Vegan Carrot Cake Cupcakes
I always knew I started my love affair with carrot cake too late in life; these vegan carrot cake cupcakes are my way of making sure my kids start young. These cupcakes are made with grated carrots, coconut sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. They bake up soft and moist in just 45 minutes and pair perfectly with creamy frosting.
Servings: 24 cupcakes
Calories: 272kcal
Ingredients
For The Carrot Cake Cupcakes
- 2 cups white whole wheat flour
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1¼ cups vegetable oil
- 1 cup coconut sugar
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 cups grated carrots
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
For The Vegan Icing
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a muffin pan with cupcake liners.
- Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat together the vegetable oil and sugar until well combined. Add the applesauce and vanilla and mix until combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the oil mixture and mix until smooth.
- Fold in the grated carrots and chopped walnuts.
- Fill each cupcake liner 2/3 full of batter. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- To make the icing, beat together the vegan butter, vegan cream cheese, and vanilla extract until smooth. Add the powdered sugar and beat until combined.
- When the cupcakes are cooled completely, pipe the icing on top and garnish with grated carrots, shredded coconut, and walnuts.
Notes
- My #1 Secret Tip for this vegan carrot cake cupcake recipe is to make sure the cupcakes are completely cool before frosting. I have been impatient and ended up with melted gooey frosting that was very unattractive.
- Peel carrots: I always make sure to peel my carrots before grating them. Sometimes the outer skin of the carrot oxidizes and turns a good portion of the grated batch brown.
- Chill frosting: If the frosting is becoming a bit too soft, during piping, I place it in the refrigerator for a few minutes to firm up.
- Do not overmix: I make sure to mix and fold gently for this recipe. Overworking the mixture leads to a dense, tough cake.
- Keep ingredients at room temperature: Before baking, I allow my ingredients to all come to room temperature, so that they blend easily.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cupcake | Calories: 272kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 1g | Sodium: 232mg | Potassium: 136mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 2857IU