PROCEDURE:

Cream 8-ounces of room temperature cream cheese with 4 Tbs of room temperature butter...then add 1 cup of powdered sugar and 1/4 cup of maple syrup and mix until it is well combined.

Put the frosting into a tightly sealed container and place it in the fridge.

To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and use a large mixing bowl to combine 3 cups of all-purpose flour with 2 cups light brown sugar, 1 Tbs baking soda, 1 tsp salt, 2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 generous cup of grated peeled carrot and 1 generous cup of grated peeled apple and mix everything together.

Next, instead of adding 1 cup of vegetable oil, add 1/2 cup vegetable oil and 1/2 cup applesauce, add 4 large eggs and 2 tsp vanilla and mix until everything is well combined.

At this point, divide the batter into paper lined cupcake pans...you'll end up with 22-24 cupcakes....and place those pans on the center rack of the preheated oven.

Gently rotate the pans once or twice while they are baking and they'll take just about 25 minutes.

Let the cupcakes cool down completely and then top them with the chilled frosting as you need to.

HINTS:

Use 1 cup vegetable oil instead of 1/2 cup oil and 1/2 cup applesauce. Making the frosting a day ahead of time will really help it firm up a bit in the fridge.