CARROT CAKE CUPCAKES

 
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Recipe & Photo by Emily Von Euw THIS RAWSOME VEGAN LIFE

AUTHOR NOTES

These cupcakes are vegan, gluten-free, and made with whole foods. I bought a bag of carrots from the farmers market last week and juiced them, then I was left with all this beautiful carrot pulp. I didn’t wanna just compost it so I thought “Hey! I could make carrot cupcakes!” Then I did that. The cupcake recipe is pretty basic – mostly carrots, nuts, raisins and spices – but that don’t stop some epic flavours from being created. Then I topped ’em off with vegan gold AKA whipped coconut cream. Technically coconut cream is not raw, but I give you a raw cashew cream option since I’m inclusive like that. I swirled the cream with raw chocolate sauce. These cupcakes are moist, chewy, flavourful and delicious and you can whip ’em up in just a few minutes!!!

SERVES:   Makes aprox 5.

PREP TIME:  20 Minutes

DIETARY CONSIDERATION:  Raw, Vegan, Vegetarian, Paleo, Sugar Free, Dairy Free, Soy Free, Gluten Free

INGREDIENTS 

Cupcakes:

  • 2 cups Carrot Pulp (or ground up carrots)

  • 1 1/4 cups Dates

  • 1 cup Walnuts (or other nuts)

  • 1/2 cup Rolled Oats

  • 2 tablespoons Coconut Oil

  • 1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon

  • 1 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg

  • Water, if needed

  • 3/4 cup Raisins

 

Whipped coconut cream::

  • 2 cups Cashews

  • 2 tablespoons Coconut Oil

  • 2 tablespoons Maple Syrup

  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

  • 2 tablespoons Lemon Juice

  • Pinch Himalayan Salt

  • Water, as needed

Raw chocolate: (makes around 2 cups)

EQUIPMENT 

Vitamix or Blender of Choice

Food Processor

DIRECTIONS

Cupcakes: Pulse the nuts into powder in a food processor. Add the dates and coconut oil and process until it all gets sticky. I added a little bit of water here so I ended up with a slightly gooey mixture before adding the rest of the ingredients. Add the rest of the ingredients and process until it’s all evenly combined and still pretty sticky (you can do this last step in a bowl with your hands or spoon if you want). I like when there’s whole raisins in the cupcakes so I added those after it was all mixed. Also feel free to add more spices! Press the “dough” into lined cupcake tins or papers, or really any shape you like! Set in the fridge for a couple hours at least. Or you could “bake” them at 250 degrees for an hour or two, so they get warm and intensify their flavour. This might also help them stick together more. Up to you.

Whipped coconut cream: Blend everything together until it’s smooth and thick, adding water as needed. You want it to be the texture of a thick yogurt.

Raw chocolate: Mix all ingredients until smooth and ridiculously delicious-looking. I highly recommend adding other ingredients like mesquite powder, sea salt, vanilla, or anything else that could take this to another level!
Try not to eat it all before it hardens… I had some trouble.

Swirl the chocolate sauce into the whipped coconut cream and decorate your cupcakes with it! Alternatively, scoop on some coconut cream and then drizzle the chocolate over it. I sprinkled mine with cacao nibs too.

 
Stacey Christie