I had made this cupcake from BiggerBolderBaking before for my mom and she really liked it!! I edited it a tad to make it more friendly to her dietary restrictions (no oil). I choose to top it with my favorite buttercream as mom and I aren’t a fan of Cream Cheese icing. I added in pineapple as well which makes it a super moist cupcake. My hubby had what he called the best carrot cake ever in Texas which had pineapple in it. I didn’t add nuts (walnuts or toasted pecans sound great!!) as my mom also has to avoid nuts.
I made these again to bring to a Christmas Renaissance Feast our high school puts on. We have a great meal and the kids are great entertainment! They end the feast with a lemon, raisin spice cake they set aflame (the sugar cubes inside). I made the carrot cakes to emulate the spice cake for my mom and another mom who happen to be gluten free. I brought 2 of them to the feast and left them in the kitchen. When the girls brought out the cupcakes they were confused as they had 1 cupcake and a wrapper. They mentioned to their choir director that someone ate one of the Gluten Free cupcakes. He proceeded to turn red, clamp his hand to his mouth, and hide in embarrassment that it was he who ate it! He said he couldn’t tell at all that they were gluten free! This is always my pride and joy when I hear a comment like that!
Gluten Free small batch Carrot Pineapple Cup Cakes
A moist carrot cake with sweet pineapple and raisins.
Edited from: BiggerBolderBaking
Ingredients
Carrot Cake
1/4 cup (2oz/ 57g) Granulated sugar
2 tablespoons of egg (1 large egg is approx 4 Tbsp-you need to beat your egg then use 2 T)
1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup (2oz/ 57g) applesauce
1/3 cup (2oz/ 57g) Gluten Free flour mix
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup (2oz/57g) carrots, grated
1/4 cup drained crushed pineapple
1/4 cup (1oz/28g) raisins
Buttercream
Credit: Savory Sweet Life
-1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks or ½ pound), softened
-3-4 cups confectioners (powdered) sugar, SIFTED
-¼ teaspoon table salt
-1 tablespoon vanilla extract
-Up to 4 tablespoons heavy cream, half and half, or milk **heavy cream is best
Directions
1. Whisk together sugar, eggs, vanilla and oil until thick.
2. Add in flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon and whisk gently until well combined.Â
3. Last, add in the grated carrots, crushed pineapple, and raisins and fold in.
4. Pour the batter into 4-5 cupcake liners almost to the top-I like to use my 3-4 Tbsp cookie scoop to make uniform cupcakes.
5. Bake at 350° F for 15-17 minutes, or until they are firm in the middle and don’t appear damp.
6. Once baked, take them out of the tin and cool on a baking rack until cold.
Prepare Buttercream
1. Beat softened butter 4-5 minutes until very light colored and creamy (I use the whisk attachment). Scrape sides a few times.
2. Add in 3 cups of powdered sugar and turn on LOW to mix butter and sugar a bit.
3. Mix in salt and vanilla.
4. Add heavy cream (or milk) a little at a time until it is at the consistency you want.
5. To decorate muffin cups like Santa hats, remove half of the buttercream to a pastry bag fitted with a smaller open start tip. I used a Wilton 18 tip.
6. Add red food coloring to the other half of buttercream in mixing bowl to achieve the shade you want.
Redheaded baker 