These Carrot Cake Cupcakes are incredibly soft, moist crumb, and packed with freshly grated carrots that are perfectly balanced with warm spices! To top it all off, we have a homemade cream cheese frosting with a special ingredient that makes all the difference!
This recipe will give you carrot cake in perfectly portioned cupcakes for the best single-serving dessert for the holidays. They work not just for Easter but even Christmas or any other holiday!
My recipe will also teach you how to decorate the cupcakes in this beautiful way that looks like carrots are growing in the dirt! The cupcakes are spiced to the right level and taste out of this world.
Plus, the homemade cream cheese frosting is very tasty but not too sweet at all. We add Greek yogurt to it which makes it so soft and creamy that you’ll be licking your fingers off with every bite!
Want to learn how to make these delicious Carrot Cake Cupcakes? Then keep on reading!
Table of Contents
- What is Carrot Cake Cupcakes?
- What Makes This Carrot Cake Cupcake Recipe Special?
- What You Need to Make Carrot Cake Cupcakes at Home
- What You Need to Make Carrot Cake Cupcakes at Home
- Recipe Variation Ideas for Carrot Cake Cupcakes
- How to Store Leftover Carrot Cupcakes
- More Cupcake Recipes You'll Love
- Recipe Card
- The Best Carrot Cupcakes (Soft, Moist, and Delicious)
- Comments
What is Carrot Cake Cupcakes?
Carrot cake cupcakes are the perfect combination of carrot cakes served as a single-serving dessert in the form of cupcakes. They are perfectly spiced for the best flavor and have a moist crumb that melts in your mouth as you eat them.
My recipe here is made using freshly grated carrots for the moistest flavor ever! So you can say goodbye to the dry carrot cakes of the past since this recipe will give you a moist crumb in every single bite.
Plus, you won’t have to add any unhealthy ingredients to it such as canola oil. Instead, you’ll have the best combination of ingredients for cupcakes that are healthy and delicious at the same time.
And of course, we can’t have these cupcakes without some cream cheese frosting! My recipe combines cream cheese with Greek yogurt for an unforgettable flavor combo!
What Makes This Carrot Cake Cupcake Recipe Special?
Easy: This recipe is so simple to follow and try that you can make it even if this is the first time you’re baking cupcakes!
Tasty: It’s packed with flavor in every single bite which is perfectly balanced by the warm cinnamon spice and nutmeg.
Moist: Say goodbye to dry carrot cake, since this one is incredibly soft and has a beautiful moist crumb.
Versatile: You can change up the flavors of this cupcake recipe easily by adding some nuts, raisins, or any other spices you like! Scroll to the bottom for some variation ideas.
Quick: While other recipes can take up to 2 hours, my recipe will give you carrot cake cupcakes in just 45 minutes!
What You Need to Make Carrot Cake Cupcakes at Home
This recipe is truly simple and requires easy ingredients that are already in your pantry. Here’s what you need to make it at home:
For the Cupcake Batter:
Flour: First of all, we’ll need some simple all-purpose flour to use as the base of this cupcake recipe.
Eggs: We’ll also need some room temperature eggs for this recipe that will make your cupcake rich and even more flavorful. Plus, it’ll also help the cupcakes rise to the right level when baking.
Carrots: This is definitely the star ingredient of this recipe! We’ll need around two cups of grated carrots which is around 2 to 3 medium carrots.
Sugar: To sweeten the cake to just the right level, we’ll also be using some regular white sugar in this recipe. It works even better than brown sugar.
Apple sauce: This is my secret ingredient for the moistest and most delicious cupcakes ever! Not only does apple sauce add some subtle flavor to the cake, but it also makes the cupcakes super moist!
Vanilla extract: We’ll also need one teaspoon vanilla extract to balance all the flavors out perfectly.
Baking powder: To leaven our cake, we’ll be using two different leavening agents. The first one is baking powder which will help the cupcake rise to the right level.
