Allergy friendly. cupcake happy!

As a busy mom, I often try to find shortcuts in my cooking and baking methods. But, I still LOVE to bake from scratch. A while ago, I came up with the idea of a simplified homemade carrot cake recipe. Over Fathers’ Day weekend, I finally decided to make it for the first time. I call these “easy” because you don’t have to go through the extra step of shredding the carrots. Instead, I use store-bought carrot juice.

I am very proud of this recipe. They are a unique spin on traditional carrot cake with less hassle, and my version is egg-free, soy-free and dairy-free! These can also be made walnut-free if you like (the cupcake pictured above is walnut-free). If you like the traditional cream cheese icing on your carrot cake and can tolerate soy, try a dairy-free cream cheese icing recipe (foodallergymama.com has a few options). Savannah and Daddy loved these with the simple vanilla frosting, which keeps this recipe soy-free. These cupcakes are yummy, have a tender crumb and are definitely full of Cupcake Love!

© Sheila Bernal Ray, Cupcake Love

SHEILA’S EASY VEGAN CARROT CUPCAKES

Makes 24 cupcakes

1 1/2 cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
½ tsp. nutmeg
½ tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 ½ cup all purpose flour plus 1 ½ cup whole wheat pastry flour, OR 3 cups all purpose flour
½ cup shredded coconut
2 cups carrot juice (recommended: Odwalla 100% Carrot Juice)
1 cup canola oil
1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
½ cup chopped walnuts, optional (recommended: Now Foods brand, packaged in a peanut-free facility)

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line two 12-cup cupcake pans with paper liners. Spray with allergen-free baking spray.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, brown sugar, nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, flours and coconut.
3. In a separate bowl, mix the carrot juice, oil, vanilla, and vinegar.
4. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and mix well with a whisk.
5. Fold in walnuts, if desired.
6. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared cupcake liners until each cup is 2/3 full. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
7. Cool in pans ten minutes. Remove from pans to cool completely.
8. Frost with Vanilla Frosting (see recipe in Vegan Deluxe Snickerdoodle Cupcakes post)

Baker’s notes: When baking with tree nuts, I’ve found that your cakes and breads will taste even better the next day. The flavors mellow and the cake stays moist. Also, many people with tree nut allergies are not allergic to coconut, however coconut is now considered a tree nut, and therefore I can’t consider this recipe tree nut-free. Ask your doctor or allergist about baking with coconut if you have a tree nut allergy.