The Happiness Kitchen

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Gluten Free Carrot Cake Easter Eggs

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Everyone knows that you need to have chocolate at Easter (if there were no Lindt bunnies, did Easter really happen?). Nevertheless, I think these gluten free carrot cake Easter eggs are a must as well! I mean, carrot cake just seems like such a natural choice in an Easter menu, probably because carrot cake is made with, well, carrots, and who eats carrots? Bunnies, cute little Easter bunnies (human Easter bunnies included).

3 year old me in a bunny costume

This photo never fails to make me smile. I always wonder what that little brown bunny must be thinking, seeing this giant pink bunny-like creature looming over it.

Anyways, back to the food part of this blog post!

As delicious and traditional as chocolate Easter eggs are, these gluten free carrot cake Easter eggs make for a fun alternative treat. In fact, this dessert is a great activity to do with kiddos! They’ll love getting to decorate their own little carrot cake Easter egg.

Moist, maple sweetened, vegan, and gluten free, these carrot cake Easter eggs make a fun, alternative Easter treat | thehappinesskitchen.com

I think it’s a little funny how these cakes are egg shaped, but contain no eggs!

Yep, no eggs. Or gluten or refined sugar. This fun treat is wholesome, yet decadent, so you can feel good about eating more than one carrot cake Easter egg. Note: I’m not against (certain) eggs. In fact, eggs that come from happy-running-around-on-a-small-family-farm-and-eating-all-the-bugs-and-breathing-all-the-fresh-air hens are super healthy for you!

Moist, maple sweetened, vegan, and gluten free, these carrot cake Easter eggs make a fun, alternative Easter treat | thehappinesskitchen.com

To keep our carrot cake easter eggs nice and moist, we’ll be using a mix of pumpkin puree and crushed pineapple! Don’t worry, you won’t be able to tell there’s any pumpkin in there. In fact, the pumpkin puree will actually help to sweeten our carrot cake easter eggs, as will the crushed pineapple.

It did surprise me that a lot of carrot cake recipes don’t call for crushed pineapple. However, I feel like crushed pineapple is a must in carrot cake. Not only does the crushed pineapple help keep the carrot cake moist, it also provides the cake with a delightful tropical burst.

Now, for an Easter celebration, I highly recommend taking the time to cut your carrot cake into Easter egg shapes. However, if you’re short on time, or if you’re serving this carrot cake for another occasion, cutting the cake into squares or baking in round pans works as well.

Moist, maple sweetened, vegan, and gluten free, these carrot cake Easter eggs make a fun, alternative Easter treat | thehappinesskitchen.com

So, what do you say? Will these gluten free carrot cake Easter eggs make an appearance at your Easter gathering? I hope it’s a yes, because I’m sure your guests will love these sweet, little carrot cake Easter eggs as much as I do.

Moist, maple sweetened, vegan, and gluten free, these carrot cake Easter eggs make a fun, alternative Easter treat | thehappinesskitchen.com

Before we get to the recipe for these carrot cake Easter eggs, I have a quick little story to share with all of you. (My mom loves this story and will tell it to everyone and anyone!)

So, for my very first Easter here in Canada, the sweetest, most magical thing occurred. When my parents opened up the front door and stepped outside with me, guess who was out there on the lawn… A little, fat grey bunny rabbit! Was it the Easter bunny just having come from delivering Easter eggs? Probably 🙂

If you make these carrot cake Easter eggs, please comment below and share a picture on Instagram. Use #thehappinesskitchen in the caption so I can see your lovely creations!

 

Carrot Cake Easter Eggs. Vegan and gluten free.
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Gluten Free Carrot Cake Easter Eggs

This gluten free, vegan carrot cake is moist and maple sweetened. Once baked, the cake is cut into Easter egg shapes and decorated with a rich, cashew frosting. Kids (and adults) will have a lot of fun decorating these carrot cake Easter eggs! 

Course Dessert
Cuisine gluten free, Healthy, Vegan
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 40 minutes
Servings 12 -16 servings
Author Jasmin Meere | The Happiness Kitchen

Ingredients

Gluten-Free, Vegan Carrot Cake

  • 1 1/2 cup (250 g) brown rice flour
  • 1 cup (100 g) almond flour
  • 1/4 cup (31 g) tapioca starch
  • 1 teaspoon (5 ml) baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon (5 ml) baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons (10 ml) ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) ground ginger
  • 1/2 cup (120 g) coconut sugar
  • 1/2 cup (118 ml) maple syrup
  • 1/2 cup (113 g) pumpkin puree
  • 1/3 cup (67 g) virgin coconut oil, melted
  • 3 tablespoons (20g) ground flax seeds
  • 2 teaspoons (10 ml) pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup (225 g) crushed pineapple
  • 1 cup (125 g) walnut pieces
  • 2 cups (220 g) carrots, peeled and grated

Cashew Frosting

  • 1/2 cup (75 g) raw cashews, soaked overnight (or boiled for 15 minutes)
  • 1 tablespoon (30 ml) coconut oil, melted
  • 1/2 cup (113 g) crushed pineapple

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F/177°F. Grease a 9.5 inch by 13.5 inch rectangular baking pan and line with parchment paper. Set aside. 

