Carrot Garden Cupcakes

Did you hear the good news? Spring is here! That means winter is (supposedly) over and now we can celebrate all things that bring new life and fresh vegetables at the farmers market. To honor this new season, I wanted to make a dessert using Bob’s Red Mill gluten free flours to symbolize gardens, blooms, and anything that is a sign of SPRING. So I decided to plant a garden using chocolate cupcakes!

And no, your eyes do not deceive you, those are strawberries, pretending to be carrots. All you need is orange-colored melting chips (or you can use dairy free white chocolate with an all natural orange food coloring if you can’t have dairy). Simply dip each strawberry (make sure they are room temperature!) into the melted chips and allow them to set for 5 minutes and that is it. Strawberry carrots for your Carrot Garden Cupcakes.

I made my gluten free mix with the following of Bob’s Red Mill gluten free flours:

• Brown Rice flour
• White Rice flour
• Arrowroot starch/powder
• Tapioca flour/powder

You can read more about creating your own gluten free flour mix here to get a better understanding as to why I chose these specific flours for the cupcakes. I wanted something light and springy, perfect for cakes!

These chocolate cupcakes are my favorite gluten free vegan version of the real deal. You can thank the stone ground white rice flour for that texture. It gives the perfect bite without creating a dense, hard-as-rocks cupcake. If you are familiar with gluten free baking, you’ll know this can be tricky…

Once you have baked the gluten free chocolate cupcakes, make sure you give them enough time to fully cool down. Otherwise, they will be very delicate to work with. You can even place them into the freezer for 10-15 minutes to speed up the process. Creating the scene for the Carrot Garden Cupcakes is simple! See the pictures below for the photo tutorials:

1. Cut out a small piece of the cupcake from the middle. Save the scraps because it will become the surrounding dirt.
2. Cover the edges with your favorite frosting and add the cupcake crumbles and even some cacao nibs if you have them on hand for that realistic dirt look.
3. Place the dipped strawberry (make sure it is completely hardened) inside the hole and that is it! You have your very own Carrot Garden Cupcakes.

Turn strawberries into carrots and chocolate cupcakes in a “dirt patch” with these edible gluten free Carrot Garden Cupcakes. They’re perfect for springtime!

Carrot Garden Cupcakes

★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews

• Author: Fork & Beans
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins
• Total Time: 50 mins
• Yield: 10 Carrot Garden Cupcakes

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Ingredients

Dry Ingredients:

• 1/2 c. Bob’s Red Mill brown rice flour
• 1/2 c. Bob’s Red Mill white rice flour
• 1/4 c. Bob’s Red Mill arrowroot powder
• 1/4 c. Bob’s Red Mill tapioca flour
• 1/2 c. cocoa powder
• 3/4 c. granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. xanthan gum (you can omit, just note they will be more delicate)
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt

Wet Ingredients:

• 1 c. unsweetened dairy free milk (or regular milk)
• 1/3 c. oil
• 1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar

Chocolate Frosting:

• 1/4 c. non-hydrogenated shortening
• 1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
• 2 Tbsp. cocoa powder
• 1 Tbsp. unsweetened dairy free milk

Strawberry “Carrots”:

• 10 strawberries, room temp
• 1/2 c. orange colored melting chips

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Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease or line a muffin tin with 12 liners. You will bake 12 cupcakes but will have 10 total after you assemble everything.
2. Whisk together the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Stir in the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
3. Pour into the muffin tin evenly and bake for 15-18 minutes or until the tops of the cupcakes spring back after gently pressing down.
4. Remove from the pan and allow to fully cool on a wire rack before frosting.
5. While the cupcakes are cooling down, gently holding the tops, dip each strawberry into the melted orange-colored chocolate chips until completely coated. Place on a piece of wax paper and allow to sit for 5 minutes to set.
6. Once the cupcakes have cooled, cut out a small center from the middle of 10 cupcakes. Don’t cut too deep, just a slight dip is good enough. Set the scraps aside.
7. Take the 2 other cupcakes and crumble into small piece along with the scraps. You will use this for the “dirt” along the edges. If you have cacao nibs on hand, you can use these too!
8. Beat the frosting ingredients together with an electric mixer or by hand and gently frost the edges with it.
9. Add the cupcake crumbles.
10. Place the strawberry carrots inside the middle of the cupcakes.

This post has been sponsored by Bob’s Red Mill. All thoughts and opinions are my own.