I’m back in the kitchen after a short break and excited to share these adorable carrot cake cupcakes. If you ever get a genuine craving to bake — not just a passing thought but a real NEED — you’ll understand how satisfying it feels to make something wholesome and delicious.
These cupcakes are 100% vegan, wholemeal-friendly, gluten-free, and naturally sweetened and coloured. They’re adapted from a carrot cake recipe in a well-loved gluten-free and vegan baking book, with a few personal tweaks to make them lighter and easier to portion into cupcakes.
The frosting is a rich, coconut-and-cashew blend that mimics a creamy “cream cheese” style topping without dairy. It isn’t an exact replica of dairy cream cheese, but it’s tangy, smooth, and pairs beautifully with the spiced carrot cake base.
My favourite finishing touch is the little handmade marzipan carrots. For natural orange colouring I reduce carrot juice and thicken it slightly with arrowroot powder — a vibrant, food-safe option that keeps the marzipan slightly fragrant and not overly sweet. If you prefer, you can use store-bought natural orange colouring instead.
If you need brown rice flour, most health food stores carry it, and you can also grind brown rice at home to make your own. Chickpea (gram) flour is commonly available in supermarkets and Asian grocery stores. These flours keep the cupcakes gluten-free while giving good structure and texture.
📖 Recipe
Carrot Cake Cupcakes (Vegan + Gluten-free)
20
20 minutes
30 minutes
50 minutes
Makes 20 delicious, healthy, allergy-friendly and adorable vegan carrot cupcakes that are gluten-free and naturally sweetened.
Ingredients
Carrot cake cupcakes
- 100 g / 1 cup brown rice flour
- 90 g / ¾ cup gram (chickpea) flour
- 1 tsp gluten-free baking powder
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp nutmeg
- A pinch of salt
- 120 ml / ½ cup coconut oil, melted (or olive oil)
- 240 ml / 1 cup water
- 1 cup maple syrup
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 carrots, grated (about ½ cup)
- 75 g / 1 cup desiccated coconut
- 150 g / 1 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped
- 150 g / ½ cup raisins
Coconut “Cream cheese” frosting
- 170 g / 1 cup cashew nuts, soaked overnight and drained
- 2 tbsp coconut flour
- 60 ml / ¼ cup coconut milk or other dairy-free milk
- 2 tsp coconut oil
- 60 ml / ¼ cup maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
Marzipan carrot decorations
- 60 ml / ¼ cup carrot juice
- 2 tsp arrowroot powder
- 3 heaped tbsp ground almonds
- 1 tbsp maple syrup (or more if needed)
- Optional: cocoa powder for shading
- Fresh rosemary sprigs or parsley leaves for tops
Instructions
Carrot cake cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 170°C / 350°F and line two muffin tins with 20 paper cases.
- In a large bowl combine the brown rice flour, gram flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. In a separate bowl whisk together the melted coconut oil, water, maple syrup and vanilla.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until combined. Fold in the grated carrot, desiccated coconut, chopped nuts and raisins. The batter will be fairly thin.
- Divide the batter between the paper cases and bake for 25–30 minutes, until golden on top and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Allow cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.
Coconut “Cream cheese” frosting
- Place the soaked cashews, coconut flour, coconut milk, coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla and lemon juice in a high-powered blender or food processor. Blend until very smooth, adding a little more liquid only if needed to get the blades moving. The finished frosting should be thick and creamy.
- Chill the frosting in the fridge to firm up before piping or spreading on the cupcakes.
Marzipan carrot decorations
- If making natural orange colouring: mix 1 tbsp of carrot juice with the arrowroot until smooth. Heat the remaining carrot juice in a small saucepan; when boiling, whisk in the arrowroot mixture and cook briefly until thickened and concentrated. Cool in the fridge.
- Stir ground almonds and maple syrup together until they form a firm, pliable dough. Add a teaspoon of the chilled carrot concentrate at a time until you reach the desired colour. Add extra ground almonds if the dough is sticky.
- Shape small thumb-sized pieces into carrot shapes, tapering one end. Use a knife dipped in cocoa powder to score fine lines for texture, then flatten the top slightly and insert a rosemary sprig or parsley leaf for the green top.
Assembling the cupcakes
- Pipe or spread the chilled coconut frosting onto the cooled cupcakes and top each with a marzipan carrot. Serve at room temperature or keep refrigerated for firmer frosting.
Notes
Depending on how generously you frost each cupcake, you may need to make extra frosting. The cupcakes are still delicious without the frosting. Store unfrosted cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for 1–2 days, or refrigerate for up to 5 days. Frosted cupcakes keep best chilled and should be returned to the fridge between servings if your frosting is perishable.
Nutrition Information (approx.)
Yield 20
Serving Size 1 cupcake
Amount Per Serving
Calories 280
Total Fat 17g
Carbohydrates 38g
Fiber 4g
Protein 6g