Carrot Cake Cupcakes
I was going to wait a little longer to post these amazing Carrot Cake Cupcakes, but then realized they would be totally perfect for Easter so I had to share them ASAP! I know I usually try to post healthier recipes on this blog, but you have to splurge sometimes! I made these for a work party last week and they were a major hit!
I simply adore carrot cake. The carrots make for a perfectly moist cake. I love all the warm spices like cinnamon and ginger. And who could possibly resist that big fluffy cream cheese frosting on top? Not me. Just hand me a spoon!
These cupcakes are pretty simple to make, but I do beg of you, please use freshly grated carrots! One of the benefits to baking with a veggie like carrots is all that moisture they add to the cake, but you won’t get that with pre-shredded carrots that are dried out. It’s a little extra work to grate the carrots, but it’s so worth it!
You can customize these cupcakes a little bit. I used crushed pineapple in this recipe because I love the flavor it adds to the cake, but if pineapple isn’t your thing, use applesauce! I know some people like to add raisins to their carrot cake, but I’m really not a fan of raisins, so feel free to add them if desired! Finally, I added walnuts, but you can certainly leave them out if you don’t like nuts!
Carrot Cake Cupcakes
These classic homemade carrot cake cupcakes are moist and flavorful and topped with homemade cream cheese frosting!
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- 1 1/2 cups dark (or light) brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 4 large eggs
- 8-ounce can crushed pineapple (liquid included)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 3/4 cup chopped walnuts (plus extra for garnishing if desired)(optional)
- 2 cups freshly grated carrots (peeled)
For the cream cheese frosting:
- 16 ounces plain cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 4-5 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons milk or heavy cream
Instructions
For the cupcakes:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together the brown sugar, sugar, and oil with a hand (or stand) mixer. Beat in the eggs until well-combined. Stir in the crushed pineapple and vanilla extract and set aside.
- In another bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and the nutmeg until well-combined.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients in with the wet ingredients until just-combined. Do not overmix. Fold in the walnuts and grated carrots. Then spoon the batter into each cavity, filling to about 3/4 of the way full (I use a large cookie scoop, works like a charm!).
- Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Repeat with remaining batter. Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting.
For the frosting:
- Add the softened cream cheese and butter to a large mixing bowl. Using a hand or stand mixer, beat together the cream cheese and butter until combined and smooth. Then add in the powdered sugar, 2 cups at a time, until fully-combined.
- Mix in the vanilla extract and 1 tablespoon of milk or cream to thin. Add one more tablespoon of milk or cream if needed. Spread or pipe onto the cooled cupakes (Tip: If planning to pipe, I like to chill my frosting for about 1 hour as it stiffens the frosting a bit for easier piping!).
Notes
Recipe barely adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
24Serving Size:
1 cupcakeAmount Per Serving: Calories: 402Total Fat: 24gCholesterol: 65mgSodium: 227mgCarbohydrates: 45gFiber: 1gSugar: 32gProtein: 6g
2 Comments on “Carrot Cake Cupcakes”
I can’t resist carrot cake baked goods! These cupcakes look so good!
Want to make these! I’d like to sub. applesauce for the pineapple, as you suggest. Would I use the same amount of applesauce as the pineapple, 8 ozs.? Thank you!