Famous Vegan Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Add paper liners to 2 cupcake pans.
2. In a small mixing bowl, sift flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix together until ingredients are evenly distributed.
3. In a large mixing bowl, add sugar, oil, applesauce, aquafaba, vinegar, and vanilla, and mix well.
4. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Don't overmix.
5. Use your fingers to press the chopped pineapple. Fold in the carrots, walnuts, raisins, coconut, and pineapple (with juice) to the cake batter.
6. Spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling almost to the top, about 1/4" below the top of the liners.
7. Bake the cupcakes for 30-33 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow cupcakes to cool in the pan for 15 minutes or so, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting. Top with vegan cream cheese frosting (or your choice of frosting), and garnish with cinnamon or walnuts, if desired.

For the most accurate flour measurement, switch to metric and weigh your flour. If you don't have a kitchen scale, be sure to spoon the flour into the measuring cup before leveling it off; don't scoop the cup into the flour.

My carrot cake cupcakes are loaded with walnuts, raisins, and coconut, however if you don't like any of these ingredients, feel free to leave them out.

For the coconut, be sure to use finely grated coconut or soft flakes (nothing too stiff).

I don't recommend using cake flour for these cupcakes, because it's too light to hold all the add-ins.

Carrot cake cupcakes don't stay fresh as long as other varieties of cake, so if you don't plan to eat them all within a few days, I recommend freezing them in an airtight container or freezer bag.