These Super Moist Carrot Cake Cupcakes are light and fluffy with a nice hint of cinnamon that's paired with thick and luscious cream cheese frosting. Drizzle on some caramel sauce and top them with some chopped walnuts for the perfect springtime dessert! If you'd rather skip the frosting, just add some butter to the cupcakes while they're still warm from the oven. YUM!
As a kid I thought these Super Moist Carrot Cake Cupcakes (or just carrot cake in general) sounded so wrong. I mean, carrots in a dessert?
Eww, no thanksβI'll pass!
I don't know why, and I'm laughing to myself as I write this, but I also just thought it was something only my parents, grandparents, and all their friends ate at different church functions.
It probably wasn't until my late 20's or early 30's before I ever actually had carrot cake and my immediate reaction was, okay wow, you really can't taste the carrots at all!
And I even like carrotsβplain, in a salad, or cooked in a beef stew. I just never thought having them in my dessert sounded very appealing.
How wrong I was!
what ingredients do I need to make super moist carrot cake cupcakes
For the carrot cake cupcakes you'll need the following ingredients:
- All-Purpose Flour
- Baking Soda
- Cinnamon
- Salt
- Vegetable Oil. You can use coconut oil as well!
- Granulated Sugar
- Large Eggs. These should be at room temperature
- Carrots. I used 3 medium-size carrots for this recipe (cleaned and peeled). Finely grated will give you beautifully moist carrot cake cupcakes!
- Walnuts. Chopped and are used as an optional topping. If you'd like to add them to the cupcake batter, use 1/2 cup and fold them in when you fold in the grated carrots.
- Caramel Sauce. You can use homemade, melted down caramel squares (with 1 tablespoon of heavy cream or water), or the kind used for topping ice cream (in a squeeze bottle).
For the cream cheese frosting, you'll need the following ingredients:
- Unsalted Butter. This needs to be at room temperature.
- Cream Cheese. This also needs to be at room temperature.
- Vanilla Extract
- Powdered Sugar. While not required, it's a good idea to sift the powdered sugar to avoid any lumps in your frosting. It helps when piping your cupcakes too!
what baking equipment will I need to make carrot cake cupcakes?
- Large Mixing Bowl and Whisk. You can use a hand held mixer or stand mixer, but a large-size mixing bowl and a whisk is your easiest way to go.
- Hand Held Mixer or Stand Mixer. Either the hand mixer or stand mixer will work well for the cream cheese frosting.
- Fine Grater. This is the best tool for grating the carrots. I like using my Microplane Grater.
- Spatulas
- Cookie Scoop. A very helpful tool for scooping the cupcakes batter into the liners. I used this Medium Size OXO Cookie Scoop.
- 2 Standard Size Cupcake Tins
- Cupcake Liners
optional piping tools for cream cheese frosting
- Large Piping Bag. A 14 or 16 inch piping bag will work fine.
- Large Open Piping Tip. The Wilton 1A piping tip worked perfectly with the amount of cream cheese frosting used in this recipe.
- Offset Spatula
Super Moist Carrot Cake Cupcakes
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: Approx. 15 cupcakes
- Category: Cupcakes
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Dessert
Description
These Super Moist Carrot Cake Cupcakes are so light and fluffy with a nice hint of the cinnamon, they will be devoured as soon as you slather on the cream cheese frosting! They're also perfect warm with just little bit of butter (instead of using the frosting).
Ingredients
carrot cake cupcakes
- 1 cup (138 grams) All-Purpose Flour
- 1 teaspoon (7 grams) Baking Soda
- 1 teaspoon (5 grams) Cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon (3 grams) Salt
- 3/4 cup (175 ML) Vegetable Oil
- 1 cup (219 grams) Granulated Sugar
- 2 Large Eggs, room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups (142 grams or roughly 3 medium-large size) Carrots, finely grated
- Chopped Walnuts, for topping (optional)
- Caramel Sauce, for topping (optional)
cream cheese frosting
- 1/2 cup (113 grams) Unsalted Butter, room temperature
- 8 ounces (226 grams) Cream Cheese, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 4 cups (500 grams) Powdered Sugar, sifted (optional, but highly recommended)
Instructions
carrot cake cupcakes
- Line 2 cupcake tins with cupcake liners and set aside.
- Adjust the oven rack to the 2nd level position and preheat the oven to 350ΒΊF.
- Whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, finely grate the carrots.
- Using a hand-held mixer, stand mixer with a paddle attachment (or a mixing bowl and whisk) mix together the oil and sugar on medium-high speed until well blended.
- Add in each egg one at a time, blending completely before adding the next. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- With the mixer on low, slowly add in the dry mixture until blended, but be careful not to not over mix. Then, using a spatula, fold in the grated carrots.
- Using a 1 1/2 tablespoon-size cookie scoop, fill each cupcake liner 1/2 way full and place the cupcake tins side-by-side in the oven. The second cupcake tin will only have 2-3 cupcakes.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes at 350ΒΊF or until an inserted toothpick into the center of the cupcakes comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing them from the cupcake tins. Cool completely on a cooling rack.
cream cheese frosting
- Using a hand-held mixer or stand mixer with a paddle attachment beat together the butter and cream cheese on medium-high speed until well blended, smooth, and creamy.
- Add in the vanilla extract.
- Reducing the mixer speed to low, add in the sifted powdered sugar one cup at a time until completely mixed. If you feel the frosting needs to be thicker, add a little bit of powdered sugar until the desired consistency is achieved.
- Frost cooled carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese frosting using an offset spatula or a piping bag and a Wilton 1A piping tip. Using this piping tip and a thick layer of frosting, you will have enough to frost all the cupcakes. If you plan to frost them with a thinner layer of frosting you can half this recipe.
Notes
- Baking times listed do include cooling of cupcakes after baking.
- Using the Wilton 1A piping tip and a thick layer of frosting, you will have enough to frost all the cupcakes. If you plan to frost them with a thinner layer of frosting you can half this recipe.
- Recipe adapted from the 2001 Taste of Bedminster Elementary recipe book.
Keywords: super moist carrot cake cupcakes, carrot cake cupcakes, carrot cake, moist carrot cake, carrot cake recipes, carrot cake cupcake recipes
take a peek at some more Beyond the Butter cupcake and muffin recipes!
- Simple and Delicious Black Bottom Cupcakes
- Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Devil's Food Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting
- Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Bakery Style Lemon Blueberry Streusel Muffins
Need more dessert recipe inspiration? Visit my recipe box or follow me over on Pinterest!
Tori says
Super easy recipe to make and makes just the right amount! It was very quick to make as well. And Of course, they taste amazing!
★★★★★
Margaret says
This recipe is super easy to make and the results are amazing! This cupcakes are super tasty and perfectly moist. The icing is creamy and delicious. I highly recommend this recipe if you have extra carrots laying around and love carrot cake as much as I do!
★★★★★
Bianca Kros says
Just made these cupcakes and they were amazing! Super easy, light, moist and not overly sweet. Thank you for sharing!
★★★★★
Jennifer says
I'm so glad you loved them, thank you!