Baby food & cake?

My niece and nephew finally turned 2 this past weekend, and for their birthday dinner I had made spaghetti & meatballs *any kids favorite meal!* and babycakes. It's like a mini-version of a cupcake, so adorable and perfect for a little person, I mean a kid! I frequently watch the Foodnetwork, and saw the episode where the contestants made the Ultimate dessert. I was really interested in the Babycakes because it used baby food as an ingredient. The idea of eating baby food kinda grossed me out, but it's similar to using pumpkin puree or applesauce. Besides the Earth's Best baby food I had used was organic and has the nutrients and vitamins, so it was a great pick for the kids. The babycakes turned out to be sweet and moist. I did end up making some regular size cupcakes for us adults, and the kids happily enjoyed their babycakes!
Adapted from Lisa Roman
From the show on Foodnetwork: Ultimate Recipe Showdown: Desserts

Cupcake Batter Ingredients:
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons double-acting baking powder
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 eggs
1/4 cup clover honey
1/2 cup light brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 (4-ounce) jar pumpkins with pears baby food (recommended: Nature's Goodness brand)
2 (4-ounce) jars applesauce and apricots baby food (recommended: Earth's Best brand)
1/2 cup ground pecans

**I couldn't find the exact match for applesauce & apricots, so I improvised and used the ones below: 2 of Apples & Apricots, 1 of Pears**

Frosting Ingredients:
1 teaspoon almond extract **I didn't have any, so I used lemon extract**
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk **I didn't have any, so I used the leftover Coco Lopez*
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup ground pecans *I omitted these, and used sprinkles.*
Special equipment: 2 (12-cup) mini muffin pans

Cupcakes:

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a small mixing bowl add the baking soda, salt, baking powder and flour. Mix thoroughly with a fork and set aside.

3. In a large mixing bowl add the eggs, honey, both sugars and butter. Mix until smooth using a hand mixer. Add the cinnamon and baby food. Mix until smooth. Using a rubber spatula fold in the pecans. Slowly add the flour mixture using a sifter and fold in until ingredients are evenly mixed.
4. Place 24 mini baking cups (2-inch, nonfoil) into each hole of the mini muffin pan. Place a 1-gallon resealable freezer bag into a bowl (for support) and pour the cupcake batter into the bag. Seal the bag and cut the tip off 1 of the bottom corners of the bag. Squeeze the batter into each baking cup, filling them only 3/4 of the way full. Place the mini muffin pan in the oven on the center rack.

5. Bake for 12 minutes.

Frosting:
1. In a small mixing bowl add the extracts, milk, cream cheese, butter and powdered sugar. Mix until smooth and creamy using a hand mixer. When the cupcakes are done baking remove each cupcake from the pan and place on a cooling rack. Place the cooling rack in the refrigerator for 5 to 7 minutes.
2. Once the cupcakes are cooled remove them from the refrigerator. Frost each cupcake by putting a generous dollop of frosting on the top with a spoon. Garnish top with ground pecans and they are ready to serve.

Happy Birthday Jerricko and Anastaschia!