Gluten Free Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Buttercream

Anyone else always scoop finger-fulls of cream cheese frosting off the top of the carrot cake whenever it graced the desserts table at a family gathering or school district potluck or birthday party? Nah? Well then skip half of this recipe. If you did, props to you, it’s the best frosting out there (maybe, there are lots of other great ones). Carrot cake was always one of those cakes that felt homey and fancy and old fashioned and comfortable, but was sometimes a bit too cakey or spiced or drab for my taste. Which is why this version may offend some, but I promise it’s technically carrot cake (there are two full cups of carrots in here), and it’s actually pretty darn healthy (if you scrape off the cream cheese frosting and eat it separately).

This recipe is based on the brilliant one by Rebecca Reilly, who wrote one of the first gluten free baking books and still one of the best ones out there – complete with gluten free cream puffs (!!!). She gave the classic carrot cake a twist and relied a bit more on almond flour which created a dense, heavy, and incredibly moist version that I fell in love with. The final recipe you see here is based on my version of Reilly’s cake (our full, 4-tier, frosting-capped carrot cake can be found here!), which adds in flaxseed meal for a bit of extra nuttiness (and handy fiber and other healthy benefits), more vanilla, and the key to this smooth but rich carroty cake: finely-grated carrots! The finer grate keeps the entire cake moist and ensures that all of the carrot gets baked through so there’s no crunchiness.

This recipe, of course, is hopefully perfectly timed for those of you who want to make some on-theme dessert for Easter Sunday this weekend, but it’s also just a gosh darn great treat to throw together that won’t make you feel too guilty about the comfort-food binge that we’re all on right now (going on week four of shelter in place?). Question though, why is carrot cake so tied in with Easter? Is is the bunny connection? (truth be told, when we had four mini Rex bunnies growing up they actually enjoyed green apples, chunks of banana, and dandelion greens WAY more than carrots…just saying). After two minutes on Wikipedia, I can difinitively tell you that no one knows for sure, but the origins of carrot cake maaaay date back to 1591 when someone wrote down something about a recipe for a stuffed carrot because apparently sugar was expensive and carrots are, admittedly, fairly sweet for a root veggie. And then the personal chef to Louis the XVI in 19th century France published a more sophisticated recipe for a “Gâteau de Carottes” (cake of carrots). And then we come full circle when, in WWII, carrot cakes became popular in the UK when rationing meant that sugar was, once again, hard to come by. Well, while the Easter connection remains unexplained, at least our homely but rich cake of carrots has a fun history. Enjoy, everyone!

Print Recipe

Gluten Free Almond Vanilla Carrot Cake Cupcakes

A twist on a classic – super moist, packed with carrots, and topped with dreamy cream cheese frosting

Prep Time40 minutes mins

Cook Time40 minutes mins

Cooling time15 minutes mins

Course: Breakfast, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free

Keyword: almond, buttercream, carrot, carrot cake, cream cheese, cupcakes, muffins, vanilla

Servings: 24 cupcakes

Calories: 250kcal

Author: Amelia Farber

Equipment

• Cupcake pans

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

• 6 large eggs
• 1 1/2 Cups packed brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 Cup melted salted butter
• 1/2 Cup gluten free 1-1 flour mix with xanthan gum
• 2 1/2 Cups almond meal/almond flour
• 1/2 Cup flaxseed meal
• 3 Tbsp arrowroot starch
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2 Cups finely grated carrots on the small-hole side of a grater

For the cream cheese frosting:

• 1 Cup salted butter room temperature
• 2 8 oz packages cream cheese room temperature
• 1 Cup powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit. Line two cupcake pans with paper cupcake liners or grease with cooking spray, then set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, almond meal, flaxseed meal, starch, salt, and baking powder, then set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, brown sugar, vanilla, and butter until thick and blended. Grate the carrots using a grater or food processor with the grater blade until finely grated (not large gratings). Using a spatula, stir the grated carrots into the wet ingredients until combined. Dump the dry ingredients into the wet and stir together with the spatula. Spoon batter into cupcake cups – should be about 3/4 of the way full.
• Bake cupcakes for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a cupcake comes out clean. Let cool completely before frosting.
• While the cakes are cooling, make the frosting. Using an electric mixer, beat together your room temperature butter and cream cheese until lighter and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla and continue to beat until smoother and fully blended. Spoon frosting into a piping bag and frost cooled cupcakes, or simply use a butter knife to frost. Then enjoy!

Tag @sisterssansgluten on Instagram if you snap a photo of your cupcakes!

Food photography and styling by Amelia Farber