Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Make the BEST Carrot Cake Cupcakes with cream cheese frosting at home with this easy recipe! These moist, tender cupcakes are made from scratch and make the perfect dessert for Easter… or any time really!

Spring is in the air and with it comes my desire to eat all things that remind me of the season! When it comes to desserts, the thing that I absolutely MUST make in the springtime is Carrot Cake. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy carrot cake all year long but there is something about spring that makes it my go-to for any special function including Easter…or any Friday night.

And when that carrot cake is made mini, in the form of cupcakes, they’re not just tasty, but oh-so-cute too.

I mean who doesn’t love a cupcake that’s loaded with veggies? Its almost a salad. And while it is not exactly healthy with all the sugar and oil, my version is a smidge healthier as I use Greek yogurt and apple sauce to replace some of the fat. But then I generously ice them with cream cheese frosting and undo the good. Ha! Balance, right?

carrot cake cupcakes bite shot showing fluffy texture.

As a huge carrot cake lover, I have made my fair share of this dessert. The recipe I am sharing with you today is my tried and true favorite! It’s perfectly (and lightly) spiced, tender and moist (sorry to use the M word on ya, but it is just that)! It is sweet, but not too sweet. Because the icing is rich and sweet, the cake itself isn’t overly sweetened. The result is perfect, in my opinion.

Carrot Cake Cupcake topped with cream cheese frosting on a dish.

Tips for making the BEST carrot cake cupcakes

Carrot cake cupcakes are pretty easy to make. Essentially, I grate the carrots, mix the dry ingredients, mix the wet ingredients and then combine everything together. Bake them up, ice them generously and then proceed to gobble them up!

Honestly, the hardest part (aside from holding yourself back from eating too many) is grating the carrots. I don’t know about you but grating anything is my least favorite task no matter the recipe.

So how to simplify this annoying task? Tip #1: Use your food processor! This is my go-to whenever I have to grate anything. The food processor and the glorious shredding attachment it comes with is my favorite kitchen appliance. It simplifies the task and your carrots are shredded in no time at all.

Tip #2: Use fresh carrots. Store-bought shredded carrots or match-stick carrots tend to be dry and hard. A moist carrot cake needs it’s star, carrots, to be the best they can be and that means freshly shredded carrots that are moist and pliable. This will ensure they bake up nice and soft in the cake and also add moisture to it.

Tip #3: Don’t overmix your batter. This is true for all baked goods. Once you add the flour to the wet ingredients, you want to mix until incorporated and then stop. If you overmix your batter, you run the risk of making your cake denser. A light and fluffy cake is our goal here so don’t overdo it.

Tip #4: Use room temperature frosting ingredients. A cold brick of cream cheese or butter will make a lumpy frosting. The key to having a silky, smooth frosting is making sure the ingredients are room temperature first before beating them together.

Tip #5: Cool your cake completely before frosting. Even a slightly warm cake will cause frosting to start melting so it’s important to let it cool completely before adding any icing.

Carrot Cake Cupcake on a dish surrounded by other cupcakes.

Ingredients in Carrot Cake Cupcakes

  • Flour: All purpose flour.
  • Baking powder and baking soda: leaveners.
  • Salt: salt is often added to baked goods to enhance their flavor. The small amount here does not make the cake salty.
  • Warm spices: Ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground allspice.
  • Eggs
  • Sugar: granulated white sugar and brown sugar are used in the cake. Confectioners sugar (aka icing sugar or powdered sugar) is used in the frosting.
  • Apple sauce: Replaces some of the fat in this recipe, meaning you can add moisture through apple sauce and avoid using too much oil.
  • Greek yogurt: Similar to the apple sauce in that it replaces some of the oil in this cake, adding extra protein instead while still helping achieve a moist cake.
  • Vegetable oil: A small amount of oil goes into these cupcakes since apple sauce and Greek yogurt take the place of needing a large amount. You can substitute another similar, mild tasting oil instead.
  • Vanilla extract
  • Carrots: almost half a pound of freshly shredded carrots go into these carrot cake cupcakes. As mentioned in the tips above, freshly grating your carrots will go a long way in making the best carrot cake vs store-bought shredded carrots.
  • Crushed pineapple: Drained crushed pineapple adds some natural sweetness and more moisture to the cake.

  • Cream cheese: Used to make the frosting.

  • Butter: Unsalted butter is used in the frosting.

  • Milk: Used to thin out the frosting to the desired consistency.

