Gluten Free Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cashew Cream Cheese Frosting

These Gluten Free Carrot Cake Cupcakes are packed with carrot cake flavor, yet are gluten-free and vegan! These treats are the perfect healthy Easter indulgence!

Healthy Gluten Free Carrot Cake Cupcakes.

Have you ever heard such sweeter words?

As in a cupcake that taste like CAKE, but treats your body like a muffin.

So let’s take a look at what cooking magic makes this sweet and healthy treat possible. Shall we?

It all starts with some gluten free oat flour. This whole grain goodness is my go-to baking flour. It has a neutral flavor to allow the carrot cake flavors to shiiiine through. Plus, it gives the muffins a great texture.

Then we sweeten the muffins with maple syrup and coconut sugar. These sweeteners give us a nice brown sugar-esque flavor, without, any, well, refined sugar.

Then the FROSTING! I thought about making these into carrot cake muffins, but then the angel sitting on my shoulder, who loves all things dessert, took over. We needed cupcakes. We needed frosting.

This frosting is not your typical butter and sugar laden spread, but rather one that is based on whole foods. Cashews, coconut butter, and a hint of maple syrup blend together to create a cream cheese like spread – the perfect compliment to our Gluten Free Carrot Cake Cupcakes.

Since these cakes are gluten-free, I highly recommend storing them in the fridge, that is, if you don’t eat them all. Gluten free baked goods require more moisture to achieve the perfect texture, and because of that, they can spoil easily on the counter. So protect your muffins and your happiness by slipping these into the fridge when not serving.

Spring is for Carrot Cake.

Gluten Free Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cashew Cream Cheese Frosting

★★★★★ 5 from 4 reviews

• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 60 minutes
• Total Time: 65 minutes
• Yield: 12 1x
• Category: Dessert
• Cuisine: gluten-free, vegan

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Description

These Gluten Free Carrot Cake Cupcakes are packed with carrot cake flavor, yet are gluten-free and vegan! These treats are the perfect healthy Easter indulgence!

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Ingredients

Wet ingredients:

• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 cup finely grated carrot
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup coconut sugar
• 2 tablespoons avocado oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

Dry ingredients:

• 2 cups gluten free oat flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

For the frosting:

• 1 cup cashews, (soaked overnight)
• 1/4 cup melted coconut butter, (see notes for melting methods)
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.
2. In a bowl, whisk together all of the wet ingredients.
3. In another bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients into the dry and gently stir to combine.
4. Using a 1/3 cup measure, ladle the batter into the liners. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove the muffins from the oven and let them cool on a baking rack.
5. Once the muffins are cooled completely, drain and rinse the soaked cashews. Add them to a high speed blender along with the coconut butter (see notes for melting methods), maple syrup, and lemon juice. Blend until completely smooth, scraping down the sides and using a tamper as needed. Frost the muffins and serve.

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Notes

When not serving, store these muffins in a lidded container in the fridge. This will keep them fresh for the longest possible amount of time.

Melting coconut butter can be tricky. Microwave heat is too hot too fast and will burn the delicate butter. To melt the coconut butter try one of these methods:

•  If your coconut butter is in a glass jar, preheat the oven to 200 degrees, or as low as it will go. Remove the lid from the coconut butter and place it in the oven. Let it sit in the oven for 20 minutes, or until melted.
•  If your coconut butter is in a glass, plastic, or other jar, place the coconut butter, lid on, in a bowl. Fill the bowl with hot water, up to the neck of the jar, but not submerged. Let the coconut butter sit until melted. You may have to change the water periodically to keep it hot enough to melt the coconut butter.