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Gluten Free Carrot Cake Cupcakes You Have To Make

These gluten-free carrot cake cupcakes are irresistibly moist, warmly spiced, and packed with grated carrot goodness. Coconut oil adds richness, while optional macadamia nuts bring a buttery crunch. Topped with smooth vanilla buttercream, they’re perfect for any occasion—easy to make, hard to resist, and guaranteed to disappear fast.

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Gluten Free Carrot Cake Cupcakes You Have To Make.

Gluten-free carrot cake cupcakes topped with creamy frosting arranged on a rustic wooden tray.

Intro

I love a carrot cake, it is sweet (but not sickeningly), creamy, and irresistible. Technically, it is also one of your five a day, so in my book it is actually extremely healthy (you don’t have to say anything, just let me believe it…please).

So, this week I thought I would share my recipe for carrot cake, but in miniature form that is much easier to divvy up between friends and family.

Remember, even though I have decorated them quite plainly, make sure to let your imagination run wild when you are decorating them. Especially, if you are decorating them for a holiday like Christmas, Halloween, or Easter – make sure to have some fun with it!

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  • Follow Gluten Free VIPs on Pinterest where I post every Monday
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Now… drum roll… onto the recipe…. 🙂

Recipe Sheet

Gluten-free carrot cake cupcakes topped with creamy frosting arranged on a rustic wooden tray.

Gluten Free Carrot Cake Cupcakes You Have To Make

Gluten Free VIPs
These gluten-free carrot cake cupcakes are irresistibly moist, warmly spiced, and packed with grated carrot goodness. Coconut oil adds richness, while optional macadamia nuts bring a buttery crunch. Topped with smooth vanilla buttercream, they’re perfect for any occasion—easy to make, hard to resist, and guaranteed to disappear fast.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Course Dessert
Servings 12

Ingredients
  

Batter

  • 175 g light brown sugar
  • 200 g gluten free flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 2 eggs
  • 70 g coconut oil
  • 200 g grated carrots
  • 150 g Chopped Macadamia Nuts Optional

Buttercream Icing

  • 125 g butter
  • 250 g icing sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 180°C (or 160°C for fan ovens)
  • In a mixing bowl, add light brown sugar and coconut oil. Mix together until smooth.
  • Next, fold the gluten free flour, baking powder, and cinnamon into the mixture, then mix well until no dry ingredients remain.
  • Grate the carrots
  • Add the grated carrots and eggs to the mixture and make sure there is a nice and smooth consistency to the carrot cake batter
  • Optional addition to the batter – add in chopped macadamia nuts (or walnuts/ pecans)
  • Spoon the carrot cake batter into the cupcake cases and bake for 25-30 minutes (or until toothpick inserted into the centre of a cupcake comes out clear)
  • Leave the cupcakes to cool for 3 hours
  • Combine the butter, icing sugar and vanilla extract to make a creamy buttercream icing
  • Decorate the cooled cupcakes with the buttercream (and anything else you want to add!)
  • Finally, my favourite part, eat the cupcakes!❤️
Keyword Carrot Cake, Cupcakes, Dessert, Gluten Free

Ingredients

Batter

  • 175g light brown sugar
  • 200g gluten free flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 2 eggs
  • 70g coconut oil
  • 200g grated carrots
  • Optional: 150g chopped macadamia nuts (or pecans or walnuts for the more traditional person, I just love macadamia nuts)

Buttercream Icing

  • 125g butter
  • 250g icing sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 180°C (or 160°C for fan ovens)
  2. In a mixing bowl, add light brown sugar and coconut oil. Mix together until smooth.
  3. Next, fold the gluten free flour, baking powder, and cinnamon into the mixture, then mix well until no dry ingredients remain.
  4. Grate the carrots
  5. Add the grated carrots and eggs to the mixture and make sure there is a nice and smooth consistency to the carrot cake batter
  6. Optional addition to the batter – add in chopped macadamia nuts (or walnuts/ pecans)
  7. Spoon the carrot cake batter into the cupcake cases and bake for 25-30 minutes (or until toothpick inserted into the centre of a cupcake comes out clear)
  8. Leave the cupcakes to cool for 3 hours
  9. Combine the butter, icing sugar and vanilla extract to make a creamy buttercream icing
  10. Decorate the cooled cupcakes with the buttercream (and anything else you want to add!)
  11. Finally, my favourite part, eat the cupcakes!❤️
Unfrosted carrot cake cupcakes cooling in a baking tray, golden-brown tops visible with flecks of grated carrot, set against a warm kitchen backdrop.

