Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Soft and moist Homemade Carrot Cake Cupcakes are made completely from scratch with grated carrots and the best sweet cream cheese frosting.

Looking for more fun cupcake recipes? Try my favorite red velvet cupcakes, strawberries and cream cupcakes and pumpkin cupcakes!

Table of Contents

• Carrot Cake Cupcakes Recipe
• Ingredients
• How to Make Carrot Cake Cupcakes
• How to Shred Charrots
• Cream Cheese Frosting
• Tips for Decorating Carrot Cake Cupcakes
• How to store carrot cake cupcakes
• Get the Recipe

Carrot Cake Cupcakes Recipe

There is something about Spring that really gets me in the mood for Carrot Cake. It is one of my favorite springtime recipes. Today, I am bringing you these seriously delectable Carrot Cake Cupcakes. They are so light and soft, plus they are jam packed with carrots, so that makes them healthy right?! All kidding aside, these cupcakes are easy to make. The hardest part is waiting for them to cool off so you can add the delicious sweet cream cheese frosting! Once you try these, I know that you will be adding these to your regular rotation!

Ingredients

I developed this recipe based off one of my favorite cake recipes. You’ll need the following ingredients:

• All-Purpose Flour
• Sugar
• Baking Powder
• Baking Soda
• Salt
• Cinnamon
• Eggs
• Canola Oil
• Buttermilk
• Vanilla
• Carrots
• Walnuts or Pecans
• Raisins

You can customize this recipe to your liking as well! You can add pineapple chunks if you so desire. I do not always have them on hand, but I’ll toss them into the batter every now and again for a different take. If you have golden raisins on hand, you can swap those in place of regular raisins. It is also dealer’s choice on the type of nuts you choose to add. Walnuts or Pecans are both prefect for this recipe!

How to Make Carrot Cake Cupcakes

These Carrot Cake Cupcakes are very simple to make with just a few easy steps:

1. First, combine the dry ingredients in a bowl then, whisk together
2. Next, whisk the wet ingredients plus the carrots together
3. Add the carrot mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until combined
4. Next, you will want to add your nut of choice and the raisins
5. Divide batter evenly between cupcake liners – make sure fill liners about 2/3 full to avoid spillage while baking!
6. Bake for about 14 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

How to Shred Charrots

I recommend grating the carrots in a food processor for a fine grate. If you do not have a food processor, an old-fashioned box grater will work just fine. I would advise against using store bought matchstick carrots. They are drier and lead to a drier cupcake. I truly believe that freshly grated carrots are the way to go, you will be able to taste the freshness in the final result.

If you have any leftover carrots, save them to make my favorite Easy Shepherd’s Pie Recipe!

Cream Cheese Frosting

Now, on to the most amazing Cream Cheese Frosting! This Cream Cheese Frosting is the perfect pairing for these Carrot Cake Cupcakes. The tangy-ness from the cream cheese frosting helps balance the sweetness from the carrots. Just try not to eat the frosting before you have a chance to frost the cupcakes! It is really that good!

In order to make the Cream Cheese Frosting:

• Cream the butter and cream cheese together until smooth
• Add the vanilla and salt, then add the powdered sugar in separate batches and mix until combined
• If the frosting is too thick, you can add a tablespoon of milk at a time to thin it out
• If the frosting is too thin, you can add more powdered sugar – ¼ cup at a time

Tips for Decorating Carrot Cake Cupcakes

There are so many ways you can decorate carrot cakes! A swirl of cream cheese frosting is more than enough, but if you would like to have some fun with it, here are a few of my favorite ideas:

• Use orange Reeces Pieces candies and a green lime wedge candy to create a carrot (as seen in the image above).
• Dye your cream cheese frosting with orange and green frosting and pipe carrots on the top of the cream cheese.
• Frost the top of the cupcakes in a flat layer and pipe a carrot in the center, like it’s planted in the frosting, and then add some curly parsley on top like the grass.

How to store carrot cake cupcakes

If it’s going to be longer than a few hours before you serve these Carrot Cake Cupcakes, they will need to be stored in the fridge because of the cream cheese frosting. Before serving them, allow the cupcakes to come to room temperature for best flavor and texture. 

These Carrot Cake Cupcakes are perfect to make when you have some extra carrots lying around. I have been making this recipe for years. It always gets rave reviews and I have even converted people who swear they do not like carrot cake. This recipe is really that good! I hope you enjoy!

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Yield: 24 large cupcakes

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

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Soft and moist homemade carrot cake cupcakes are made completely from scratch with real grated carrots and the absolute best sweet cream cheese frosting.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Additional Time 20 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 cups finely shredded carrots
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
• 3/4 cup raisins
• 1 batch homemade cream cheese frosting

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and fill cupcake pan with liners. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and
   cinnamon and whisk together. Set aside.
3. In another medium sized bowl, beat eggs until frothy. Whisk in canola oil, buttermilk and vanilla. Add egg mixture to flour mixture and stir to completely combine. Fold in carrots, walnuts and raisins.
4. Divide batter into cupcake liners and bake for about 13-15 minutes or until a
   toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
5. Cool completely and frost as desired with cream cheese frosting!

Notes

This recipe can also be made into a 13x9 cake. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

24 cupcakes

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 252Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 32mgSodium: 207mgCarbohydrates: 32gFiber: 1gSugar: 21gProtein: 3g

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