Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting (Paleo, Glut

• servings: 12 servings
• active time: 15 minutes
• total time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Ingredients

2 large eggs (at room temperature)

½ cup coconut sugar

⅓ cup refined coconut oil (liquid, or just melted if solid)

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 8-ounce can organic crushed pineapple (drained well, approximately 1 cup; see Notes)

1 ½ cups grated carrots

1 ½ cups fine almond flour

2 tablespoons coconut flour

2 tablespoons tapioca flour

1 teaspoon fresh baking soda

1 pinch salt

½ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

½ cup chopped pecans (see Notes)

8 ounces dairy-free cream cheese (softened, see Notes)

¼ cup pure maple syrup

¼ cup refined coconut oil (softened, see Notes)

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 pinch ground ginger

finely chopped pecans

Directions

For the Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Preheat oven to 350º Fahrenheit. Adjust oven racks as needed so muffin pan will sit in center of oven. Line cavities of muffin pan with cupcake liners. Set pan aside.

Crack eggs directly into large mixing bowl. Whisk eggs vigorously until well combined. Be careful not to overmix.

Add coconut sugar, coconut oil, and vanilla extract to bowl. Whisk or stir well until ingredients are fully combined.

Add drained pineapples, grated carrots, almond flour, coconut flour, tapioca flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and ground ginger to bowl. Stir until all ingredients are fully incorporated, forming thick cupcake batter. Be careful not to over-stir or batter will become dense.

Once batter is prepared, add ½ cup chopped pecans. Gently fold pecans into batter to distribute.

Use cookie scoop or spatula to portion cupcake batter evenly into cupcake liners.

Place filled muffin pan in center of preheated oven. Bake cupcakes 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, begin testing doneness by inserting toothpick into center of cupcakes, then immediately removing toothpick. Continue baking, checking doneness every 1 to 2 minutes, until toothpick can be removed cleanly, with few or no crumbs stuck to toothpick.

Once cupcakes are fully baked, carefully remove pan from oven and set aside. Let cupcakes rest in pan 5 minutes or until cool enough to handle, then transfer cupcakes from pan to wire cooling rack. Set cupcakes aside until completely cooled.

For the Cream Cheese Frosting

Add softened cream cheese, maple syrup, softened coconut oil, vanilla extract, and ginger to medium mixing bowl or stand mixer bowl.

Use hand mixer or stand mixer to whip ingredients together until ingredients are fully combined and mixture is smooth and fluffy.

Use offset spatula or butter knife to dollop frosting onto center of cupcake top, then smooth dollop out to cover top of cupcake completely. Repeat until all cupcakes have been frosted. Alternately, transfer frosting to piping bag fitted with piping tip of choice, then pipe frosting directly onto cupcakes in spiral motion.

If desired, garnish top of frosting with additional chopped pecans. Serve immediately, or arrange cupcakes on tray or platter until ready to serve.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 cupcake with frosting
• Calories: 296 kcal
• Total Fat: 22 g
• Saturated Fat: 8 g
• Cholesterol: 48 mg
• Sodium: 189 mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 21 g
• Dietary Fiber: 3 g
• Total Sugars: 13 g
• Protein: 5 g