Recipe: Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes with Sweet Potato Cream Cheese Frosting

I made these veggie cupcakes last week and they came out very yummy! The sweet potato cream cheese frosting is of my own creation and I added chocolate to a zucchini cupcake recipe to make this great fall treat. With some substitutes, they would also make delicious vegan cupcakes. Hope you have as much fun as I did making them-- and eating them!

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)

1 cup packed dark-brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
(use less/more for taste with even amount of milk)
1/3 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 regular-sized zucchinis, coarsely grated
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cups of a standard (12-cup) muffin tin with paper or foil liners. Set aside. In a medium bowl, mix together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, cocoa, and salt. In another bowl, combine zucchini, oil, eggs, milk and vanilla; add to flour mixture, and mix just until combined (do not overmix). Divide batter evenly among cups. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool in tin on a wire rack for 10 minutes; turn cupcakes out, right side up, and cool completely.

Meanwhile, make frosting.

1/2 pound cream cheese, softened
1 stick butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 small sweet potato, cooked and scooped out of skin
Whole pecans for garnish

Microwave the sweet potato for a few minutes or until soft. Do this part ahead of time and cool in fridge or put in a bowl with ice to quickly cool down. In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter, sweet potato and vanilla together until smooth. Add the sugar and on low speed, beat until incorporated. Increase the speed to high and mix until very light and fluffy. Fill ziplock back with frosting, cut corner and use as a pastry bag to squeeze frosting on cool cupcakes. Top with one whole pecan per cupcake.