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Last Updated on December 2, 2021 by laurenpacek

These carrot cake cupcakes are sweet (but not too sweet), moist, warmly spiced, and flecked with shredded carrots.

Springtime = carrot cake, right?

These Carrot Cake Cupcakes are PERFECT for ushering in Spring. it's officially here, folks! The weather is warm and my allergies are really starting to act up. What better way to mark the start of Spring than with some sweet, super moist, carrot cake cupcakes?

What ingredients go into these cupcakes?

Flour: All-purpose, please.
Baking powder and baking soda: These will help give the cupcakes some lift.
Spices: You'll want to use ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Basically all of the warm spices that you'd find in a regular carrot cake.
Salt: I pretty much exclusively use kosher salt in my cooking and baking. It will go into both the cake batter and frosting.
Vegetable oil and yogurt: Both of these will help to make the cupcakes super moist.
Sugar: Brown sugar goes into the cupcakes and powdered sugar goes into the frosting.
Eggs: Just regular chicken eggs.
Vanilla extract: Good quality vanilla extract goes into both the cupcakes and the frosting.
Carrots: If you're gonna make carrot cake cupcakes, you gotta have carrots. Using freshly grated carrots involves a little more effort than cutting open a bag of store bought shredded carrots, but trust me when I say that taking the extra step is worth it. Store bought shredded carrots are dry and pretty thick compared to what you'll end up with if you grate them yourself. Just make sure to peel your carrots before taking a box grater to them.
Cream cheese: Again, can't have cream cheese frosting without some cream cheese.
Butter: The other fatty constituent in the cream cheese frosting.

How do these cupcakes come together?

Dry ingredients meet wet ingredients (which includes the carrots) and get baked in prepared, lined muffin tins.

Once these carrot-flecked, moist spice cupcakes have baked and cooled, it's time to frost them generously with cream cheese frosting. Get fancy and pipe the frosting, or go freeform, like I did. You can't go wrong.

These cupcakes would make an excellent addition to your Easter table.

Looking for other cupcake recipes?

How about these Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Buttercream? It's a classic flavor combo for a reason! Orrrr try these Lemon Poppy Seed Cupcakes (they're filled with lemon curd!). Hot Chocolate Cupcakes are also a fun way to enjoy the flavors of hot chocolate, even when it's not chilly outside.

Where did this recipe come from?

This recipe comes from Sally's Baking Addiction.

Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Name: Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 2 h 5 min
Yield: 12
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 8 oz cream cheese, softened; 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened; 3 cups powdered sugar, plus more if you want a stiffer frosting; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 1/8 tsp kosher salt; 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour; 1 tsp baking powder; 1/2 tsp baking soda; 3/4 tsp kosher salt; 1 tsp ground cinnamon; 3/4 tsp ground ginger; 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg; 1/4 tsp ground cloves; 1/2 cup vegetable oil; 1 cup brown sugar, packed; 2 eggs; 1/3 cup plain yogurt; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 1 cup carrots, freshly grated

Yield: 12 people

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Cooling time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours 5 minutes

These cupcakes are sweet (but not too sweet), moist, warmly spiced, and flecked with shredded carrots.

Ingredients

For the cupcakes

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¾ tsp kosher salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¾ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
¼ tsp ground cloves
½ cup vegetable oil
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
⅓ cup plain yogurt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup carrots, freshly grated

For the frosting

8 oz cream cheese, softened
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar, plus more if you want a stiffer frosting
1 tsp vanilla extract
⅛ tsp kosher salt

Instructions

To make the cupcakes

Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with liners and set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices together. Set this aside.
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk the oil, brown sugar, eggs, yogurt, vanilla extract, and shredded carrots together.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk until they are completely combined. The batter will be pretty thick.
Fill the prepared cupcake liners approximately ⅔ full. Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick, when inserted into the center, comes out clean. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.

To make the frosting

Use either a handheld electric mixer or a stand mixer to cream the cream cheese and butter together until they are smooth and creamy.
Add the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and salt. Beat on low speed for about 30 seconds, then on high speed for about 2 minutes. If you want a stiffer frosting, add a bit of extra powdered sugar and beat to combine.

Frost the cupcakes

Frost the cupcakes. I went freeform with my frosting, rather than using a piping bag and tip. Either way, it's all good.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 464Total Fat: 25gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 71mgSodium: 357mgCarbohydrates: 58gFiber: 1gSugar: 45gProtein: 4g