My friend loves his mom’s carrot cake. So I asked if she would share her recipe with me. She happily obliged and now I’m happy to share the veganized version with you. It’s an easy recipe that delivers a delicate and moist cupcake with the traditional cream cheese frosting.

I was never a big fan of carrot cake before, but these cupcakes may have converted me.

INGREDIENTS:

Cupcakes

• 194 g ( 1 1/2 C + 2 tsp. ) all-purpose flour

• 1 tsp. baking soda

• 1/4 tsp. baking powder

• 3/4 tsp. kosher salt (I use Diamond, half the amount if using Morton)

• 3/4 tsp. cinnamon (ground)

• 125 g ( 1/2 C + 2 T) superfine or granulated sugar (organic, vegan-friendly)

• 150 g (1 1/2 C ) carrots, shredded (about 2-3 large carrots)

• 2/3 C plant milk ( room temp, I used extra creamy oat)

• 1 T apple cider vinegar ( can sub with white )

• 1/3 C pineapple, blended to liquid (canned chunks in juice or fresh works)

• 1/3 C oil (neutral, I like grapeseed)

• 35 g (1 / 4 C ) walnuts (roasted and finely processed)

• 35 g (1 / 4 C ) pecans (roasted and finely processed)

• 1 tsp. vanilla extract (pure)

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 8 oz vegan cream cheese (I pretty much use straight out of the fridge)

• 113 g ( 1/2 C ) vegan butter (slightly room temp- softened, but not super soft)

• 300 g- 400 g ( 2 1/4 C- 3 1/2 C ) icing/ powder sugar, sifted * you could add more, but I don’t like it that sweet *

• 2 tsp. vanilla extract

• pinch of salt (can leave out if using salted butter)

• 2 T potato starch, sifted (can sub with cornstarch or arrowroot starch/ flour)

You will need:

• Cupcake tin(s)

• Cupcake liners

• Hand or stand mixer

• Scale (if using- you should! )

• Two large bowls- if not using a stand mixer (one for cupcakes, one for buttercream)

• Food processor or blender

• Cooling rack

• Whisk + spatula

• Sifter

• Spoons or ice cream scooper

• Small baking sheet ( for roasting nuts )

  
  Makes 12 -15 cupcakes
  

Prep

• Bring milk to room temp

• Add vinegar to milk (let set about 5 minutes)

• Shred carrots if you haven’t bought pre-shredded ones

• Line cupcake tins

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350° F

1. Place nuts on a baking sheet and roast in the oven on the middle rack, about 8-10 minutes or until slightly toasted and fragrant- careful not to burn!

2. Turn oven down to 320° F

3. Finely grind the nuts in a food processor or high-powered blender- if you like a bit more texture in your cupcake, you can process them into small chunks, but that is not my preference- it’s up to you.

4. Process pineapple chunks into a sort-of crushed pineapple liquid situation with a food processor or high-power blender- set aside.

5. Sift flour and sugar into a large bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer. If you are using chunky granulated sugar, it may not sift, so just add it to the sifted flour.

6. Add the baking soda, cinnamon, and salt- mix with a whisk or mixer until nicely combined ( about 30 seconds).

7. Add oil, milk/vinegar mixture, vanilla, and pineapple to the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until just combined- about 30-40 seconds.

8. With a spatula, scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure everything gets incorporated in the final mix.

9. Add in carrots and nuts and mix again by hand, until just incorporated- about 20 seconds.

10. With an ice cream scoop or spoons, fill tins 2/3 of the way with batter.

11. Place cupcakes on the middle rack and bake 18-23 minutes (depending on your oven and your pan color ) or until tops spring back when pressed and a toothpick comes out clean-cupcakes continue to cook after they come out of the oven so if there are a couple of small crumbs, that’s ok.

12. Remove cupcakes from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes, then remove from tin and place on a cooling rack until completely cooled.
    
    

    WHILE CUPCAKES ARE COOLING, MAKE YOUR CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

Vegan cream cheese frosting can be a bit more temperamental than regular American-style buttercream, but there are a few things we can do to mitigate soupy/ melty frosting. The version that I made for these cupcakes shown in the pictures above and below was made without the little ingredient that will help your frosting stand up and have a bit more structure- potato starch.

First thing, I find it’s best to leave the cream cheese in the refrigerator until just a couple of minutes before I’m going to use it since vegan cream cheese is softer and whippy-er than say Philadelphia block style. Secondly, you don’t want to mix it too long, so that it doesn’t start to break down.

Lastly, adding more powder sugar to your frosting can definitely help it come together better, but I don’t love super cloyingly sweet frosting. So I tried some starch. It is flavorless and has the same starchy element that is in icing/powder sugar, so it works the same. If you don’t have potato starch, you can use arrowroot starch/flour or some cornstarch.

Ok, now onto the frosting…

1. Make sure that you have sifted your powder sugar. Sift the potato starch as well.

2. I like to bring out my butter about half an hour before I start the frosting. Typically, you would want it to be room temp (meaning that you could easily stick your finger in the butter and make an indent, but it wouldn’t be melty or greasy), but the cream cheese frosting is a bit more fluid so I find 30 minutes works for me. Of course, your location and temperature might change this a bit for you. Play around with it and see what works best for you.

3. Bring the cream cheese out of the fridge when you are ready to start beating the butter but don’t add it to the bowl yet, just set it aside.

4. Beat the butter on medium-high speed with a hand or a stand mixer for 3-4 minutes or until very soft and smooth.

5. Now, add in the cream cheese and beat on medium-high until fully incorporated- about 2 minutes.

6. Add in some of the sifted powder sugar and the 2 tablespoons of starch. I typically use 300- 350 grams of the sugar, so I’ll add half of that to start.

7. Start on a low speed so you don’t get powder sugar everywhere, then increase to medium and mix until the sugar and starch has fully incorporated into the butter/cream cheese mixture.

8. Scrape down the sides (and bottom ) of the bowl to catch any clumps of sugar, butter, or cream cheese. Add a little more sugar and mix again, then give it a taste to see how much more sugar you want to add. Just remember to go slow.

9. Once you’re happy with the amount of sugar, add in the vanilla and continue to mix for another 2 minutes or until frosting is thick, nice, and smooth.

10. Make sure your cupcakes are completely smooth before you frost them.

11. Dollop or pipe the cream cheese frosting on top of the cupcakes, then enjoy!

You can leave out an hour or two, but you want to make sure to keep these cupcakes in the fridge to keep them fresh and safe for consumption.

By the way, when I first came up with this month’s flavor of the month, I had intended on giving a recipe for the mossy bunny ear cookies too but thought that it would be too much all in one. If you want one on mossy cookies though, let me know and I’ll upload it onto the blog.

Thanks for taking the time!