My son loves carrot cake , I think that has a lot to do with his love for Peter Rabbit. I’m not a big fan of carrots in general.. But, I find it hard not to love Carrot Cake? Its sweet, and spiced just right. You can even feel good about yourself for getting some carrots in for the day right? Or are those just lies I tell myself..Wink wink, nudge nudge.
Well, you can if you make a few “lighter” changes! So, this is my lightened up version of Carrot Cake Cupcakes topped with Vanilla Cashew Frosting (Dairy Free).
Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Start by preheating your oven to 400°. Line a cupcake/muffin pan with cupcake liners. In your mixer or food processor add in your melted coconut oil, applesauce, vanilla bean paste, & shredded carrots!
Next, add in your dry ingredients ( the flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, & baking soda)
Blend it until everything is completely mixed together and the carrots are now much finer.
Carefully, pour it into your cupcake liners. Leave at least a 1/2 inch of room from the top of the liner, since they will rise a little while baking. Place them in the oven and bake for about 22 min. Turning half way through. When they seem done, you can place a toothpick in the middle to see if it comes out clean. They’ll need to cool for at least an hour or so before decorating. This is the perfect time to make the frosting!
Vanilla Cashew Frosting
The frosting is made primarily from soaked cashews. To soak the cashews, place them in a bowl and cover them with hot water, letting them soak for about 2 hours on the counter. After that I drained the water. Than I added them to the food processor. Next, I put in the almond milk, lemon juice, orange juice, confectioners sugar, vanilla, cream of coconut, & Apple cider vinegar. Blend well. Finally, add the water, vanilla extract, cinnamon, & nutmeg! Blend well again until you have the texture & taste exactly how you want it! After, it is fully blended I placed it in a frosting piping bag and stuck it in the freezer for about an hour just to firm it up a little bit.
Decorating
By this point the cupcakes should be cool and you can pipe the frosting on. I added some chocolate carrots I made from melting wafers (there’s a minute amount of milk in them though) So, to stay 100% dairy free on the other cupcakes I placed shredded carrots and shredded coconut. I simply tossed them in honey and cinnamon. Then I broiled the carrots and coconut on a sheet pan in the oven for about 5 minutes or until toasty!
Lightened Up Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Print RecipeIngredients
- Cake:
- 2 tbsp melted coconut oil
- 2/3 cup Sugar 2.0
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 3/4 cup Apple sauce
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 2 1/2 cups of shredded carrots
- Frosting:
- 1/4 tsp Apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp cream of coconut
- 2 1/2 tsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp water
- 2 cups of soaked cashews
- 2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tbsp orange juice
- 4 tbsp confectioners sugar
- 1/2 cup vanilla almond milk
Instructions
Cupcakes:
Preheat your oven to 400°
Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners
Add in your melted coconut oil, applesauce, vanilla bean paste, & shredded carrots.
Add your dry ingredients (cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar, salt, baking soda, and flour) to the food processor or mixer.
Mix well.
Divide the batter evenly into your cupcake liners.
Bake for 11 minutes. Than rotate the pan in the oven.
Bake for about an additional 11 minutes.
When they're done, let them cool.
Frosting:
Add your soaked, drained cashews to the food processor.
Put in the almond milk, lemon juice, & orange juice.
Add the confectioners sugar, vanilla, cream of coconut, & Apple cider vinegar. Blend well.
Finally, add the water, vanilla extract, cinnamon, & nutmeg!
Blend until creamy!
1 Comment
Becky
March 30, 2018 at 2:49 pmLooks great and I can’t wait to try. Where do you find vanilla bean paste? Love your website.