Carroty-goodness in a cup–sweet enough to be dessert, healthy enough to be breakfast! These carrot cake cupcakes are fully raw and vegan, flourless, gluten-free and SOS free. @jillianjstenzel
My Story
The original version of this recipe by nutritionist Gema Hamshaw can be found on One Green Planet - https://www.onegreenplanet.org/vegan-food/recipe-raw-vegan-carrot-cake-cupcakes-with-cream-cheese-frosting/. The only tools required are a knife, food processor and cupcake mold (even the knife is debatable)!
Even after modifying the original to fit within the parameters of my food sensitivities and what I had at home, these turned out great! I don’t do well with cashews, so I substituted with hemp seeds. I also halved the amount of hemp seeds and threw in a banana to add more bulk with less fat to the glaze.
I used pecans instead of walnuts for the "cake" (YUM). Since pecans are sweeter than walnuts, I was also able to reduce the amount of sweetener used.
I didn’t have raisins on hand as in the original recipe, so I topped the cupcakes with blueberries! Perfectly sweet and slightly tart addition that added a nice color accent. Pro tip: blue and orange are complimentary colors on the color wheel. Plus, blueberries are one of the healthiest fruits around!
Ingredients
Cupcakes:
- 1 cup pecans
- 7-10 medjool dates
- 2 cups grated raw carrots squeezed well through cheesecloth or with paper towel to remove as much excess moisture as possible (this is important!)
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ginger
- Optional: 1/8 tsp of salt but it won’t be SOS free
Hemp Glaze:
- 1/2 cup hemp seeds
- 1 very ripe banana
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 20 blueberries for garnish
- 1 tsp lemon juice more to taste if you’d like the glaze to be more sour and cream-cheese-frosting-like
- Optional: dash of sea salt
- Water
Instructions
- (NOTE: the original recipe calls for 1 cup of cashews and no hemp seeds or banana. I used hemp seeds because I have a cashew sensitivity, and lowered the amount of seeds used and added the banana to make it lower in fat! You can use 1 cup of cashews instead of the hemp seeds/banana combo, and the consistency will be more like frosting and less like creamy glaze).
- 1. Process the dates and pecans or walnuts in a food processor fitted with the S blade till they are crumbly, but holding together.
- 2. Add grated carrots and spices. Process till the mix has taken the form of a smooth “dough.”
- 3. Move the carrot cake dough into a separate bowl and rinse out your food processor so it can be used for the glaze.
- 4. For the glaze: rinse hemp seeds and place in your food processor with the banana, maple syrup, lemon and salt (optional). Process until the mixture is well combined. With the motor running, add just enough water to get the consistency you want. You won't need much.
- 5. Push the carrot cake dough into six muffin tins or ramekins, add the glaze and top with blueberries.
- 6. Pop in the freezer for about an hour and enjoy!