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A Nerd Cooks » Dessert » Cupcakes

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Mar 30, 2018 · Modified: Feb 26, 2023 by Lauren Pacek · This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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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? 

Carrot Cake Cupcakes | A Nerd Cooks

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.
Carrot Cake Cupcakes | A Nerd Cooks

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.

Carrot Cake Cupcakes | A Nerd Cooks

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.

✨ Recipe

Carrot Cake Cupcakes | A Nerd Cooks

Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Lauren Pacek
These cupcakes are sweet (but not too sweet), moist, warmly spiced, and flecked with shredded carrots.
5 from 1 vote
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes mins
Cook Time 20 minutes mins
Cooling time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins
Total Time 2 hours hrs 5 minutes mins
Course Cupcakes
Cuisine American
Servings 12 people
Calories 464 kcal

Ingredients
  

For the cupcakes

  • 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¾ teaspoon ground ginger
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • 1 cup brown sugar packed
  • 2 eggs
  • ⅓ cup plain yogurt
  • 1 teaspoon 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 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ⅛ teaspoon 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

Serving: 1Calories: 464kcalCarbohydrates: 58gProtein: 4gFat: 25gSaturated Fat: 10gPolyunsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 71mgSodium: 357mgFiber: 1gSugar: 45g

Disclaimer: Nutritional information is a generated estimate and is not guaranteed to be accurate.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Carrot Cake Cupcakes | A Nerd Cooks

Pin this recipe for later! 
Carrot Cake Cupcakes | A Nerd Cooks

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Hi, I'm Lauren! I'm the recipe developer, photographer, and writer here at A Nerd Cooks. I'm a 30-something wife, mom, and scientist with a passion for mixing cocktails, brewing buzzy coffee drinks, and making other delicious beverages at home.

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