I cannot believe that this Sunday is Easter!! Where does the time go??

I love Easter! It’s such a colorful, happy holiday usually filled with brunch on the beach, family, and too many grapefruit mimosas!

I try to bake a special treat every year and this year I had my heart set on Carrot Cupcakes! I used coconut flour instead of regular flour, so they are gluten free (plus I have an obsession with coconut). Usually if a recipe has any more than  5 ingredients, I’M OUT, but since it’s a festive holiday I splurged a little bit.

I tested these out a few weeks ago and Oh Ma Gah, they were so good!! Not too sweet, the perfect amount of carrot(ness) and were the ultimate Easter desert!

I swapped out sugar and used apple sauce and raw honey instead. Every item I used was a whole food, meaning nothing was fat free, low fat, zero sugar, or have any crazy ingredients that I can’t pronounce. I always try and use real foods that my body can recognize and break down, instead storing as fat.

In fact, these cupcakes are pretty healthy, I mean there are carrots in them right?

Don’t let this ingredient list scare you off → you will probably have 80% of the items already in your cupboard

♥ 1/2 cup Coconut Flour

♥ 5 eggs

♥ 1/3 cup grass-fed butter or coconut oil (I like to use butter when I’m baking - just make sure it’s room temp)

♥ 1 teaspoon vanilla

♥ 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice 

♥ 1 cup apple sauce (buy the real organic stuff)

♥ 1 teaspoon baking powder

♥ 1 teaspoon baking soda

♥ about a cup of shredded carrot (they sell it already shredded at the store, so to make your life easier buy it like this)

♥ optional:  add raisins, walnuts, or whatever else your little heart desires

 Frosting:

• 1 8oz package full fat cream cheese (You are having one cupcake, it’s not going to kill you, full fat is MUCH better for you than reduced fat, remember WHOLE foods)
• 3 tablespoons honey or agave nectar-
• half of a squeezed lemon
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar (ok there is a little sugar but it’s honestly the smallest amount just to fluff the frosting up, you could even use less)

Now…

Pour yourself a glass of champagne, have a friend over and the process of making these will be so much more fun. Trust me, if I can do it, you can probably do it 100 times better. (One time I made brownies that turned out looking like a slab of steak, the whole measurement thing scares me!!!)

1. In a large bowl or Kitchen Aid mix eggs, butter, vanilla, honey and applesauce till completely combined
2. Next add baking soda, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, and coconut flour into the wet ingredients. Mix until blended
3. Add the grated carrots or nuts or whatever else
4. Pour your delicious batter into 12 cupcake tins and bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cupcake comes out clean

For the Frosting:

With a hand mixer or Kitchen Aid, add cream cheese, honey, lemon, and powdered sugar and blend until smooth and fluffy

Apply to cooled carrot cupcakes

I have made these twice and literally eat half the batter and frosting before they are even ready. (what is my problem?)

Since my favorite flowers are daisies and it’s Spring time, I cut the stems off a few daisies and put them right in the center of the cupcake. You can add decorative sprinkles, jelly beans, Peeps, anything to add a little extra love!

Happy baking bunnies!

XO Melissa ♥

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Melissa Heyde is the creator behind the beach inspired lifestyle blog, Mermaid Memos! She's a total beach girl, with a love and passion for health, travel, beauty and overall wellness.  She grew up in beautiful San Diego, lived in Hawaii for a couple years and have always been drawn to the beach lifestyle.  She believes that life is a balancing act so staying positive and grateful are her key motives for being the best version of herself, each and every day! 

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