Gluten-Free, Carrot Cake with Tangy, Vanilla Frosting

Servings: 18
Preparation Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

Cake:

• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1 cup almond flour or cashew meal
• 2 tablespoons allspice or a mix of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 6 large organic carrots, finely shredded or chopped
• 1/2 cup raw honey or real Grade B maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon organic molasses
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup melted butter/ghee or coconut oil
• 6 eggs
• Optional: 3/4 cup chopped walnuts or raisins, or both

Frosting:

• 1 cup palm shortening or grass-fed butter, at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons raw honey
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup tapioca flour
• juice of 1/2 a lemon

Directions:

Cake:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients. Add in wet ingredients and blend again with your mixer. Mix in optional nuts and raisins.

Grease a 9 x 13-inch glass cake pan or 2 round cake pans with coconut oil. Pour batter into pan(s).

Bake times: large pan: 35–45 minutes, round pans: 35 minutes. Cake is done when tester inserted into center of cake comes out clean.

Cool completely.

Top with Tangy Vanilla Frosting. Store in fridge (no preservatives here!)

Frosting:

Blend the ingredients until light and fluffy. It will take several minutes on high speed with an electric mixer.

Jenny from Hendersonville, TN, just won $50 for this recipe and photo! Submit yours here.

If you love chocolate, then these cupcakes are for you. Even if you don’t love chocolate, I’m sure you’ll like these.

These dense, fudge-like cupcakes are topped with a fluffy, creamy, whipped cream–like frosting flavored with vanilla. The two are total opposites, but they get along nicely in this cupcake. And the best thing is neither the cupcakes nor the frosting has an overload of sugar. Who wants a mile of sugar fluff on their cupcakes anyway?

The cupcakes can be kept cold or on the counter at room temp, but I recommend storing them overnight in the refrigerator (if they even survive that long). Then, you can take them out to come to room temperature or eat them cold. I like them cold. Make them yourself, and then tell me which way you like them.

Oh, and by the way, don’t worry if the cakes fall and crack in the center during cooling. That’s normal. It makes a great little bowl for the frosting.

The cool thing about these little guys is that they get better with age. I thought they tasted best two days after they were baked. But the best thing is they’re gluten-free and completely foolproof. No one will ever know…

What’s your favorite cupcake flavor, and what kind of frosting do you like on them?

Until next time,

Sarah 🙂

Gluten-Free Coconut Fudge Cupcakes with Whipped Vanilla Cream Frosting

Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 18–20 cupcakes

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:

• 6 ounces salted butter (use half coconut oil for a more coconut taste)
• 11 ounces 80% dark chocolate
• 5 eggs
• 2 tablespoons water
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar, slightly rounded
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon coconut flour
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• coconut chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with cupcake papers.

Melt the butter and chocolate together over a double boiler or over very low heat. Set aside to cool.

Using an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the eggs, water, sugar, and vanilla on medium-high speed for about 3 minutes. Mixture should be foamy, pale in color, and doubled in volume.

With mixer on low, slowly add the chocolate mixture. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until well blended, 30–40 seconds. Scrape the bowl down with a rubber spatula once or twice as needed. Add coconut flour and cocoa and beat again for another 30 seconds. Scrape down once, if needed.

Fill the cupcake papers with the batter and bake in the preheated oven for 10–20 minutes. Cupcakes are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out wet with gooey chocolate clumps.

Cool in pan for 5–10 minutes before removing and cooling completely on wire racks. Chill until cold in the refrigerator, if desired, and frost with Whipped Vanilla Cream Frosting and top with coconut flakes. Store overnight in the refrigerator.

Whipped Vanilla Cream Frosting:

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 cup salted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2–3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• heavy cream

Directions:

Pour a little milk into the cornstarch to make a slurry. Add remaining milk to a medium saucepan and heat over medium heat. When milk is hot, add slurry, whisking constantly. Heat until mixture thickens, but do not let it come to a rolling boil. Milk should become extremely thick and almost paste-like.

Pour thickened milk into a bowl and cool to room temperature.

Beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Scrape bowl down and add vanilla. Beat for another 1–2 minutes.

Add the milk paste to the butter a spoonful at a time, beating well after each addition. When the milk has been added, beat on high speed until frosting is light and fluffy and resembles whipped cream. Thin out with a little heavy cream if needed.

Frost cupcakes and enjoy!

Recipe courtesy of Sarah Shilhavy.

Recipe prepared by Sarah Shilhavy and photographed by Jeremiah Shilhavy.

Submit your recipe here!

Gluten-Free, Yellow Cake

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 sticks butter, softened
• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 8 eggs (large), at room temperature
• 2 egg yolks, at room temperature
• 2 cups coconut flour, sifted
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/3 cups of milk (or half-and-half) + 1 tablespoon
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• coconut oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. With a pastry brush, grease two round, 9 or 8-inch cake pans with coconut oil and dust with coconut flour.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the butter and sugar together for about five minutes on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, scraping bowl occasionally. Add the egg yolks into the butter and sugar mixture and beat together until well blended. Add the rest of the eggs in one at a time, beating mixture after each addition. In a separate bowl, combine all the dry ingredients together. Add the vanilla to the milk. With mixer on low speed, add the flour and milk to the butter and egg mixture, scraping bowl when needed. When all the milk and flour mixture is used up, beat the cake batter together for about five minutes until the color is a bit lighter and the batter is light and fluffy.

Spoon the batter into the prepared cake pans and smooth the tops. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 30–35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean.

Place the cake pans on a wire rack and let it cool for about five minutes in the pan. Run a butter knife along the edges of the cakes before removing from pan. When cakes are completely cool, frost with Marshmallow Frosting or chocolate ganache. Enjoy!!

Marshmallow Frosting

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 1/2 tablespoons brown rice syrup
• 2 egg* whites – See Note below.
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

*Note – This recipe contains raw or undercooked eggs. Please make a substitution if you have concerns about consuming raw eggs.

Directions:

Place sugar, cream of tartar, salt, water, and brown rice syrup in a saucepan or pot. Cook and stir over medium heat until sugar is completely dissolved, forming a syrup.

Place egg whites in a mixer bowl and whip on high speed with an electric mixer for about 45 seconds or until egg whites begin to hold their shape. Continue beating on high speed while slowly pouring hot syrup into egg whites in a fine stream. Whip for about 5 minutes longer or until frosting loses its gloss and stands in stiff peaks. Frost cake immediately. Enjoy!!

Submitted by Sarah, Milwaukee WI.

Submit your recipe here!