This is my absolute favorite time of year because it’s filled with sunshine, renewal and delicious treats. And these gluten free carrot cake cupcakes are the perfect addition to your Easter celebration.
Traditionally carrot cake is usually paired with nuts, but we are nut free so I needed to find a good substitute and replacing them with coconut flakes was such a great idea. But I can’t take credit for this idea, I got it from Sally’s Baking Addiction.
Real bakers, or those people that can bake regular food should not have all the fun. It’s not fair. So I try to take treats that I think might be delicious and make them gluten free for us all. These cupcakes taste so good, I promise you will not be disappointed.
It’s time to gather with our families again and I know that this can be so difficult with food allergies. As much as I love Easter, it is honestly the one holiday we still keep figuring out as we go. It seems like we do something completely different every year.
I will write more on surviving gatherings with friends and family in a later post that will continue my series to help all of you new to this lifestyle.
I am confident as with all of the other holidays, it will all fall into place. And having reliable delicious desserts like these gluten free carrot cake cupcakes makes it that much better.
My Ingredients
You know, I have been thinking so much about settling with an all purpose flour again, but I just can’t bring myself to do it. I haven’t found that perfect one that doesn’t contain corn and can be used in ALL of my recipes. So I am really trying to create my own blend. I have not settled on any one blend so just bare with me. Don’t worry, As you will see, I probably will not deviate far from the flours and starches I have already used.
This recipe has the brown rice flour, sorghum, arrowroot combination again because I am loving my results. But since this recipe uses so little of the flour mix, you will have to mix a small batch of it ahead of time and then use 1 and 1/4 cup for the recipe. I am going to call this my Gluten Free Cake Flour Blend. In doing this, you will already be prepared to make more than one batch (because you will want to) and you will get the hassle out of mixing the flour up out of the way.
I used the Authentic Foods Brand in my blend with Bob’s Red Mill xanthan gum.
You will need about 2 medium carrots to get the carrot shreds and the coconut shreds are pretty easy to find. The rest of the ingredients are pretty straight forward and are things that we have used many times before.
My Method
There are 2 important things to remember for success with this recipe, the order you mix the ingredients and when to use a spatula vs a mixer. Please add the ingredients in the order that the instructions are written. Once you have mixed the oil, sugar, applesauce and vanilla with the mixer, add the egg replacer and mix again using the mixer. Then you will no longer use the mixer. This is very, very important or your batter will NOT turn out.
You will want to fold the coconut shreds and carrots into the wet mixture with a spatula just until combined. Next add the dry mix carefully using the spatula and stir just until combined. Do not over mix. This batter gets thicker as it sits. Carefully fill each cupcake liner 3/4 full and place the pan in your preheated oven to bake.
Take a “look over my shoulder” to see how to make I make these cupcakes now!
Use your favorite frosting to top these cupcakes. I usually make my own dairy free version, but they stopped making my favorite dairy free cream cheese. So right now, I am loving Miss Jones brand. I recently tried her cream cheese frosting and it was so delicious. You can find her frosting at most major grocery stores and Target, except for the cream cheese flavor. I have only been able to find that at Shop N Save.
I would love for you to make these cupcakes and share your results in my Stay Gluten Free Community (it’s FREE to join, click here). This is such a great place to get support and share ideas. It is filled with so many wonderful people that I love so much. We share recipes, grocery store finds, what we are having for dinner and places to eat out safely.
I want to wish you a wonderful time of celebration with family and friends and maybe, just maybe, having these gluten free carrot cake cupcakes will make it more enjoyable because you will have dessert all figured out. I hope you love them as much as we did.
Until Next Time!
The post Gluten Free Carrot Cake Cupcakes appeared first here at Stayglutenfree.com.
Gluten Free Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 Cup My Gluten Free Cake Flour Blend Get the recipe above in the post
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp Ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp Ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp Ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp Ground nutmeg
- 1/2 Cup Canola oil or melted coconut oil
- 1 Cup Packed light brown sugar
- 2 tbsp Bob's Red MIll Egg Replacer
- 4 tbsp Warm water
- 1/3 Cup Unsweetened applesauce
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 1 Cup Freshly grated carrots Approx 2 medium carrots
- 1 Cup Sweetened shredded coconut
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners.
- In a bowl or ziplock bag mix a batch of my gluten free cake flour blend (Recipe link found in post). Whisk or mix well.
- In a medium sized bowl whisk together the measured flour blend, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves. Set aside.
- Using a hand or stand mixer, combine the oil, brown sugar, applesauce, and vanilla.
- In small bowl mix together the 2 tbsp of egg replacer with 4 tbsp warm water. Stir and let sit one minute to thicken.
- Add egg replacer to the wet mixture. Mix well.
- With a spatula fold in the grated carrots and the coconut shreds. Stir until combined.
- Carefully add the dry ingredients and stir into mixture with spatula until completely combined, do not over mix. This batter thickens as it sits.
- Even though your batter will be thicker it should still be easy to scoop. Fill each liner 2/3 full.
- Bake for 20-22 minutes.
- Let cupcakes cool completely before frosting them.
- Frost cupcakes with your favorite dairy free regular or cream cheese frosting.
- Serve and Enjoy!