Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes w/ Cinnamon Buttercream

I've made a couple desserts lately that incorporate vegetables and I must say I've been pleasantly surprise with the outcome.  People are a little hesitant to try them out, but as soon as they try them I have gotten only rave reviews.  I like unique desserts that incorporate different ingredients, and hope you'll give it a try too!

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Line pans with cupcake liners and spray with non-stick spray.  I cut this recipe in half and it made 15 cupcakes, and used 2 zucchinis which equaled around 1 1/2 cups of grated zucchini.

Combine sugar, apple sauce and oil.

On low speed, add eggs one at a time until combined.  

Then add vanilla extract.

In a separate bowl combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.  I sifted everything together to make sure there weren't any lumps.

Slowly add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, beating until combined.

Add grated zucchini and mix until well incorporated.  The batter will be kind of thin.

Fill cupcake liners around 3/4 of the way full, and bake for 18 minutes.

While the cupcakes are baking, make the frosting.  Beat together cream cheese and room temperature butter together.

Add remaining ingredients.  I started out with one tablespoon of milk and added to get the correct consistency.

Pipe buttercream onto cooled cupcakes.  Because of the thin consistency of the batter, the cupcakes are very moist and taste great.  They taste more chocolaty (yup, it's a word) and you really can't taste the zucchini.  Did I mention how awesome the buttercream is?!  I think it would be good on pretty much any cupcake or cake, but try it out for yourself.  Enjoy!

Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes with Cinnamon Buttercream
Yields ~26 cupcakes


Cupcakes:
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup applesauce
3/4 cup oil
4 eggs
1 12 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/3 cup flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 cups grated zucchini


Buttercream:
8 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar
1-3 tablespoons milk


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 
Line pans with cupcake liners, and spray with non-stick spray.
Combine sugar, apple sauce, and oil.
On low speed, add eggs one at a time.
Then add vanilla extract.
In a separate bowl combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
Sift to get any lumps out.
Slowly add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and combine well.
Add grated zucchini and mix until combined.
Fill cupcake liners 3/4 of the way full, and bake for around 18 minutes.
To make buttercream: beat cream cheese and butter together.
Add remaining ingredients and adjust milk as needed to reach desired consistency.
Pipe onto to cooled cupcakes and eat up!