Hello dear friends,
A warm welcome to Pure Sprinkles! So excited to be launching the blog! This blog is very dear to me. It is something I have wanted to do for a long time and have come across many hurdles along the way that made this journey longer than expected. To reach this place now, where my vision has finally become a reality makes me feel very proud.
I was thinking about what would be the best way to kick off the blog launch and thought is there really anything better than yummy cupcakes? Topped with sprinkles to commemorate the blog name + launch. Pretty hard to beat. Choosing which cupcake recipe to feature first was a daunting task as there are so many to choose from but felt like I had to follow my heart and go with one of my all-time favourites – Carrot Cupcakes.
Oh, Carrot Cupcakes what can I say about you, except you have a special place in my heart. It is just one of those desserts that give me a warm fuzzy feeling when thinking about it. The warm spices of cinnamon, allspice, and ginger paired with carrots and soft raisins are just a neat little package of yumminess that makes the heart and tummy happy. What really makes it a divine treat is the icing – that velvety goat cheese icing, it’s just a dream.
I remember as a kid my parents used to surprise me with Carrot Cupcakes from the grocery store Metro, they were amazing! It had the perfect balance of the sweet and warm spices, topped with a luscious cream cheese frosting. It was incredible. I always felt it was impossible to recreate a gluten-free version with that same magic until these cupcakes came to fruition. It took years of trial and error to get the recipe just right. The icing was a different story. I could not figure out a way to recreate it until one day it finally dawned on me, why not try goat cheese? You may ask, ‘Wait a minute goat cheese?? I thought you eat dairy-free?!’ And the answer is yes, I definitely eat dairy-free, but I do have a little dairy from time to time and even at that I only have goat cheese. When I changed my diet the only dairy item I was allowed to eat was goat cheese, so I took advantage of it and created a few dishes including these cupcakes.
With all my talking about goat cheese do not fear dairy-free friends, I also have a glaze recipe for you! The only thing to note with the glaze is I recommend topping the cupcakes just before you are ready to eat them as they do soak into the cupcakes making them sweeter. Also, you don’t have to add icing to these cupcakes as they are sweet enough on their own and can be enjoyed as muffins too!
Sprinkles recipe fun facts:
• REFINED SUGAR-FREE – only the use of raw honey instead of white sugar.
• CARROTS – rich in vitamins, minerals, and fibre.
• GOAT CHEESE – instead of cream cheese. more calcium and easier to digest than cow’s milk.
• COCONUT FLOUR – easy to bake with but also has more nutritional benefits than regular white flour, high in fibre and easier to digest.
Think that’s enough talking about these cupcakes, let’s get baking!
Sprinkles Carrot Cupcakes
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup carrots, shredded
- ¼ cup coconut oil, melted
- ⅓ cup raw liquid honey (or maple syrup)
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- ¼ cup coconut flour
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ginger
- ¼ tsp allspice
- ¼-⅛ cup raisins (optional)
Goat Cheese Icing
- 125 g soft goat cheese (approximately half a bar)
- 1-2 tbsp raw honey
- splash of vanilla extract
Glaze (Dairy-Free)
- 1 cup refined sugar-free powdered sugar (or icing sugar)
- 1-2 tbsp almond milk (or any dairy-free milk of choice)
- splash of vanilla extract
Topping
- sprinkles (optional but highly recommended)
Equipment
- muffin tin + baking cups
- bowls
- whisk
- silicone spatula
- measuring spoons and cups
- spoons
Instructions
Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Line the baking tray with baking cups and lightly oil with coconut oil or any other oil of choice.
- Combine wet ingredients, eggs, coconut oil, honey, and vanilla in a medium-large bowl.
- In a separate bowl combine dry ingredients, coconut flour, baking soda, sea salt, cinnamon, ginger, and allspice.
- Sprinkle the dry ingredients over the wet and whisk together until well combined. The batter will be loose, don’t worry that is right the consistency.
- Gently fold carrots and raisins into the batter until everything is evenly distributed. Let the batter sit for a couple of minutes.
- Fill the baking cups ¾ of the way with the batter. Shake the tin gently, a small trick to make the cupcakes bake evenly.
- Bake for 25 minutes. A great way to test if it is done is by placing a toothpick in the middle of the cupcake, if it comes out clean it’s done! If you get a little crumble of batter, it’s not ready just place it back in the oven for a few more minutes. We now how ourselves a scrumptious batch of Carrot Cupcakes!
Goat Cheese Frosting
- Add goat cheese into a mini food processor. Add a splash of the vanilla and 1 tbsp of honey and then pulse for about 1-2 minutes.
- Turn off and scrape the sides of the container, add the remaining 1 tbsp of honey and then pulse again until you get a nice creamy consistency. Your icing is ready!
Glaze (Dairy-Free)
- Add the icing sugar into a bowl, slowly add the almond milk and combine. Just remember once you add too much liquid it is hard to thicken again, so add a little a time as you may not need a lot. Mix until you get the desired consistency.
Notes
Hope you enjoy these carrot cupcakes as much as I do.
Enjoy!
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