Gluten Free Carrot Cake Minis w/honey-yogurt topping

I am a baker at heart.  I love to bake and after 15 years of making wedding cakes, french pastries, tarts and dreaming of my own little bakery shop, you can bet that "gluten intolerance" was not a popular diagnosis for me.  When my doctor said no gluten again EVER I knew I had some soul searching to do.  Ok, I admit that might be an over exaggeration.  But I did have some serious thinking do...which always leads to more baking!

I am not a huge fan of baked goods made from 15 different flours and fillers, so much of the "gluten free" options out there just didn't appeal  to me.  Not that I don't use these flour mixes at times.  They can be very useful and helpful for certain things.  

So, I set out on a mission to take back my culinary passion and make some great tasting desserts again.  A small grain of wheat wasn't gonna stop me!

This recipe is made with coconut flour.  A bag of coconut flour goes for about $8 a pound at the health food store (you can get it for $12 at Target).  This may sound expensive but on average you use 2/3 less coconut flour in a recipe than you would wheat four.  For instance this recipe only takes 1/4 cup of coconut four but it makes you 24 mini muffins or 12 regular sized muffins!  Coconut flour is also significantly lower in carbs. than wheat flour and has A LOT more fiber.  But more on the wonders of coconut flour later.  Lets get to the good stuff...

Carrot Cake Minis

Ingredients:

1/4 cup coconut flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

*(go to bottom of post for a baking soda free version)

2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp nutmeg

3 room temp eggs

5 TBLS coconut oil (liquefied)*

2 tsp grated ginger(or pre-grated tubed ginger)

5 TBLS honey  or unrefined cane sugar

1 tsp Vanilla extract

1 cup (lightly packed)very finely grated carrots

1/4 cup chopped currants

1/4 cup grated coconut

Set your eggs aside to come to room temp.  The quick method would be to place eggs in a warm water bath for 3 min.  Be sure to dry the eggs off before you crack them)

Mix together the coconut flour, BS, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg into a medium sized bowl.

Sift or use a fork to break up all lumps in the coconut flour.

In a separate mixing bowl whisk together the coconut oil, room temp eggs(very important or the coconut oil will harden), Honey/sugar, ginger and vanilla extract.  Whisk till well blended.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet, again using a wire whisk or kitchen aide.   Mix well so that there are no lumps in the batter. It will look a bit like melted caramel. 

Fold in the carrots, grated coconut and the currants.

Spoon a tablespoon of batter in to each mini muffin cup.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 min depending on your oven.  Just don't over bake or they'll get dry.

Cool.  Alternate options:  Use a few TBLS of applesauce to replace an equal amount of oil.

*GAPS Diet friendly Baking Soda Free instructions:

Omit the baking soda and seperate your egg yolks from the egg whites. Follow the instructions above accept you will beat the egg whites till slightly stiff and fold into the batter after the addition of the carrots and rasins.  The beaten egg whites will help the cup cakes to rise without the baking soda.

Pipe or frost cupcakes JUST before you serve them with... 

Greek Yogurt And Honey Frosting

Ingredients:

2 cups Greek or strained yogurt

1/4 to 1/2 cup Raw honey (or more if you like)

Variations: try adding a 1 tsp cinnamon or toasted coconut, lemon rind...be creative.

Mix ingredients together then place the mixture in a double or triple folded cheesecloth to restrain the yogurt.  I set my cheese cloth in a large strainer and place it over a bowl to catch the liquid.  You can strain at room temp or in the fridge for a few hours or till it reaches the desired consistency for piping/frosting.