Baking soda: We’ll also need some baking soda that’ll assist the baking powder in leavening the cupcakes so that they rise perfectly.
Ground cinnamon: We’ll also need some ground cinnamon to add a delicious spice flavor to the treats which will bring out the flavor of the carrots even more.
Nutmeg: You’ll also need some ground nutmeg as it goes perfectly with the cinnamon and makes everything taste even better.
Salt: To balance out all the flavors, we’ll also add a little salt to our carrot cake cupcake batter!
For the Homemade Cream Cheese Frosting:
Cream cheese: First of all, we’ll need some cream cheese which will make the perfect base for our frosting. The flavors are spot on and will make your cupcakes taste even better.
Sugar: To sweeten our homemade cream cheese frosting, we’ll be using some regular white granulated sugar.
Butter: You’ll also need some softened unsalted butter as it’ll add richness and creaminess to your frosting.
Greek yogurt: I used nonfat, but you may use any fat consistency of your choice.
Vanilla extract: We’ll also use some vanilla extract in our frosting as it’ll bring out all the rest of the flavors too.
For Decorating the Cupcakes:
Carrot greenery: Let’s not let any part of the carrots go to waste! And so, I’ve used carrots for the batter and greenery for decorations in this recipe.
Turmeric powder: We’ll also color some of the creams to get a nice, orange color. For that, I’ve used some turmeric powder for its natural color. Alternatively, you can also use some orange food dye if you like.
Oreo cookies: We’ll be removing the cream and crushing the oreo cookies to use them to represent dirt while decorating our cupcakes.
What You Need to Make Carrot Cake Cupcakes at Home
This recipe is perfect for even beginners to try! Here’s how to make it easily at home:
How to Make Cupcake Batter
Let’s start by first prepping the carrots. Peel, rinse, and grate carrots. Then set them aside until ready for use.
Next, measure out all the dry ingredients into a bowl and mix them together using a hand whisk. Set this aside as well until ready for use.
Preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C). Beat eggs and sugar on high for 5 minutes with an electric mixer in a large bowl, or in the bowl of a stand mixer.
Next, reduce the mixing speed to medium/low and add vanilla extract and apple sauce. Mix for another minute or so.
Remove the bowl from the mixer stand and add the dry ingredients we had mixed and set aside earlier. Add them in two separate additions.
Carefully mix dry ingredients with each addition trying not to deflate air pockets. Also, use a large spatula to stir in the grated carrots very carefully in 2 additions.
How to Bake Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Time to bake these delicious cupcakes! Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners. Then divide the batter evenly between all 24 liners.
Next, bake the cupcakes in the oven for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center of the cupcake. Let the cupcakes cool completely on a wire rack before frosting them.
How to Make Greek Yogurt Cream Cheese Frosting
While the cupcakes cool, let's make our homemade cream cheese frosting!
To do this, beat softened cream cheese and sugar on high mixing speed for a couple of minutes, scraping down the cream cheese from the sides of the mixer bowl halfway through. Then add butter and beat again until well combined.
Next, add the Greek yogurt to the bowl and beat again for about a minute, while scraping down the sides of the bowl in the middle of mixing. Finally, add vanilla extract and beat again for another minute.
How to Decorate Cupcakes
Everything is done! Now let’s decorate these beautiful cupcakes. Use a large 2 A tip with a piping bag to pipe the cream onto cooled cupcakes. Then sprinkle some crushed Oreo cookies on top of each cupcake.
Add orange coloring (I used turmeric powder) to color the cream orange. Pipe out the carrot on top of each cupcake and insert carrot greenery into each carrot. Y
Feel free to decorate the cupcakes in any other way you like instead! Your delicious Carrot Cake Cupcakes are ready to be served.
Recipe Variation Ideas for Carrot Cake Cupcakes
These cupcakes are absolutely delicious and perfect as is! But if you’re looking for some fun recipe variation ideas, consider trying one or more of these:
Nuts and dried fruit: You can add any kind of nuts or dried fruit such as raisins that you like. Some great nuts include walnuts and pecans that go perfectly with the flavors in these treats!
