A cake that’s been quite a hit on this site is our vegan carrot cake with lemon buttercream frosting.
And ever since putting up that recipe, I knew I wanted to try a gluten-free version. But when I got around to making it I just didn’t feel like making a cake, I just wanted cupcakes!
So these gluten-free carrot cake cupcakes were the result.
I wasn’t sure what to do about the frosting – I had a bunch of ideas, but in the end settled with a cashew cream frosting that worked extremely well.
Cupcakes are always fun to make and these were no exception. Easy and super fun.
Even though this is a dessert, there still manages to be a wholesome vibe to these cupcakes. They’re almost like delicious little carrot cake muffins.
The cashew cream frosting is not the kind of thing that you heap on liberally, there’s no piping bag required, because you don’t put on that much.
It’s very very rich. Well, it is nut-based after all!
So you don’t need all that much spread on top of each cupcake. Crushed walnuts make the perfect topping as there’s just something about walnuts and carrot cake that just go so well together.
These gluten-free carrot cake cupcakes are simply fabulous, they are:
- Light and fluffy
- Wholesome
- Perfectly moist
- Topped with cashew cream goodness
- Gluten-free
These are ideal to have as a snack anytime, for dessert or make them for a special occasion!
I’d love to know what you think of these gluten-free carrot cake cupcakes! Let me know in the comments.
Made them already? Awesome! Let me know how they turned out!
Any pics – tag them #lovingitvegan on instagram so we can admire them!
Thanks a million!
Gluten-Free Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes:
- 2 cups Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour (272g)
- 1 cup Light Brown Sugar (200g)
- 1 and ¼ tsp Baking Powder
- 1 and ¼ tsp Baking Soda
- ½ tsp Salt
- 2 tsp Cinnamon
- 1 tsp Nutmeg
- 2 and ⅓ cups Shredded Carrot (256g)
- 2 Flax Eggs 2 Tbsp Ground Flaxseed + 6 Tbsp Hot Water
- ½ cup Vegetable Oil (120ml)
- 2 Tbsp Applesauce
- 1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
For the Cashew Cream Frosting:
- 1 cup Raw Cashews (150g) soaked for 1 hour in hot water
- 2 Tbsp Coconut Oil Melted
- 3 Tbsp Maple Syrup
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 tsp Lemon Juice
- ¼ tsp Salt
For Decoration:
- Crushed Walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Sift the gluten-free flour into a mixing bowl and add the sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg and mix together.
- Grate the carrots and add to the bowl.
- Prepare your flax eggs by mixing 2 Tbsp Flaxseed Meal with 6 Tbsp Hot Water and allowing to sit for a minute.
- Add the flax eggs, vegetable oil, applesauce, vinegar and vanilla and mix in very well.
- The batter will be very thick.
- Line a cupcake tray with cupcake liners and divide the batter evenly between them.
- Place into the oven to bake for around 20-25 minutes.
- Check if they're cooked by inserting a toothpick into the center of one of the cupcakes. If it comes out clean, it's cooked.
- Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.
- Prepare your frosting by soaking the cashews in hot water for 1 hour.
- Then rinse them off and add them to the blender with the melted coconut oil, date honey or maple syrup, vanilla, lemon juice and salt and blend until very very smooth.
- When your cupcakes are completely cooled, spread frosting on top of each cupcake and immediately sprinkle with crushed walnuts.
Notes
- I used Bob's Red Mill All Purpose Baking Flour
- Cashew Cream Frosting adapted from Detoxinista
WOW! I really appreciate your blog. These are the best vegan/gf cupcakes ever! I used one small ripe banana in place of applesauce (I was out), avocado oil and oat milk. We live in Colorado and baking can be tricky at high altitudes. I adjusted by baking at 360 degrees for 23 minutes and they were perfect!
Awesome Jessica! Thanks for sharing!
Hi Alison,
Any suggestion to replace flax eggs in this recipe ?
Hi Sylvia, you could replace the two flax eggs with 6 Tbsp applesauce in addition to the 2 Tbsp already in the recipe. So use 8 Tbsp applesauce in total.
My husband and I are very happy with all of your recipes, and this one is no exception. I think the cashew frosting makes these more wholesome and not just a dessert type of food. Thank you so much for your recipe!
Thanks so much Melissa!
I split this recipe into two – one using an egg replacer and one with real egg – instead of flaxseed egg. This is a perfect recipe for allergic kids. And if you are trialling egg (but then it won’t be vegan anymore). Both turned out perfect with our gluten free flour.
Thank you for sharing!
So glad it turned out well! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
By the way, this is a great start up
Food for babies who is into Baby Led Weaning. I baked this again using cooked puréed carrot and offered it as a starter food to my baby without the frosting. All gone in minutes!
This is exactly what I need for my daughter’s birthday cake – she and my sister are vegan and my sister also has coeliac. How would it work as a whole cake?
Hi Rachel, this would adapt as is to a 6-inch or 7-inch 2-layer cake. The baking time would increase to around 30 minutes though.
Just out of the oven and smell Devine. Used exactly the ingredients in the recipe but added a bit of Agave syrup to add some extra sweetness. Have also used a peanut butter, vegan and gluten free topping instead.
We open our garden to raise money for charity and serve afternoon tea so these will be a great addition.
Really appreciated you adding metric measurements as we don’t use the cup system in the UK so it was great not having to do complicated maths while baking. Also I have a fan oven so baked on 160 which worked but baked for 30 minutes. Made then in a muffin tin might have overfilled slightly. Thank you so much I will try out some more of your recipes. I was going add a photo but couldn’t see how.
Hi Aideen, so glad you liked the recipe! You’re totally welcome, I find metric measurements to really help with accuracy. Thanks so much for sharing your adjustments as well! 🙂
Well our open gardens are now over for the season and these went down a storm. Even got mentioned on Trip Advisor, about to make yet another batch for a friend who is opening a craft shop and selling tea and cake. I haven’t got quite enough Carrots having just made some traditional carrot cake but going to add a few cranberries and will let you know how these go down at her opening.
People just love that they are both vegan and gluten free .
Hi, I tried this recipe and my batter turned super thick, it turned like a dough. I added everything mentioned in the recipe. The cake wasn’t that sweet. Did I do something wrong?
The batter is very thick, it’s supposed to be, so you didn’t necessarily do anything wrong, did they come out okay? They’re not extremely sweet, but I do think they’re sweet enough.
Please send me all your gluten free vegan recipes ??
Gluten free and Vegan! Wow!