Carrot cake or pumpkin??

Well, I made my brother carrot cake cupcakes. I wasn't really a fan. My niece & brother liked them a lot, but I don't know. I think they tasted more like pumpkin than carrot cake. I will say that I learned a very, very important lesson. Nuts, whether they are walnuts or pecans, are essential when making a carrot cake. I decided to skip adding the nuts. Big, BIG mistake. I think that had a lot to do with them tasting more like pumpkin than carrot cake.
Slight change of thought here, but can we just talk for a minute about how long it takes to peel and grate a full pound of carrots? Don't get me wrong, they were beautiful and smelled sooooo good! But it took quite awhile AND I practically took my thumb off in the process. Ok, I may only have 2 grate marks on my finger, but boy oh boy did it hurt!

See? Beautiful!