go.