Tips and Tricks

Using an electric whisk

To save your arm from a workout, instead of using a spatula you can use an electric whisk. I will say this though, I did use a spatula. Firstly, it was a good arm workout (my biceps have doubled in size since making this recipe!). Secondly, I really couldn’t be bothered to get the electric whisk out, assemble it, and then wash it afterwards. So, whatever you decide, just remember there will be effort involved.

Sieving is optional because who wants to clean a sieve

I think that sieving the ingredients can be a wonderful way to ensure a nice and smooth texture. But, a bit like what I said above, it is a bit of a hassle to clean and get out. So, if you fancy sieving, then I am by no means going to shame nor stop you. However, for me personally, most of the time I just can’t be bothered.

Macadamia Nuts, Walnuts and Pecans (optional)

I love macadamia nuts. I love that when added to the recipe they really help to cut through the sweetness. The macadamia nuts make these cupcakes very morish (I should know, as a person that has eaten quite a few of these). But, if you are the traditionalist, by all means add walnuts or pecans instead.

Using a Different Type of Oil

Coconut oil is so smooth, rich and tasty that it was a perfect addition to the carrot cake cupcakes. However, any other type of oil that you prefer can work just as well like sunflower oil for example (the list is endless).

Decorations

Sometimes, I find that simple is better. A simple swirl on top of a carrot cake cupcake is very pretty. But truly let your imagination go wild, these can be decorated for specific seasons, for example, Halloween, Christmas or Easter. Just make sure that when you are decorating, you are having fun!

Carrot cake cupcakes topped with swirls of vanilla buttercream, arranged on a rustic wooden board. Lightly decorated and ready to serve, with visible flecks of carrot.

Adjustments

Making the recipe vegan

To make this a vegan recipe for the batter instead of using 2 eggs instead use any of the following:

  • 1 mashed ripe banana (it is sweet and it will help bind the ingredients together)
  • Flaxseed – 1 egg is the equivalent to 3tbsp of water mixed with 1tbsp of ground flaxseed (must mix and let it rest for 10 minutes to allow it to gel)
  • Chia seeds – 1 egg is the equivalent to 3tbsp of water mixed with 1tbsp of chia seeds (must mix and let it rest for 15 minutes to allow it to gel)
  • Aquafaba – 1 egg is the equivalent to 3tbsp of aquafaba (which is just chickpea water/brine)
  • 100g of gluten free applesauce (but this will result in a very soft cupcake)

Buttercream icing – making it vegan is quite simple – instead of butter use vegan butter (make sure to double check packaging that it is vegan when you buy).

To make the recipe nut-free

To make this a nut-free recipe, make sure to not include the macadamia nuts, walnuts, pecans or any other nut. Also make sure to be diligent when shopping for the ingredients list to make sure there are no nuts and no may contain nuts located in the ingredients section of the specific brand you have chosen.

This tips and tricks section is really just about encouraging you Gluten Free VIPs to not be afraid to make this recipe your own and tailored to you and your tastes! Feel free to be fun and adventurous with your cooking! Enjoy!😊😊😊

To Salt Or Not To Salt…

When it comes to salting the carrot cake cupcakes, I personally believe it is a little unnecessary considering that the (optional) macadamia nuts are added – I think they really help to cut through the sweetness. But, if you would prefer a salty and sweet experience, then I recommend only adding a pinch to even out the flavour profile ❤️.

Thank You For Reading! 🙂

Thank you so much for reading my article on Gluten Free Carrot Cake Cupcakes You Have To Make. Hopefully, you will give my recipe a try and get to experience what it is like to eat the food of VIPs. Be sure to comment and tell me how the recipe went. Just a reminder that I do also have a Pinterest account, so be sure to give that a like and follow also to make sure that you never miss when Gluten Free VIPs post (but just a reminder that I post every Monday).

If you would like to try some of my other dessert recipes I have listed the recipes below:

Please keep an eye out for Gluten Free VIPs, as I will be making more dessert recipes soon. Just a reminder that Gluten Free VIPs makes smoothies but also, dessert, dinner, lunch and side dish recipes that are all gluten free (plus some that are vegan and vegetarian)!

Gluten Free VIPs

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