Maple Sweetened Carrot Coconut Cupcakes

For over a few weeks, I have been doing some spring cleaning on the blog by going through some of my old posts to see which ones need an updated. Embarrassingly, back when I first started blogging in 2013 I had no idea what I was doing. I didn’t know much about writing recipes or taking photos that will make people want to make that recipe.

Now 4 years later, I learned so much that I feel like it would be better if I were to go back and give a face lift to some of the old recipes that I know to be 100% foolproof and delicious.

These maple sweetened coconut carrot cupcakes recipe is one of those recipes. It was first published back in 2014. Since then it has been my favorite carrot cupcake recipe.

I love it because (1) it is sweetened with maple syrup and banana and (2) it is so different than your usual carrot cake muffin/cupcake recipe. As you’ll see in the recipe below, the batter is flavored with cardamom, cinnamon, and allspice. The flavor combination of carrot, banana, and maple syrup mixed in with those spices create a surprisingly delicious batter. One that I go back every time I need a carrot cupcake recipe.

The frosting is made with cream cheese mixed in with a little bit of maple syrup and lime juice. The addition of the frosting truly takes this recipe to another level making it a delicious cupcake. However, if you want to omit the frosting and just serve it as muffins you could totally do so. They are so moist that they would be perfectly fine just by themselves.

The old post, photos, and writing are below. You will see in the old photos that I sprinkled them with pistachios. Unfortunately, I didn’t have access to pistachios so I used hazelnuts, but you can use any nut you like. Either way, these carrot coconut cupcakes are a total show stopper, and still to this day, a recipe that I make very often.

If You Liked This Carrot Recipe, You Might Also Like:

• Carrot Cake Smoothie – Carrot cake in the form of smoothie made without the use of bananas. Vegan & Sugar-free
• Whole Roasted Carrots – Take your roasted carrots to the next level with this 30-minute recipe.
• Dairy and Gluten-Free Carrot Cake – Need a recipe for carrot cake with no dairy and gluten? Look no further. My favorite gluten-free blogger, Alana, just shared this amazing recipe.
• Roasted Carrot Hummus – Up your dip game with this Mediterranean classic made with sweet roasted carrots. Topped off with feta cheese, walnuts, and dill, this hummus recipe will knock your socks off.

———-

It is raining like crazy outside as I am typing this blog post. Virgin Islands are getting their share of the rain caused by the tropical depression Bertha. Though most of the time, hurricanes and tropical depressions are very serious and scary, since I know that Bertha is one that is not as dangerous, I am enjoying the dark, stormy, and windy weather outside. As soon as I am finished with writing this, I am going to spend the rest of my Saturday afternoon reading my book with a cup of tea accompanied by one of these cupcakes.

I first made these cupcakes a couple of days ago to take to a dinner party that we were invited. Knowing that one of the friends in the party has celiac disease and therefore cannot eat gluten, I wanted to make something that she could enjoy as well. And Dwight has been asking for a carrot cake for some time now. I thought it would be nice if I could find a gluten-free carrot cake recipe and make it take with us.

They ended up being delicious and very popular so much so that all the ladies in the party asked for the recipe.

The best part of these cupcakes is that they are not only gluten-free but also they are guilt-free. Because the “flours” used in this recipe are made up of ground almonds, chickpea flour, and shredded unsweetened coconut. Instead of using granulated sugar, you use maple syrup, shredded carrot, a mashed ripe banana flavored with spices like cinnamon, cardamom, and all spice. Then you top it off with a frosting made with cream cheese, honey, and limejuice.
After you sprinkle it with chopped pistachios they are simply irresistible.

OTHER CARROT RECIPES YOU MIGHT LIKE

• Carrot Cake Smoothie
• Roasted Carrots Recipe
• Carrots and Hummus

SaveSaved Print

Maple Sweetened Carrot Coconut Cupcakes

5 from 2 votes

By: Aysegul Sanford

Yields12 muffins

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Total Time50 minutes mins

These gluten-free carrot coconut cupcakes are sweetened with maple syrup and bananas. They are flavored with warm spices like cardamom, cinnamon, and all-spice. Although the cream cheese frosting turns them into delicious and pretty cupcakes, they are moist enough to be served without the frosting just by themselves as muffins.

Ingredients 

1x2x3x

For the cupcakes:

• ▢ 1/3 cup 3 ounces unsalted butter
• ▢ 4 tablespoons maple syrup
• ▢ 1 teaspoon green-pod cardamom seeds, freshly ground
• ▢ 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ▢ 1 teaspoon ground all spice
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 1 1/2 cups 5 ounces almond flour
• ▢ 1/2 cup (2 ounces) buckwheat flour
• ▢ 1/2 cup (2 ounces) unsweetened shredded coconut
• ▢ 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ▢ 1 1/3 cups 4 medium carrots shredded carrots,
• ▢ 1 large ripe banana, mashed
• ▢ 4 egg whites

For the frosting:

• ▢ 1 (8 ounces) package cream cheese, at room temperature
• ▢ 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• ▢ 2 teaspoons lime juice, freshly squeezed
• ▢ 1/4 cup pistachios or hazelnuts, chopped

Instructions 

• Preheat the oven to 350 Degrees. Line a 12-muffin tin with paper muffin cups or rounds of parchment paper.
• Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Off the heat, stir in the maple syrup, ground cardamom, cinnamon, all spice, and vanilla extract. Set aside to cool.
• In the mean time, mix the ground almond flour, buckwheat flour, unsweetened coconut, and baking powder in a large mixing bowl.
• Add in the shredded carrot and mashed banana and mix until thoroughly incorporated. Set aside.
• Using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until softly peaking, 3-4 minutes.
• Gently fold the egg whites into the flour and carrot mixture.
• Pour in the butter and spice mixture. Stir until smooth.
• Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, filling each cup to about three-quarters full.
• Bake for 25 minutes or until golden.
• In the mean time, make the frosting: Whisk together the cream cheese, honey, and lime juice in a small bowl.
• Allow muffins to cool for 15 minutes on a wire rack.
• When ready to eat, spoon each muffin with a tablespoon (or more) of the frosting and sprinkle it with chopped pistachios or hazelnuts.

Nutrition

Calories: 231kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 14mg | Sodium: 101mg | Potassium: 196mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 2550IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 94mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Sweets

Cuisine: American

Tried this recipe?Mention @foolproofliving or tag #foolproofeats!

Recipe adapted from The Green Kitchen cookbook.