I saw a lot of carrot cake recipes last week leading up to Easter while I was planning to make one for yesterday, too. I’d forgotten it’s sort of an Eastery dessert. Easter is also the time I celebrate my birthday with my extended family and carrot cake has always been one of my favorite cakes. It’s kind of an odd choice(or so I’m told), but I love it. I even asked to have it as my graduation cake after 6th grade when everyone else was choosing chocolate and chocolate fudge; it’s their loss.

I haven’t had carrot cake since eating gluten-free a few years ago and have been meaning to make this for months. Of course, when I did decide to make it things started going wrong. I realized Friday night I only had one cake pan, so a layer cake was out. I also didn’t have a grater so I had to peel and chop the carrots. I completely forgot to add the pineapple I bought just for this, and as I went to add in the walnuts I remembered my aunt’s allergic to walnuts, so I swapped in some pecans at the last minute. Still, this was one of the best carrot cakes I’ve ever had.  

This recipe makes one cake layer. You can double it to make more for a layered cake. To make the cake dairy-free, use a vegan cream cheese substitute. I’d recommend something organic since vegan cream cheeses tend to have odd ingredients.

Gluten-Free Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts(or any other nut)
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut
• 1 1/2 cups almond flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 4 eggs
• 6 Tablespoons coconut oil, melted
• 8oz cream cheese, room temperature
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1-2 Tablespoons milk or cream

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
2. Mix together the carrots, raisins, walnuts, coconut, almond flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
3. Mix in the maple syrup, eggs, and coconut oil until the batter is even.
4. Pour the batter into a 12-inch cake pan and spread out evenly.
5. Bake for 40 minutes until the cake rises and the center has cooked through.
6. Remove from the oven and let cool completely before frosting.
7. To make the frosting, sift the powdered sugar into a bowl with the cream cheese.
8. Add in the extract and milk and beat until completely mixed.
9. Spread on top and around the sides of the cake.
10. Garnish with extra nuts if desired.

I’ll always have a soft spot(and empty stomach) for carrot cake. Since there are vegetables and fruit in this I’m going to go ahead and say it’s fine to eat the leftovers for breakfast, too.

I really love lemon desserts. Unfortunately they tend to disappear in the winter. Why is that? We still have lemons. I guess their flavor is too bright when it’s cold and you want something warm and comforting. But now it’s Spring and we can eat all the lemons we want.

To make these cupcakes, I took my favorite paleo vanilla cupcake recipe and added lemon. Pretty simple, huh? There’s also a lemon buttercream because—of course—you can’t really have too much lemon. They’re perfect for a lightly flavored dessert, and I would bet even better with some lemoncello.

This recipe uses coconut flour. There really isn’t any substitute for it. It’s a high-fiber, starchy flour that simulates the binding properties of gluten in wheat really well. I’d consider it a must-have for any gluten-free bakers.

Gluten-Free Lemon Cupcakes

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients(Makes a dozen cupcakes):

• 1/2 cup plus 2 Tablespoons coconut flour
• 4 eggs
• 2 egg whites
• 1/2 cup cane sugar
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• Zest from one lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line a dozen cupcake holders.
2. Combine all of the ingredients together in a large bowl and mix until it forms an even batter.
3. Scoop equal amounts of the batter into each cupcake well.
4. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the tops are firm to the touch.
5. Remove from the oven. Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting them.

Lemon Buttercream

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup room temperature butter
• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice OR 1/2 Tablespoon lemon extract and 1 Tablespoon cream
• Lemon zest for garnish(optional)

Method:

1. Beat together the butter, 1 1/2 cups of sugar, and the lemon juice until mix. Slowly sift in the extra sugar until it’s all used up.
2. Scoop the frosting into a Ziploc bag and snip off one edge. Squeeze the frosting through the cut out corner onto cupcakes in a swirling motion.

Who else is excited for Spring?

Gluten-free baking is a crapshoot. Before I came out with a batch of oatmeal raisin cookies that looked halfway decent, I had a big tray of cookies that spread too much and wouldn’t hold together. That’s what you get for trying new recipes.

I couldn’t bring myself to throw away the crumbs since they tasted delicious, so I needed to think of a new way to use them up. Cake pops are fun and delicious but these are cookies and needed something slightly different. Why not cookie truffles?

I think the white chocolate compliments the flavors of the oatmeal, raisins, and cinnamon more than a dark or milk chocolate would, but you could use whichever is your favorite. Follow the directions and use only as much liquid as necessary.

White Chocolate Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Truffles

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 to 2 dozen soft oatmeal cookies
• 1-2 Tablespoons milk*
• 1lb white chocolate

*Depending on how fresh your cookies are, you might not need any liquid. Follow the directions and adjust accordingly.

Method:

1. Either by hand or in a food processor, mash the cookies into crumbs. If your cookies are dry, slowly add milk until the dough is moist and sticks to itself.
2. Melt the white chocolate carefully in a microwave or over a double boiler making sure not to burn it.
3. Break off cookie dough by the ounce and roll it into a ball in your hands. With a spoon, dip the truffle into the chocolate and move it around to cover all sides. Lift out of the chocolate and place on a non-stick surface.
4. Repeat until all the dough and chocolate is used up.
5. Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Next time I might try adding cinnamon into the white chocolate coating; you can never have too much cinnamon.

Trader Joe’s makes the best trail mix. It’s called Tempting Trail Mix. The name really doesn’t do it justice; it won’t last long enough in your pantry to be tempting. Normally with trail mix I’ll just pick out the chocolate bits until there’s only fruit and nuts left, but not this one. It has chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, peanuts, cashews, almonds, and dried cherries. What’s not to love?

See, nothing but good.

Obviously these needed to be made into cookies to be enjoyed all the time. I mixed some of the trail mix into a super simple gluten-free peanut butter cookie batter; the peanuts and peanut butter chips in the trail mix and peanut butter in the cookie dough make for a delicious triple dose of peanuts.

I used 2 egg whites in place of the egg since I wanted to use up a container of egg whites and the cookies were slightly puffier and softer than normal and the batter was also looser to work with. I wouldn’t say one version was better than the other but I would be aware that subtle changes like that can change the end result.

Tempting Trail Mix Cookies

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 15-20 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 20 cookies):

• 1 cup peanut butter
• 2/3 cup cane sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup Tempting Trail Mix

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix all of the ingredients together.
3. Take off pieces of dough and roll into 1-inch balls. place the balls on a lined baking tray and flatten lightly. Repeat with all of the dough.
4. Bake for 15-17 minutes until the tops of the cookie are firm to the touch.
5. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly before moving.

These came out just as good—if not better—than the trail mix. I had trouble not just eating the batter. The chocolate chips melted perfectly in the oven and had just the right bitter flavor for the lightly-sweet dough. I also can’t get enough of how easy a Silpat mat makes baking. I don’t know what took me so long getting with the times.