Sweet Potato Carrot Cake

Firstly, let me apologize for the poor photography. I am having a week, and I am eating my feelings, and if you are also having a bad week, you should absolutely make these carrot cupcakes as well! My sweet angel baby dog has been diagnosed with lung cancer, and we have been in and out of vets offices all week. There were moments when it looked like she might not survive the day, and now it looks like she could have months. We’re hopeful, but also preparing to say goodbye to the sweetest dog I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. What does this have to do with carrot cake? Well, dealing with the death of a pet is not conducive for good food photography, but it does help you see clearly how to get the most delicious food in your mouth! And these cupcakes are super moist, lightly sweet, and a little tangy from the cream cheese icing! They’re vegan, gluten free, and oil free, and very good for sopping up tears. This is how we made it:

Ingredients:

¾ cups cooked sweet potato (I poked some holes in my potato with a fork and microwaved it for about 8 minutes, flipping it about 4 mins in–just the meat, no skin)

½ cup plant based milk

2 flax eggs (2 tbsp flax meal + 6 tbsp warm water mixed and set aside for 5 minutes)

½ cup coconut or date sugar

¼ cup maple syrup or date paste

1 tsp vanilla

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 ½ tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp nutmeg

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

2 cups oat flour

½ cup carrot, peeled and finely grated (plus more for topping)

½ cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Cream Cheese Cashew Icing:

¾ cups raw cashews, soaked in hot water for at least 30 mins

¼ cup plant based milk

2 tbsp maple syrup or date paste

½ lemon, juiced

Directions:

Start soaking your cashews in hot water immediately!

Preheat your oven to 350 F, and get a muffin pan ready. You can either use paper tins or a little spritz of oil.

In a high powered blender, add the sweet potato, milk, flax egg, coconut sugar, maple syrup, vanilla, apple cider vinegar, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Blend until very well combined.

In a medium bowl, add the oat flour, and then pour in the sweet potato mixture. Stir in the carrot and walnuts, and mix it all up.

Spoon the mixture into your prepared muffin pan about ¾ full.

Bake the muffins for about 16-18 minutes. If you’re uncertain, do the toothpick test.

In the meantime, let’s make the icing. Add the cashews, milk, maple syrup, and lemon juice to your freshly washed high powered blender. Blend until smooth. This may take a few cycles. Patience! The icing will set up as it cools, so feel free to transfer it to a small container and put it in the fridge.

Makes 12 cupcakes

Once your cupcakes have cooled, ice them and top them with some shredded carrot.

Loving our carrot cake? Tag us in your photo on Instagram @notthatkindofveganofficial or on Facebook for a shoutout!