Grain-Free Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Preheat oven to 350ºF and lightly grease a muffin tin with avocado oil (or use parchment lining cups). Set aside.

Begin by creaming eggs, coconut sugar, and agave nectar or maple syrup using a hand-mixer or stand-mixer set to a medium-high speed. This process takes about 5–7 minutes—you want to whip air into the eggs, and to make sure eggs and sugar are well-incorporated. Turn speed to low and stream in melted and cooled avocado oil and vanilla extract until combined. Stop mixing and set aside.

Combine flours in a medium size bowl, and stir in baking powder and baking soda, spices, and sea salt. Add grated and squeezed carrot, pecans, and chopped dates and mix again to combine. You want all the larger add-ins to be coated in flour to prevent them from sinking to the bottom or sticking together in clumps in the cupcakes while baking.

Add half the dry ingredient mixture to the wet ingredient mixture. Next, add half the kefir and mix on low. Add remaining dry ingredients and remaining kefir, and mix again until completely combined.

Transfer batter to the muffin tin and fill each cup to the rim. These cupcakes will not rise much due to the lack of gluten, so you want them as tall as possible and won’t need to worry about them spilling over the tops. Bake for 17–18 minutes, or until a toothpick poked into the center of the cupcakes comes out clean.

Let them cool for 15–20 minutes before removing them from the tin. While they cool, prepare the frosting by whipping the cream cheese, Greek yogurt, and agave nectar/maple syrup until as light and fluffy as desired.

Frost each cupcake by spreading 2 to 3 tablespons of the frosting onto each. You can also transfer the frosting from the bowl to a resealable bag with the tip cut off and squeeze the frosting out onto the cupcake for a more classic frosted look. Garnish with a sprinkle of crushed pecans.