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A bite taken out of a carrot cupcake with orange cream cheese frosting

Gluten Free Carrot Cupcakes

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  • Author: Salima Benkhalti
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour
  • Yield: 24 cupcakes 1x
  • Category: Dessert, Cupcakes, Carrot Cake
  • Method: Baked, Baked Goods
  • Cuisine: American, Dessert
  • Diet: Gluten Free

Ingredients

Scale

For the Carrot Cupcakes:

  • 2 ½ cups grated carrots (about 5-6 large carrots) 
  • 2 ½ cups gluten free 1 to 1 baking flour (make sure you pick a blend with xanthan gum) 
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tsp baking soda 
  • 2 tsp cinnamon (I’m using Spice Tribe’s Padang Cassia Cinnamon) 
  • 1 tsp ground nutmeg (I’m using Spice Tribe’s Island Nutmeg) 
  • 2 tsp orange zest 
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 ½ cups brown sugar
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup oil (I used canola) 
  • 4 eggs 
  • 1 cup applesauce 

For the Orange Cream Cheese Frosting:

  • 1 block of cream cheese, softened to room temperature
  • ½ cup salted butter, softened to room temperature
  • 3 ½ cups powdered sugar
  • ½ tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice (1 orange) 
  • ¼ tsp orange zest  


Instructions

  1. Start by grating your carrots; you can use a standard grater or a food processor with a grating attachment. Next, preheat your oven to 300 degrees. Line your muffin tin with cupcake liners. 
  2. In a small bowl combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, orange zest and salt.) Mix together until evenly combined. 
  3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the wet ingredients (brown sugar, granulated sugar, oil, eggs and applesauce.) Mix together until evenly combined. 
  4. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and continue mixing until evenly incorporated. Gently mix in the grated carrots. Pour the batter into the cupcake liners, filling each about ¾ way.
  5. Bake 25-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center of a cupcake. While the cupcakes are cooling, make the frosting. 
  6. Using an electric mixer, beat together the room temperature cream cheese and butter until evenly incorporated. Beat in the orange juice, zest and powdered sugar until a light and fluffy frosting forms. Chill in the fridge for 20 minutes before piping onto the cupcakes. Sprinkle with additional orange zest and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Enjoy!