Whenever I get an urge to make cupcakes, I don’t even question what flour I’ll use. Coconut flour by far makes the best and lightest gluten-free cupcakes around.

I’d like to say I chose carob because it’s exotic and unique but honestly I picked up carob powder by mistake one day and never figured out what to do with it before now. Since I’m not the biggest fan of carob, I wanted to add mint to distract the flavor a bit. I think the two balanced well to make a tasty cupcake. Of course you could always sub in cocoa powder for the carob powder and these’d be just as good.

The frosting I used was a mint chocolate buttercream. It wasn’t perfect but not a failure, either. Definitely not paleo like the cupcakes. For a first go at chocolate buttercream, I’d say it was a success, even though my frosting talent has a long way to go.

Mint Carob Cupcakes

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 35 minutes

Ingredients(Makes a dozen cupcakes):

• 3/4 cup cup coconut flour
• 4 eggs
• 2 egg whites
• 6 Tablespoons carob powder
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 cup almond milk(or any other milk)
• 2 teaspoons mint extract

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line 12 cupcake holders with paper liners.
2. Mix together the coconut flour, eggs, egg whites, carob powder, honey, almond milk, and mint extract in a large bowl.
3. Scoop the batter evenly into the cupcake liners. Hit the pan against the counter a few times to even the batter and knock out any air bubbles.
4. Bake for 30-35 minutes until the tops are firm to the touch.

They’re really too good to know they’re gluten-free.