If you’re looking for the most perfectly moist, fluffy and tasty gluten free carrot cake cupcakes then look no further because you’ve found them. I tested these cupcakes a total of 4 times and even though they tasted amazing on the first round, I knew they could get even better. I can safely say that they are absolutely perfect and incredibly yummy, especially as they’re served topped with just sweet enough maple cream cheese and a some chopped walnuts.
And if you’re in the mood for more carrot cake-like recipes then I highly recommend you try my Gluten Free Carrot Cake, Carrot Cake Baked Oats or my Healthy Carrot Cake Pancakes.
What’s to Love About this Recipe?
- gluten free – made with a base of almond flour, these cupcakes are completely gluten free but you won’t be able to tell as they are still so moist and fluffy.
- dairy optional – there’s no dairy in the actual cupcakes, just in the cream cheese frosting. Easily swap out the cream cheese for a dairy free cream cheese or eat them without frosting for a dairy-free option.
- quick & easy – these cupcakes are very quick and easy to throw together, taking just 20 minutes prep time and 15 minutes to bake.
Ingredients Notes & Substitutions
Below is a list of all of the simple ingredients that you will need for this recipe, including possible substitutions and ingredients notes. Please see the recipe card at the bottom of this post for the complete recipe and ingredient quantities.
- buckwheat flour – despite what the name might suggest, buckwheat flour is of no relation to wheat flour and is completely gluten free. If you can’t get buckwheat flour then you can try substituting the buckwheat flour and tapioca starch for a gluten-free flour blend.
- tapioca starch – you can swap tapioca for arrowroot flour or corn flour. Tapioca starch is also known as tapioca flour.
- baking powder – I prefer using an aluminium free baking powder. If you need these cupcakes to be gluten free then make sure you choose a gluten-free baking powder.
- almond flour – almond flour makes these muffins perfectly moist with a beautiful soft texture. You can also use blanched almond meal. If you are using blanched almond meal and it is quite course then blend in a high powered blender until you get a finer texture.
- coconut sugar – coconut sugar can be swapped for rapadura sugar or brown sugar.
- spices – in this recipe I’ve used ground cinnamon, ground cloves, ground nutmeg and ground ginger. You can swap all of these for an apple pie spice mix.
- large eggs
- extra virgin olive oil – olive oil can be swapped for
- milk – I’ve used soy milk in this recipe, however you can use regular milk or your preferred dairy-free milk.
- carrots – I recommend grating the carrots on the fine side of the grater as this way they kind of disappear into the cake as it cooks.
- walnuts – walnuts can be swapped for other nuts like toasted almonds, pecans or cashews.
Maple cream cheese frosting
- pure maple syrup
- cream cheese (I’ve used lactose free cream cheese)
- lemon zest
- lemon juice
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How to Make Gluten-free Carrot Cake Cupcakes
To make these delicious cupcakes follow the instructions below.
First, preheat the oven and line a 12-hole muffin tin with cupcake liners.
To a large mixing bowl sieve the buckwheat flour, tapioca starch, baking powder and spices. Next add the coconut sugar and almond flour and whisk until just combined.
In a seperate bowl, whisk together the eggs, olive oil and soy milk. Pour the egg mixture into the dry mixture. Add the grated carrot and then stir to combine.
Divide the batter into the cupcake liners. I like to use an ice cream scoop as it perfectly divides the mixture up evenly and keep all of the cupcakes a uniform size.
Place the cupcakes into the oven to bake for 15 minutes. Once they are golden brown and cooked through, remove from the oven. Cool in the tin for around 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely. To test if they’re cooked completely, insert a toothpick or a skewer into the centre of the cupcake, if it comes out clean or with a few crumbs then they are ready.
Once cooled, make the maple cream cheese frosting. Add the cream cheese, maple syrup, lemon juice and lemon zest to a medium sized mixing bowl. Use electric beaters to beat until well combined and smooth and creamy.
Spoon some frosting onto the tops of the cupcakes and spread out with a palette knife or butter knife. Top with some chopped nuts and serve.
Storage
Because of the cream cheese frosting, store these gluten free carrot cupcakes in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days. You can store unfrosted cupcakes at room temperature in an airtight container for 2-3 days – the fridge is best in warmer climates however as the carrot and almond flour can go off quite quickly in warm temperatures.
Gluten Free Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Equipment
- 2 Mixing Bowls
- 1 Sieve
- 1 Mixing Spoon
- 12 whole muffin tin
- Cupcake Papers
- Cooling Rack
- Palette Knife
- Electric Beaters
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- ½ cup buckwheat flour
- ½ cup tapioca flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder aluminium free
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Pinch each of ground ginger, nutmeg and cloves
- 2 cups blanched almond meal or almond flour
- 1 cup coconut sugar
- ⅔ cup olive oil extra virgin
- 3 large eggs
- ¼ cup milk
- 2 cups carrot, finely grated
Cream Cheese Icing
- 250 grams cream cheese
- Zest from 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 170°C. Line a 12 whole muffin tin with cupcake papers and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl sieve buckwheat flour, tapioca, baking powder, cinnamon, ground ginger, nutmeg and cloves. Add the coconut sugar and almond flour and whisk lightly to combine.
- In a medium sized mixing bowl whisk together the eggs, olive oil and milk.
- Pour egg mixture into dry ingredients, add the grated carrots and stir through until just combined.
- Divide the cupcake batter between the 12 cupcake papers and place into the oven to bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through when tested with a skewer. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- To make the icing, add the cream cheese, lemon zest, lemon juice and maple syrup into a medium mixing bowl. Use electric beaters and beat until well combined.
- Once the cupcakes are completely cooled, add a spoonful of cream cheese icing to the top of each cupcake and spread over the surface with a palette knife or butter knife. Top with some roughly chopped walnuts and serve.
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