Lighter Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Directions

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   1. Preheat your oven to 350 F and line a standard size muffin tin with 5 muffin liners. Set aside.
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   2. In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the sifted coconut flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt until well combined. Set aside.
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   3. In a small bowl, microwave the Greek yogurt for 10-15 seconds, just until slightly warmed. If you add cold Greek yogurt right into the mixture, the coconut oil solidifies, leaving you with a chunky cake.
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   4. In a large bowl, using an electric hand mixer, beat together the eggs, coconut oil, Greek yogurt, vanilla extract and brown sugar until light and fluffy.
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   5. Stir in the coconut flour mixture, and then beat it to make sure that the lumps are completely gone.
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   6. Stir in the grated carrots until all the carrots are mixed in and coated in the batter.
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   7. Pour the batter into the prepared muffin tins and let them stand for 5 minutes before baking.
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   8. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the top is lightly golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove pan from oven and set it on a rack.
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   9. Let cupcakes cool completely before frosting.
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    10. To make the frosting:
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    11. In a large bowl, beat together the softened cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy (about 5 minutes).
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    12. Beat in the vanilla until well combined.
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    13. Turn the mixer down to low and gradually beat in the powdered sugar.
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    14. Turn the speed back up and beat for an additional 2-3 minutes, until light and fluffy.
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    15. Spoon the icing into a parchment bag (or a zip-top bag with the corner cut off, like me) and swirl the icing on top of each cupcake.
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    16. Devour!
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    Notes: I also had success using coconut sugar instead of brown sugar, although most people slightly preferred the taste of the brown sugar version. Note that coconut sugar makes baked goods go very dark brown, and it is wise to cover the top of the cakes with parchment paper for the last 10 minutes of baking.
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    Basic cream cheese icing recipe from About.com.