Fun fact about me: I eat so many carrots, that my hands and feet are slightly tinted orange. Carrots are one of my favorite vegetables, so it is no surprise that vegan carrot cake cupcakes are one of my favorite desserts!
Grated carrots are the key ingredient in this recipe. The first couple of times I made this recipe, I grated the carrots myself by hand. This is a great way to do it because you get a ton of moisture from the carrots.
However, it takes quite awhile to grate two whole cups of carrots. Not to mention your not-so-strong arm muscles will be cramping (maybe it's just me?). If you are feeling lazy or in a hurry, I highly recommend putting the carrots in a high speed blender or food processor instead. That's what I did when I made the latest version of these cupcakes. I honestly did not notice a difference in taste, or texture. Plus I definitely saved myself some time and effort 😉
The other tip that I have about this recipe is to refrigerate the frosting after making it and before actually frosting the cupcakes. Coconut oil frosting is absolutely delicious, but the only problem with it is that it melts at room temperature. For this reason, you're going to want to refrigerate the frosting before adding it to your piping bag and frosting the cupcakes. You're also going to want to store these cupcakes in the fridge, rather than leaving them on the counter at room temperature.
With all that being said, let's make vegan carrot cake cupcakes!
Vegan Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Ingredients
Cupcake Ingredients:
- 1 ⅓ cup unsweetened almond milk
- 2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 flax egg 1 tablespoon ground flax & 3 tablespoon water
- ⅓ cup coconut oil
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ tablespoon vanilla
- 2 cups grated carrot
- ½ cup applesauce
- 2 ½ cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 1 teaspoon all-spice
- ½ teaspoon salt
Frosting Ingredients:
- 2 cups sugar
- ½ cup coconut oil
- ½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ½ tablespoon vanilla
- 1-2 tablespoon plant milk
Instructions
Cupcake Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Combine the almond milk and apple cider vinegar and set aside for ten minutes. This will create a vegan substitute for buttermilk.
- Combine the ground flax with water and set aside as well.
- In a large bowl, combine your dry ingredients- the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, all-spice, and salt.
- In a separate bowl, combine your coconut oil, sugar, and vanilla. Then add the vegan buttermilk and flax egg. I recommend using a hand blender here, so that all of your ingredients are distributed evenly.
- Slowly, combine your dry ingredients, one cup at a time.
- Finally, fold in the grated carrots and the applesauce.
- *Time saver tip- grating takes a long time and some arm strength, so I recommend blending the carrots in a food processor to save time and also your arms from being tired.
- Line a muffin pan with muffin liners and pour the batter in.
- Bake each batch for about 20-25 minutes. This recipe makes about 24 cupcakes.
Frosting Directions
- In a large bowl, use a hand mixer to beat the coconut oil for about 1-2 min.
- Then add the apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, and vanilla.
- Finally, add the powdered sugar slowly, about ¾ cup at a time and blend.
- Add plant milk as needed.
- Refrigerate the frosting for 20-30 minutes. Then tranfert the frosting to a piping bag.
- Frost your cupcakes.
Nutrition
I chose to top my cupcakes with whole pecans, because I think their flavor really compliments carrot cake. If you like pecans, crush some up and add them to your cake batter for some extra crunch and flavor.
I really hope you try this recipe! If you're looking for more vegan cupcake recipes, check out this one for vegan vanilla cupcakes!
[…] you enjoy vegan cupcakes, feel free to check out this recipe for vegan carrot cake cupcakes as […]