These carrot cupcakes combine traditional baking ingredients with alternative ones to turn them into a gluten free and vegan treat. The abundance of freshly grated carrot makes these cupcakes super moist while also amping up the fiber and vitamin content.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line your cupcake pan with baking cups.
Prepare your flaxseed meal and hot water in a large mixing bowl, whisk until combined. Then, add coconut oil and maple syrup. Whisk until combined. Then, add sugars, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Whisk again.
Add almond milk and stir. Add grated carrot, stir again. Then, add almond, oat and GF flour blend, stir. Your batter should be relatively thick, but pourable. If it’s too thick, add up to ¼ cup more almond milk.
If adding chopped pecans, add them and stir to combine.
Divide the batter evenly among your cupcake liners. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. (I find 17 minutes in my oven is perfect).
While the cupcakes are baking, make your frosting! In a large mixing bowl, add vegan butter and beat or whisk until light and fluffy. Then, add vegan cream cheese and mix again until creamy.
Add sifted powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, until thick, spreadable and as sweet as you like it! You may need more than 3 cups powdered sugar if the frosting doesn’t seem thick enough.. but be careful you don’t add too much!
Remove cupcakes from the oven and let them rest until completely cooled.
Once cool, frost away! I like to frost my cupcakes, and then sprinkle a little more cinnamon over top. Then, top each cupcake with a whole, toasted pecan. Serve!