carrot from the garden cupcakes

mm mmm

just finished icing the last of the cupcakes i made this morning. they are vegan and gluten free carrot cupcakes, made with carrots that i pulled from the garden yesterday. this cake is a favorite in my family and was my brother and his wife's wedding cake for their wedding celebration #2 and 3 last year.

i found this recipe on vegweb and i knew it would be good since the title is "incredible vegan carrot cake" and there were almost 100 comments praising it. i changed it a little bit so that it would be gluten free, and also decided to use apple sauce as the egg replacer, and added a bit of lemon zest to the frosting.

here is the recipe:

Incredible Vegan Gluten Free Carrot Cake

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

2 cups gluten free flour mix (i used Bob's red mill mix)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon ginger powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup brown cane sugar
3/4 cup cane sugar
1 cup apple sauce
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups finely grated carrots (from the garden!)
1 cup crushed pineapple, drained
1 cup shredded coconut
nuts and raisins optional (i use 1/2 cup each)

Faux Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 8 oz package of vegan cream cheese
1/3 cup vegan soy margarine (like Earth Balance), softened.
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2-3 cups vegan confectioners sugar


Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit.



In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda, spices, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, mix sugar and apple sauce until creamy - add vanilla, then add vegetable oil. Mix wet and dry ingredients together and add carrots, pineapple, and coconut. Place cupcake liners in the muffin tin. Spoon in batter til each cupcake liner is 2/3 full. Bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
Be sure to let the cake cool before frosting.



Faux Cream Cheese Frosting recipe:

With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and margarine. Add vanilla and zest, then add sugar. Top with candied walnuts, or pipe on some carrots made with icing.

Makes: 30 cupcakes, Preparation time: 25 minutes, Cooking time: 20 minutes


happy birthday sophie!