Are you in the mood for something sweet but not too sweet? Look no further, this carrot cake cupcake recipe is exactly what you need. This cupcake is a perfect finish to any meal or scrumptious in the morning with a cup of joe!

Applesauce makes this cake nice and moist and the maple syrup cream cheese frosting puts just the right amount of sugar on top. With a crunch from the walnuts and extra added sweetness from the raisins I think this recipe is one of my all time best!

Actually, I think I will be making them again this weekend to send a few to school with Jax for his teachers on Monday. I bet they won’t even be able to tell they are vegan!

Ingredients for “The Real Deal” Carrot Cake Cupcakes:

For the cake:

1 1/2 cups vanilla soy milk

1 tbsp white vinegar

2 tbsp ground flax

1/4 cup water

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 teas baking soda

1 teas baking powder

2 teas cinnamon

1 1/2 teas salt

1/2 cup pure cane sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/3 cup applesauce

2 cups carrots, grated

1 cup apple, grated

1 cup raisins

1 cup walnuts, chopped

For the Maple Syrup Frosting:

8 oz soy cream cheese

4 tbsp Earth Balance “Butter”

2 tbsp maple syrup

1 teas cinnamon

1 teas vanilla

Recipe for “The Real Deal Carrot Cake Cupcake”:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium bowl pour soy milk and vinegar together and set aside.
2. In small bowl mix flax and water and set aside.
3. In a large bowl mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
4. After letting the soy milk sit for at least 5 minutes pour in raisins and sugars. Stir but not too much. Set aside for 3-4 minutes.
5. Now add the milk mixture to the flour mixture along with applesauce, flax mixture, grated carrots and apples. Stir but not too much. You don’t want the batter to go flat. The vinegar milk mixture puts air into the batter.
6. Lastly fold in the walnuts.
7. Line a cupcake tin with liners and fill 3/4 full with batter. For a standard 12 count tin bake about 22 minutes or until they pass the toothpick test.
8. When toothpick comes out clean remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Wait until completely cooled before frosting.

Recipe for Maple Syrup Cream Cheese Frosting:

1. In a blender with a whisk attachment mix the cream cheese, room temp butter, maple syrup, cinnamon and vanilla.
2. Whisk until completely blended.