I love carrot cake and have been looking for a grain-free recipe on Pinterest for a couple of weeks due to Easter coming up ahead. It is also a favorite of my mom and some of my aunts, all of whom have various sensitivities. I decided on this one that I found on fresh4five. Although some of the ingredients weren’t typical, I decided to give it a go. I did make one change. Instead of apple butter, I used unsweetened apple sauce. I didn’t have apple butter and figured apple sauce would be a less car by exchange.

The result.

It was really good and even my husband liked it. He sometimes has trouble with the texture of these coconut flour base treats, but thought this particular cupcake was “just right”, texture wise. My mom had passed by earlier this afternoon and really enjoyed the cupcake as well. The approval of Sir Picky Pants was not available for comment due to the sight of a vegetable in the cupcake.

Ingredients
½ cup ground Pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
¼ cup coconut flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon allspice
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups shredded carrots
¼ cup apple sauce
½ cup sunflower seed butter
½ cup pure maple syrup
4 pastured eggs

Directions:

1.Preheat oven to 325F.
2.Line a muffin tin with liners.
3.In a medium bowl whisk together all of the dry ingredients.
4.In a small bowl whisk the eggs until frothy and loosened.
5.In a large bowl combine the carrots, apple and sunflower seed butter. Add in the eggs and combine.
6.Add the dry ingredients to the large bowl with wet ingredients. Stir until combined.
7.Fill liners, leaving a little room. These will not rise much.
8.Bake for 12 minutes, turning the tray once, and baking for another 5-7 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
9. Cool on cooling rack and store in a sealed container in the fridge.
10. Top with your favorite buttercream, glaze, or dairy free frosting of choice. We had them plain. Yum.

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