Zucchini Cupcakes with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

The other day, my friend told me about a new zucchini recipe she had just tried.  It was zucchini bread with caramel on top and she said that it was soooooooo good.  At first I was thinking -  Huh? That sounds interesting?  Then, I found this cupcake recipe the next night!  What the heck - I'm going to try it.  Not exactly the same thing as pouring caramel over zucchini bread, but similar flavors.  

These are not your average zucchini cupcakes.

 This recipe has some very unique ingredient combinations.  Almond, cinnamon, orange and caramel frosting all mixed with zucchini?  Sounded strange, but I figured it must work since they had a lot of really good reviews and were marked Contest Winning.

They turned out great and tasted DELICIOUS!
They are moist, but not super moist.  I loved the addition of almond extract.  I think it enhanced the flavors of the other ingredients.  I couldn't taste much orange flavor, but the flavors I could taste complimented each other nicely and it all totally worked!  The caramel icing is very rich and very sweet.  A little cream cheese and some chopped pecans help cut the sweetness.

Zucchini Cupcakes with Caramel Frosting

adapted from: Taste of Home
(Printable Recipe)

3 eggs

1 1/3 c. sugar

1/2 c. canola oil

1/2 c. orange juice

1 tsp. almond extract

2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

2 tsp. cinnamon

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 1/2 c. grated zucchini

Caramel Frosting

1 c. packed brown sugar

1/2 c. butter

1/4 c. milk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

3-4 c. powdered sugar
pinch of salt
4 oz. cream cheese, softened opt.

For the Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Whisk together the eggs, sugar, oil, orange juice and almond extract; set aside.  In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix together until a few streaks of flour remain.  Add the grated zucchini and mix just until combined.  Pour into greased cupcake liners, filling no more than 2/3 full.  Bake for 18 - 22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool in pan 10 minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely.  Yield: 18-24 cupcakes.  

For the Frosting: Combine brown sugar, butter and milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes or until thickened (I cooked mine for 3 minutes).  Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.  Allow to cool completely.  If adding cream cheese, add now, and beat until smooth and creamy.  Add powdered sugar and salt and beat until fluffy.  If it is too thick for your liking, add a little milk, but be careful not to add to much.  Frost cooled cupcakes.  Garnish with chopped pecans, if desired.  

Jenn's Notes: If you add enough powdered sugar, the frosting should pipe nicely.  I decided to add a little extra milk to mine at the end and accidentally put too much in, but before that, my icing was very stiff.  I tried the frosting with and without the cream cheese and it was delicious both ways.