Spices: You can add some more ground cinnamon, or experiment with other delicious warm spices such as ground cloves and ground ginger.
How to Store Leftover Carrot Cupcakes
If you have any leftovers, then you can easily store them in the fridge for up to 5 days in an airtight container.
And if you want to freeze these instead, then you’re in luck because they freeze really well. If that’s what you plan on doing then avoid frosting them. Instead, wrap unfrosted cupcakes individually with some plastic wrap and then place them in a freezer bag and freezer for up to 3 months.
Enjoy it with a cup of coffee or tea.
More Cupcake Recipes You'll Love
- The Best Carrot Cake Cupcakes
- Cherry Vanilla Cupcakes Recipe
- Mocha Cupcakes Recipe
- Daisy Vanilla Cupcakes
- Candy Cane Honey Chocolate Cupcakes Recipe
Recipe Card
The Best Carrot Cupcakes (Soft, Moist, and Delicious)
Ingredients
Cupcake Batter Ingredients
- 2 cups – all-purpose unbleached organic flour
- ½ tbsp. – ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp. – baking soda
- 2 tsp. – baking powder
- ¼ tsp. – nutmeg
- ⅛ tsp.– sea salt
- 3 large – eggs
- ½ cup – sugar
- 1 tsp. – pure vanilla extract
- ¾ cup – unsweetened apple sauce
- 2 cups – grated carrots
Greek Yogurt Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients
- 16 oz. – cream cheese (softened)
- ½ cup – sugar
- 6 oz. – unsalted butter (softened)
- ½ cup – any plain Greek Yogurt
- 1 tsp. - pure vanilla extract
- Turmeric powder or orange food coloring
- Carrot greenery
Instructions
How to Make Cupcake Batter
- Let’s start by first prepping the carrots. Peel, rinse, and grate carrots. Then set them aside until ready for use.
- Next, measure out all the dry ingredients into a bowl and mix them together using a hand whisk. Set this aside as well until ready for use.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C). Beat eggs and sugar on high for 5 minutes with an electric mixer in a large bowl, or in the bowl of a stand mixer.
- Next, reduce the mixing speed to medium/low and add vanilla extract and apple sauce. Mix for another minute or so.
- Remove the bowl from the mixer stand and add the dry ingredients we had mixed and set aside earlier. Add them in two separate additions.
- Carefully mix dry ingredients with each addition trying not to deflate air pockets. Also, use a large spatula to stir in the grated carrots very carefully in 2 additions.
How to Bake Carrot Cake Cupcakes
- Time to bake these delicious cupcakes! Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners. Then divide the batter evenly between all 24 liners.
- Next, bake the cupcakes in the oven for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center of the cupcake. Let the cupcakes cool completely on a wire rack before frosting them.
How to Make Greek Yogurt Cream Cheese Frosting
- While the cupcakes cool, let's make our homemade cream cheese frosting!
- To do this, beat softened cream cheese and sugar on high mixing speed for a couple of minutes, scraping down the cream cheese from the sides of the mixer bowl halfway through. Then add butter and beat again until well combined.
- Next, add the Greek yogurt to the bowl and beat again for about a minute, while scraping down the sides of the bowl in the middle of mixing. Finally, add vanilla extract and beat again for another minute.
How to Decorate Cupcakes
- Everything is done! Now let’s decorate these beautiful cupcakes. Use a large 2 A tip with a piping bag to pipe the cream onto cooled cupcakes. Then sprinkle some crushed Oreo cookies on top of each cupcake.
- Add orange coloring (I used turmeric powder) to color the cream orange. Pipe out the carrot on top of each cupcake and insert carrot greenery into each carrot. Y
- Feel free to decorate the cupcakes in any other way you like instead! Your delicious Carrot Cake Cupcakes are ready to be served.
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