  • Pecans: used to top the cupcakes. If you like, you can also add chopped pecans to the batter.

**Ingredient quantities and full instructions are in the recipe card at the end of this post.**

How to make Carrot Cake Cupcakes

  1. Prep the carrots. Grate carrots in a food processor or with a box grater. Set aside.

  2. Whisk the dry ingredients together. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients. Set aside.

  3. Combine the wet and dry ingredients. Place all of the wet ingredients except for the carrots and pineapple in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Blend well until everything is well combined and creamy. Add the dry ingredients and blend to form the batter. Add the grated carrots and pineapple and blend until combined.

  4. Spoon and bake. Spoon batter into the cupcake liners, filling the 3/4 full. Bake in the oven for 20-23 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let it cool for 5 minutes in the pan and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

  5. Frost. Once the cupcakes are completely cooled, make the frosting by adding the cream cheese, butter, and icing sugar to a food processor with the paddle attachment. Blend on medium speed until it is light and fluffy Slowly add a little milk (1 tablespoon at a time) and blend. If needed, add a little more milk to reach the desired consistency. Pipe the icing on the cupcakes and top with chopped pecans.

Storing Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Since I make these cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, I store them in the fridge to keep the icing from going bad. They can be kept in the fridge for several days. If you don’t like eating it cold, you can take your cupcakes and let them come to room temperature before serving.

I have also found that these cupcakes freeze well too. Not that there are many occasions that we have leftover cupcakes that we don’t eat, but if you find yourself in such a situation, you can freeze the cupcakes, iced and all. I let it thaw in the fridge, so be sure to take them out in advance to allow time for this.

I hope you enjoy this recipe! This recipe or its full-cake version, my Carrot Bundt Cake Recipe, are one of my favorites to bake for Easter dessert. It’s also great to make for Mother’s Day and birthday cakes.

If you give it a try and love it as much as I do, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below!

Happy baking!

-Cathy

Cooling rack full of frosted Carrot Cake Cupcakes

You may also like:

Carrot Bundt Cake
Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

carrot cake cupcakes bite shot showing fluffy texture.

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Catherine
Make the BEST Carrot Cake Cupcakes with cream cheese frosting at home with this easy recipe! These moist, tender cupcakes are made from scratch and make the perfect dessert for Easter… or any time really!
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 12 servings
Calories 340 kcal

Ingredients
 
 

Dry Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

Wet Ingredients

  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup apple sauce
  • 1/4 cup Greek yogurt
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups carrots shredded (about 1/2 lb carrots)
  • 1/2 cup crushed pineapple drained

Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 250 g cream cheese softened (8oz or 1 brick)
  • 1/2 cup butter softened
  • 2 cups confectioners sugar (icing sugar or powdered sugar)
  • 3 tablespoons milk or as much as needed
  • 1/4 cup chopped pecans

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350F and line a 12 cup cupcake tin with cupcake liners.
  • Grate carrots in a food processor or with a box grater. Set aside.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients. Set aside.
  • Place all of the wet ingredients except for the carrots and pineapple in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Blend well until everything is well combined and creamy. Add the dry ingredients and blend to form the batter. Add the grated carrots and pineapple and blend until combined.
  • Spoon batter into the cupcake liners, filling the 3/4 full.
  • Bake in the oven for 20-23 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let it cool for 5 minutes in the pan and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
  • Once the cupcakes are completely cooled, make the frosting by adding the cream cheese, butter, and confectioners sugar to a food processor with the paddle attachment. Blend on medium speed until it is light and fluffy Slowly add a little milk (1 tablespoon at a time) and blend. If needed, add a little more milk to reach the desired consistency. Pipe the icing on the cupcakes and top with chopped pecans.

Note: Metric ingredient measurements are provided as a courtesy using a third-party calculator and are rounded to the nearest unit. The recipes provided on this site have not been tested with metric measurements and their accuracy cannot be verified.

Nutrition

Calories: 340kcalCarbohydrates: 49gProtein: 5gFat: 15gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 56mgSodium: 258mgPotassium: 164mgFiber: 1gSugar: 37gVitamin A: 3029IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 82mgIron: 1mg

The nutritional information provided is based on third-party calculations and is an estimate only. Accurate nutritional facts will vary based on the particular brands used, portion sizes, measurement accuracy and more.

Keyword carrots, cream cheese, easter, easter dessert, spring
Tried this recipe?Leave a star rating and comment below to let us know how it was!

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




*