  2. In a large bowl, sift together brown rice flour, almond flour, tapioca starch, baking powder, baking soda, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground ginger, and coconut sugar.

  3. In another bowl, mix together the maple syrup, pumpkin puree, melted coconut oil, vanilla extract, and ground flax seeds. 

  4. Slowly incorporate wet mixture with dry mixture. Stir together until fully combined.

  5. Fold in crushed pineapple, walnut pieces, and grated carrots. 

  6. Pour cake batter into greased and lined baking pan. Place baking pan on the centre oven rack. 

  7. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Flip cake out of baking pan and onto a wire cooling rack. Allow cake to cool completely before cutting into Easter egg shapes and decorating with cashew frosting. 

To Make Cashew Frosting

  1. Blend the soaked cashews, coconut oil, and crushed pineapple in a high speed blender until thick and smooth. Transfer into an icing bag or heavy duty plastic Ziplock bag. 

  2. Shortly before serving, pipe icing onto carrot cake Easter eggs. 

Recipe Notes

Cashew frosting doesn't hold the same way regular frosting does, so frost or pipe your carrot cake shortly before serving. 

If opting for a round cake, divide carrot cake batter among 2 - 9 inch pans (greased and lined with parchment paper). Bake for 1 hour at 350°F/177°C or until a toothpick comes out clean when poked into the centre of the cake. 

Carrot cake will keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Store cashew frosting in fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days. 

Carrot cake scraps (that come from cutting out Easter egg shapes) can be used to top oatmeal, yogurt, ice cream, or make into cake pops. 

Quote of the post:

“Always do your best. What you plant now, you will harvest later.”
– Og Mandino


Reader Interactions

Comments


  2. I have recently been diagnosed as gluten sensitive and had a hard time finding a carrot cake recipe. I decided to try this recipe and it’s fantastic. My husband told me this cake is better than any other carrot cake he has ever had. Thanks!

    Reply


  4. Thank you for sharing the recipe: ) I didn’t get a chance to make them on Easter day…but I am going to try them before spring ends; )

    Reply

    • Thanks for the love Elena. Hope you get a chance too! Instead of little eggs, you could cut the carrot cake into flower shapes for a fun spring dessert (:

      Reply

  10. I won’t be making Easter Egg shapes, and I can’t try these until Passover ends tomorrow night, but the ingredients look like a great blend for my picky family that includes celiacs. Can you tell me how strongly the pineapple flavor comes through? My son who loves carrot cake the best usually turns up his nose at fresh pineapple. It’s hard for me to fathom, because I LOVE pineapple, but it would be good to know in advance if this is likely to be a treat just for me, or for the whole family. 🙂

    Reply

    • Hi Willo, sorry for the delayed reply. The pineapple is fairly present in this cake, however, you could try substituting it with applesauce or more pumpkin puree (although I can’t guarantee how that will turn out as I haven’t tried it)

      Reply

  12. What a lovely frosting idea! Perfect <3 What do you think about adding some agar to it? Do you think it would act like regular frosting then?

    Reply

    • Hi Ola! It might not, just because agar is pretty liquidy and it doesn’t make the icing harden up. For the icing to harden, you’d probably need to add a bit of cornstarch.

      Reply

  22. I do not know if it’s just me or if perhaps everybody else experiencing problems with your site. It appears like some of the text within your posts are running off the screen. Can someone else please comment and let me know if this is happening to them as well? This might be a issue with my browser because I’ve had this happen before. Appreciate it

    Reply


  27. Love a great guilt-free treat and your styling is so pretty. I think I will grab some tea and sit down to enjoy one of these perfect little carrots cakes, what a treat!!

    Reply

    • Thanks so much! They are slightly on the denser side (which also makes them for filling). If you cut the cake into egg shapes, you will get much smaller portions then if you leave the carrot cake as a sheet or a round. So it’s good to keep that in mind when figuring out portions.

      Reply

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