DETROIT -- As Rosh Hashanah begins at sundowntoday, holiday tables will be laden with brisket, roast chicken and copious side dishes -- many with a touch of sweetness.

It’s all part of the symbolism of the holiday, the Jewish New Year. Eating sweet foods symbolizes hope for a sweet year ahead.

It’s customary to dip apple wedges in honey. Apples show up again in apple cake or honey cake. And there are lots of dishes with sweet root vegetables like carrots and parsnips, and fruits such as apricots and prunes.

Itty Shemtov, 39, of West Bloomfield, Mich., uses dried fruit and apricot jam to make a sauce for chicken. She also makes traditional tzimmes, a dish with carrots and dried fruits.

“Mer” is the Yiddish word for carrot, Shemtov says, and it also means “more.” “It means that there should be more good things,” she says. “So, many dishes are made with carrots.”

Jamie Geller, author of “Quick & Kosher Meals in Minutes” (Feldheim Publishers, $34.99), says keep the dishes simple.

“It’s a really special holiday, both in spiritual and symbolic ways,” Geller says. “There are symbolic things behind the foods, so work them into the menu.”

Instead of the traditional honey or apple cake, Geller makes Carrot Cupcakes.

“They also hold up nicely done before,” she says. “And they are cute and elegant and a simple end to the meal.”

CARROT CUPCAKES

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 (2 1/2 ounce) jar baby food applesauce

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup canola oil

2 cups grated carrots (about 4 medium carrots), squeezed dry

1 cup canned drained crushed pineapple

1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tins with paper liners.

In a small bowl, mix the baking powder with the applesauce until it foams. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together. Mix in the vanilla, oil, carrots, pineapple and applesauce mixture. Mix well until just combined.

Fill lined muffin tins three-quarters full. Bake for 25 minutes.

Makes 20 cupcakes.

Nutrition information: 134 calories (19 percent from fat ), 3 grams fat (0 grams sat. fat ), 26 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram protein, 219 mg sodium, 0 mg cholesterol, 1 gram fiber.

-- From Quick & Kosher Meals in Minutes” by Jamie Geller