Who can resist a carrot cake for an afternoon treat or to celebrate a special occasion? Here we’ve turned the classic into cupcakes. This crowd-pleasing recipe uses coconut yoghurt for a naturally sweet topping — the higher the fat content, the thicker and more suited to frosting it will be.
Makes 12 cupcakes
Bake time: 25 minutes
Prep time: 20 minutes
Total time: 45 minutes
Ingredients
60ml light olive oil
90g coconut sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
150ml soya milk
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ tablespoon milled flaxseed
125g carrots, peeled & grated
25g raisins, (optional)
160g plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
50g walnuts
For the topping
250g coconut yoghurt
½ tablespoon maple syrup
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Method
Spread the walnuts out on a baking tray and place in the oven at 150°C / 130°C fan / 320°F for 12–15 minutes; leave to cool, then roughly chop and set aside. Increase the oven temperature to 180°C / 160°C fan / 350°F. Prepare a 12 hole muffin tin.
Place the oil, sugar, vanilla and soya milk into a large bowl; whisk until the sugar begins to dissolve, then add the cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, milled flaxseed, grated carrots and raisins (if using) and stir to combine.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt, until no lumps remain.
Add the flour mixture into the wet mixture, along with ½ of the walnuts. Stir to combine, being careful not to overmix.
Scoop the mixture into the prepared muffin cups and bake for 20-25 minutes, until risen, dark golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre of each cupcake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely on a wire rack (remove the cupcakes from the tin once they are cool enough to handle).
To make the icing, whisk together the coconut yoghurt, maple syrup and vanilla. Spread over the cake and sprinkle over the remaining walnuts.
