I look forward to spring all year. Not only is it synonymous with gorgeous weather, blooming flowers and birds chirping, it means carrot cake! If you’re a carrot cake fan, don’t miss Carrot Cake Cookies, Layered Carrot Cake, Cream Cheese Stuffed Carrot Cake, Carrot Cake Crepes, and now these Carrot Cake Cupcakes!
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CARROT CAKE CUPCAKES RECIPE
Easter is just around the corner, which means it’s time for spring desserts! Years ago, I shared my wildly popular Cream Cheese Stuffed Carrot Cake with Orange Glaze which later inspired my Layered Carrot Cake with Pineapple Cream Cheese Glaze. Since sharing, so many have asked about turning these recipes into cupcakes, so here it is! These Carrot Cake Cupcakes are essentially the same cake recipe crowned with my foolproof cream cheese frosting. After experimenting with the pineapple cream cheese frosting, I discovered it was too loose to pipe for cupcakes – but you can stuff the cupcakes with it if you’d like (thanks Therese 😉.) LOOKING FOR MORE EASTER CAKE RECIPES? The cupcakes are irresistibly delicious, chock full of flavor. These homemade Carrot Cake Cupcakes are infused with brown sugar, cinnamon, hints of allspice, ginger, nutmeg, vanilla extract, vanilla yogurt, crushed pineapple, finely ground pecans and of course, carrots! The harmonious medley of ingredients is evenly dispersed throughout the cupcakes for a warm sweetness that’s perfectly balanced by the tangy cream cheese frosting. The cream cheese frosting is literally the icing on these already fabulous cupcakes. While buttercream frostings are usually too sweet, this cream cheese frosting I could eat with a spoon. The hint of tanginess cuts through the sweetness of the cupcakes and its luxuriously, smooth, creaminess offers the perfect juxtaposition to the ingredient-studded mini cakes. Additionally, many cream cheese frosting recipes are far too loose and won’t hold their shape, but this frosting is perfectly sturdy and pipe-able every time. The recipe is easy to make from scratch in minutes. Don’t let the somewhat lengthy ingredient list fool you. These cupcakes are very simple to make without any fancy equipment. They are filled with mostly pantry staples that get whisked into two bowls, combined, then dolloped into cupcakes. Beat the frosting together while the cupcakes cool and you’ll be bursting at the seams with pride because everyone will be begging you for the recipe. The cupcakes are always a hit for every occasion! While everyone might not dive into a slice of carrot cake, I’ve found everyone enthusiastically gobbles up these Carrot Cake Cupcakes! These portable little gems are ideal for Easter, brunch, birthdays, bridal showers, wedding showers, potlucks, picnics, etc. They’re make ahead friendly. Best of all, these cupcakes taste even better the next day – no last-minute rush stress for you!
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Carrot cake cupcake ingredients
What makes these Carrot Cake Cupcakes so exquisite you might ask? It comes down to everyday ingredients combined in perfect proportions. You will need:
DRY INGREDIENTS
Carrots: There are 1 and ¼ cups of freshly grated carrots in this recipe for maximum flavor! Finely grated carrots are the key to the cupcakes signature tenderness because they release moisture as they bake. Don’t use pre-packaged carrots because they are too thick and aren’t as moist as freshly grated.Flour: All-purpose flour is best here. You can also use gluten free 1 to 1 baking flour.Baking powder and baking soda: Work together to help tenderize the cupcakes and provide the perfect amount of lift. Make sure your leaveners are fresh so they work!Sugars: Brown sugar adds sweetness, moisture and warm molasses undertones and granulated sugar rounds out the sweetness.Pecans: Are finely ground (takes seconds in your food processor) so they evenly disperse throughout the batter for a subtle, savory nutty flavor to contrast the sweetness. You can omit them if you wish or substitute with walnuts.Spices: Warm, fragrant spices of ground cinnamon, allspice, ginger, nutmeg and salt make the cupcakes. They infuse the recipe with nutty, earthy, slightly sweet and spicy notes.
WET INGREDIENTS
Oil: You can use canola, vegetable, or melted coconut oil in these Carrot Cake Cupcakes. Oil is used rather than butter because it creates moister cupcakes. Butter is traditionally used for its flavor, but this recipe is already chock full of flavor thanks to the spices, pineapple and pecans, so you won’t even miss it.Crushed pineapple: Use crushed pineapple packed in juice and not pineapple in packed in syrup because the syrup makes the pineapple too sweet. We will drain the pineapple and not use the juice. I like to freeze the extra juice for smoothies.Vinegar: Just a splash of vinegar activates the baking soda, giving it a kick-start on the rise. You can also use lemon juice or orange juice as well.Eggs: Provide structure and moisture. Use room temperature eggs because they blend with the other ingredients more easily so you don’t mistakenly overmix the batter.Vanilla Greek yogurt: You can use regular or low-fat with excellent results. The yogurt adds extra moisture and flavor so our Carrot Cake Cupcakes are extra tender without being oily. You can substitute with additional vegetable oil if you must.Vanilla extract: All desserts need a little oomph of vanilla. The better the quality, the better it tastes, so go as quality as you can.
CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
Cream cheese: Use a full fat block of cream cheese and not spreadable cream cheese otherwise your frosting will be too soft. The cream cheese should be softened to room temperature at room temperature or again, your frosting will be sloppy and not hold its shape.Butter: Use unsalted butter so we can salt the frosting ourselves. Soften the butter to room temperature at room temperature. (More tips on softening cream cheese and butter in tips section.)Vanilla extract: Pure vanilla extract for the best flavor.Salt: Cuts through the sweetness of the frosting. Powdered sugar: Use only powdered sugar otherwise the frosting will taste grainy. Add your measured powdered sugar and sift it through a fine mesh sieve to eliminate any possible lumps while beating.
HOW DO I GRATE CARROTS FOR CARROT CAKE CUPCAKES?
It’s important to grate the carrots correctly for the best Carrot Cake Cupcakes. This recipe calls for 1 ¼ cups or 4.75 oz. of peeled and finely grated carrots. I recommend weighing the carrots for the most accurate measurement.
Cheese grater: Select the finest holes on a cheese grater (aside from the zester) and shred the carrots carefully. To avoid long strands of carrots, grate the carrots perpendicular to the grater, i.e., 90 degrees against the grater, rather than on an angle.Food processor: Alternatively, if you have a shredding blade for your food processor then you can grate the carrots that way. After you grate the carrots, briefly pulse a couple times to create fine shreds. Take care to not overdo it or you’ll end up with carrot juice!
Possible Recipe Variations
This Carrot Cake Cupcake recipe is very flexible when it comes to add-ins. You can add 1 cup of total add-ins, so you’ll need to divide that between ingredients if using more than one add-in. For example, ½ cup coconut and ½ cup pecans. Here are a few ideas:
All-purpose flour: These cupcakes can successfully be made with all-purpose flour, half whole-wheat flour, or gluten free 1 to 1 baking flour.Yogurt: You may swap the yogurt in this recipe for sour cream or unsweetened applesauce instead. These swaps will also add moisture but the vanilla Greek yogurt adds the best flavor.Nuts: You can swap the pecans in this recipe for walnuts or use chopped nuts instead. You can use less nuts if you’d like and combine with another add-in. Raisins: Add alone or in addition to the pecans and/or coconut so the total add-ins equal 1 cup.Coconut: Use sweetened coconut because it will make the cupcakes moister (the sugar releases moisture). Coconut Extract: If you’re adding coconut, consider adding ½ teaspoon coconut extract. Oil: If adding coconut, consider using melted coconut oil instead of vegetable oil to really amp up the coconut flavor.
How to Make Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Making Carrot Cake Cupcakes is as about as simple as it gets – if you have a couple of bowls and can stir ingredients together, you can make these heavenly morsels! Let’s take a closer look at how to make Carrot Cake Cupcakes with step-by-step photos (full recipe with measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post):
Step 1: Mix the Dry and Wet ingredients in separate bowls. Mixing the ingredients separately ensures everything is evenly dispersed, especially the leaveners. It also helps to not overmix the eggs once combined with the flour which can activate the gluten and cause dense, dry cupcakes.
Step 2: Fold the Dry and Wet ingredients together. Use a rubber spatula (or I love my rubber spatula spoon) and fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, just until you don’t see any large streaks of flour. A few streaks are okay, because they will be incorporated when you add the carrots.
Step 3: Add the carrots. Finally, fold the carrots into the batter just until evenly combined. If you’re adding chopped pecans (not the ground ones in this recipe), raisins, or coconut, you’ll fold them into the batter at this time.
Step 4: Bake the cupcakes. Divide the batter evenly between the greased cupcake liners, using a spoon, or I find it easiest to use a cookie scoop. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs.
Step 5: Make the frosting. You can use a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a hand-held electric mixer. First, beat the cream cheese until creamy followed by the butter, vanilla extract and salt. With the mixer on low, gradually add powdered sugar until completely combined.
Step 6: Frost the cupcakes. Wait until the cupcakes are completely cool before frosting otherwise the frosting will melt right off!
Can this recipe be doubled?
