Soft, light, and fragrant, the carrot cupcakes are a wholesome and easy-to-make dessert, perfect for the whole family’s breakfast or for the children’s school snack. They remind us of the famous carrot snacks many of us loved as children, but with an extra touch: these soft carrot cupcakes are made without butter and can also be made with rice flour instead of all-purpose flour, resulting in gluten-free treats suitable for celiacs!
The softness of the dough is ensured not only by finely chopped fresh carrots but also by the addition of Greek yogurt, which makes the treats moist and irresistible. The dough is then divided into 12 individual molds, and in about half an hour of baking, you’ll have delicious carrot muffins ready to enjoy.
If you love carrot desserts, you might also try the carrot and almond cake, rich and fragrant, or the apple and carrot cake, perfect for an autumn breakfast. For those who love fresh and vitamin-rich flavors, there’s the ACE cake, with carrots, orange, and lemon.
A simple and versatile dessert that will win over both young and old: try these carrot cupcakes and be surprised by their genuine goodness!
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- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Very Cheap
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 12 Pieces
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All Seasons
- Energy 211.18 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 27.23 (g) of which sugars 12.86 (g)
- Proteins 4.14 (g)
- Fat 10.23 (g) of which saturated 1.26 (g)of which unsaturated 6.10 (g)
- Fibers 1.27 (g)
- Sodium 57.88 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 60 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for 12 Carrot and Almond Muffins
If you are celiac, you can make gluten-free carrot cupcakes using 170 g of fine rice flour instead of all-purpose flour. However, remember to check that the following ingredients have the “gluten-free” label: rice flour, potato starch, almond flour, baking powder, almond flavor, powdered sugar.
- 5.6 oz carrots (weighed already cleaned)
- 3.9 oz Greek yogurt
- 2 eggs (medium)
- 4.2 oz sugar
- 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour (or fine rice flour gluten-free)
- 1/2 cup potato starch
- 1/3 cup sunflower oil
- 1/3 cup almond flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- A few drops almond flavor
- 1 pinch salt
- to taste powdered sugar
Tools
- 1 Cutting Board
- 1 Peeler
- 1 Knife
- 1 Chopper
- 1 Bowl
- Electric Whisk
- 1 Sieve
- 1 Spatula
- 1 Muffin Pan for 12
- 12 Cupcake Liners paper for muffins
How to Make Soft Carrot and Almond Cupcakes
To make the carrot cupcakes, start by peeling the carrots with a peeler. Remove the two ends and cut them into pieces (1). Put them in a chopper along with the Greek yogurt (2). Blend for a couple of minutes, stopping two or three times to stir the mixture if you see it’s difficult to chop. You don’t need to get a smooth puree, but a soft and slightly grainy mix (3). Set it aside.
Next, prepare the batter: crack the eggs into a bowl (if you keep them at room temperature for half an hour, they will whisk better). Add a pinch of salt and the sugar (4). Whisk them with the electric whisk for a minute or two, until you get a light and frothy mixture (5). At this point, pour in the oil in a thin stream while you continue to whisk the batter (6). Incorporate it perfectly.
Sift the all-purpose flour (or the fine rice flour gluten-free), potato starch, and baking powder into the bowl (7). Using the whisk, combine the dry ingredients into the batter, which should now be quite thick (8). Once you have incorporated the flours well, put aside the electric whisk and take a spatula or a wooden spoon. Add the pureed carrots and yogurt, the almond flavor, and the almond flour (9).
Incorporate these ingredients into the rest of the batter using the spatula. You should obtain a homogeneous, slightly grainy, and fairly fluid mixture (10). Line the paper liners in a 12-muffin pan. Divide the batter evenly, leaving about 1.5 cm from the edge of each liner (11). Bake the carrot muffins in the preheated oven at 350°F (static) for 30-35 minutes. Before taking them out, check the doneness by piercing with a wooden skewer. Once done, take them out and let them cool (12).
Serve the carrot and almond cupcakes lightly dusted with powdered sugar, for breakfast or for a snack.
Storage
The carrot and almond cupcakes remain soft for 3 or 4 days at room temperature, stored in a cake container.
Tips and Variations
If you cannot find almond flour, you can make it at home by finely grinding 50 g of peeled almonds together with a tablespoon of sugar taken from the total provided in the recipe: this way, the sugar will absorb any oil released by the almonds.
If you are lactose intolerant, you can substitute Greek yogurt with lactose-free Greek yogurt; there are also vegan yogurts made only with plant-based ingredients available on the market.
The almond flavor is not essential, but it enriches the taste of the cupcakes with a more intense shade, very similar to that of the famous snacks.
