Carrots are healthy & nutritious – they are chock full of Vitamin A, high in antioxidants & also dietary fiber. Sometimes they are so sweet & almost even juicy, it’s hard to believe that they are a vegetable! Most kids love carrots & almost all kids LOVE dessert, so using carrots in a dessert is simply a wonderfully delicious idea.

My delicious & super moist Carrot Almond Cupcakes are so simple to make & so absolutely heavenly to eat. You’re just going to have to trust me & try this dessert as soon as you can. This recipe is also a great way to get your kids into the kitchen to help you. I often make this as a straight up cake for my family & friends but somehow, the cupcakes are always more fun ☺.

If you prefer to use a hand grater to grate the carrots, then by all means – go for it. If you have a food processor, then your prep time is a snap, just remember to remove the outer peel first. If you are using a food processor, you must gentle squeeze the shredded carrots with a tea towel or cheesecloth over a bowl to remove any excess liquid – of course, don’t discard the liquid as it could always be added to your dal or curry ☺.


CARROT ALMOND CUPCAKES

Ingredients:

2 medium carrots, peeled & very finely grated (I did this by hand)
¼ cup orange juice (or apple juice), slightly warmed
¼ cup golden raisins (or you can use regular raisins or even currants)
¼ cup dried cranberries
¾ cup granulated sugar
½ cup olive oil (do not use extra virgin olive oil)
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp almond extract
2½ cups almond meal
1 tbsp ground flaxseeds – optional
½ tsp baking soda
½ cup sweetened coconut flakes
1 tbsp fresh orange zest
juice of ½ lemon
1 tsp ground allspice
½ tsp ground cinnamon powder
¼ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
pinch of salt
½ cup toasted nuts for garnish (almond slices, pistachio pieces, pecans, walnuts or even pine nuts)
cream cheese or mascarpone frosting – optional

METHOD:

First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Then line an 18-cup medium size muffin tin with cupcake wrappers. If you wish to make a cake, liberally grease & flour a 9” Springform cake pan & line the bottom with parchment paper. Set aside until needed.

You can microwave the orange juice for 30 seconds or so & then soak the golden raisins & dried cranberries together in the warmed orange juice. Set aside until needed.

Using a kitchen stand mixer large, combine the sugar with the olive oil & beat until light & creamy. Then add in the eggs (one at a time) along with both the vanilla & almond extracts. Mix vigorously on high for 1-2 minutes until the mixture has thickened up a bit. Now with the mixer running on low speed, simply add in the almond meal (a little at a time) until it is well incorporated. Next, add in the ground flaxseeds along with the baking soda. Don’t forget to add in the grated carrots along with the soaked raisins/cranberries, coconut flakes, orange zest, lemon juice & spices (ground allspice, ground cinnamon powder, ground ginger, grated nutmeg & salt). Once the batter has been well combined, carefully spoon the batter into the lined muffin tins & smooth out the top of each muffin. Top with the toasted nuts & bake on the center oven rack for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If you are baking a cake, bake for 30-35 minutes & then check with a toothpick.

*NOTE: if you wish to frost the cupcakes (or cake), bake them as is without the toasted nuts. When the cupcakes (or cake) have sufficiently cooled (30 minutes at least), frost them first & then sprinkle them with the nuts.




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