Absolutely! Just use the sliding scale next to the servings to change the servings to the desired number of cupcakes. Drain the pineapple: Add crushed pineapple to a fine mesh sieve over a bowl and push down on pineapple with a spoon to eliminate excess moisture. This ensures that you and I both have roughly the same moisture content in our cakes. Use room temperature eggs: Room temperature eggs easily blend with the other ingredients which helps you not to overmix. Cold eggs, on the other hand, are more difficult to mix in and can break the emulsion of the sugar and oil, so the batter loses air cells, resulting in a cupcakes that are grainy, dry or dense. Room temperature eggs hack: Add warm (not hot) tap water to a bowl then add eggs (still in their shells) for at least 20 minutes. Measure the flour correctly: When measuring flour, it’s best to use the spoon and level technique. If you directly scoop flour from the container, the flour will compress, and you’ll get more flour than intended, resulting in denser, drier cupcakes. The correct way to measure flour is to scoop the flour into the measuring cup with a spoon and then level. Don’t Overmix! Our goal is to preserve the airiness of the batter so the less you mix once the wet and dry ingredients are combined, the better. When you overmix cupcake batter, the gluten in the flour can form elastic gluten strands which results in a denser, tough texture as opposed to a light, softy, fluffy crumb. Don’t overfill the cupcake liners: Overfilling the liners can cause the cupcakes to overflow and turn out more like muffins. You only want to fill the cupcake liners about 2/3-¾ of the way full. How to prevent cupcake liners from sticking: Don’t forget the baking spray! Although the cupcakes have oil in them, they need a little help from nonstick cooking spray or else they will stick after baking. Bake the cupcakes immediately: Don’t forget to preheat your oven before you start making the batter so you can pop the cupcakes into the oven immediately. Just think of how quickly bubbles rise and pop in a batter – we don’t want them popping before the cupcakes are in the oven. Instead, we want to trap the bubbles while baking otherwise the cupcakes won’t rise as high or be as tender. Don’t overbake! One of the main reasons people complain of dry cupcakes is because they overbake them. You want to remove your cupcakes when there are just a few crumbs clinging to a toothpick. Check the cupcakes right at 20 minutes, even if they don’t look done because the shiny surface can be deceiving. Don’t open oven door while baking: Don’t be tempted to open the door while baking until the cupcakes have been in the oven for a full 20 minutes, otherwise the cold draft of air can cause the cupcakes to fall in the center. Use room temperature – NEVER MICROWAVED butter and cream cheese for frosting: Plan ahead and use only room temperature butter and cream cheese (17°C/63°F). If they are too soft, your frosting will be too runny/sloppy to hold its shape instead of sturdy and pipeable. Don’t serve immediately: It’s going to be difficult, but Carrot Cake Cupcakes taste even better after a few hours, or I think they’re best the next 1-2 days. This gives the flavors time to settle and mingle and the moisture to permeate.
How do you store the cupcakes?
The frosted cupcakes can be left at room temperature for up to 2 hours because the sugar in the cream cheese frosting acts as a preservative. After that, store the frosted cupcakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up 4 days. Plan ahead so you can let the cupcakes rest on the counter for at least 1 hour before serving so they can come to room temperature. Cold Carrot Cake Cupcakes just aren’t the same!
How to Make Cupcakes Ahead of Time:
Unfrosted cupcakes can be stored in an airtight container on the counter one day before frosting (not in the fridge because it dries them out more quickly). The frosting can be made 7 days ahead of time and stored in an airtight container in the fridge. Bring the frosting to room temperature before using then beat until light and fluffy before piping on the cupcakes.
Can these Cupcakes Be Frozen?
Unfrosted cupcakes: Let the cupcakes cool completely. Individually wrap each unfrosted cupcake in plastic wrap (prevents freezer burn) then place all of the cupcakes inside a freezer bag. Freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to frost, remove the plastic wrap and allow the cupcakes to thaw on the counter for 1 to 2 hours.Frosted cupcakes: Transfer cupcakes to a freezer safe container deep enough so the frosting doesn’t get smooshed. Seal and freeze until the cupcakes are solid, about 1-2 hours. Remove the cupcakes from the container and individually wrap each cupcake in plastic wrap (prevents freezer burn). Place the cupcakes inside a freezer bag. Freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to frost, remove the plastic wrap and allow the cupcakes to thaw on the counter for 1 to 2 hours.
LOOKING FOR MORE SPRING DESSERT RECIPES?
Cream Cheese Stuffed Carrot Cake with Orange GlazeStrawberry Cheesecake PieBrown Sugar Carrot Cake CrepesChocolate Covered StrawberriesBlueberry Cheesecake PieMini Strawberry Pies with Sugar Cookie CrustKey Lime Cheesecake Fruit Dip
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