Fill The Carrot Cake Cups
Divide this final batter between the cupcake liners, about of a cup in each. Each cupcake insert should be about ¾ full you definitely don’t want to overfill these. Bake the cupcake tray in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool for about five minutes in the tin before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
“These cupcakes take about 15 minutes to cool to the level of being able to frost them,” says MacLean. “Although I often wait longer just to be safe! They should be room temperature to the touch.”
Can They Be Frozen
The cupcakes are best frozen unfrosted as the cream cheese can split. For best results freeze the cupcakes on a baking sheet then transfer them to a freezer bag. You can store them for about two months.
Alternatively, you can keep frosted in the fridge for 3-4 days dont keep them at room temperature for more than 1 day.
How To Decorate Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Each carrot cupcake is topped with a dollop of homemade cream cheese frosting. Its the perfect pairing to these carrot cupcakes as its slightly tangy in contrast to the sweet and spiced cakes.
You can choose to pipe the frosting on top using a piping bag and a large tip, or you can create these homemade bakery-style swirls shown here. For the swirls, dollop a few spoonfuls of frosting on top of the cupcake. With the cupcake in one hand and a small offset spatula in the other, spread the cream cheese out to the edges of the cupcake while maintaining a cone-like shape in the center.
Once youve created a cone on top of the cupcake, use your spatula to press into the center of the cone as you rotate the cupcake in your hand. Work the frosting outwards and then pull in to get the center swirl. Once youve reached the center, pull straight up to finish off the swirl.
Then hold your spatula vertically and run it all around the edge of the cupcake to clean up the sides.
Top each cupcake with a generous helping of finely chopped walnuts. You can use walnuts or pecans, whichever you prefer. Otherwise, you can leave the cupcakes as is without any toppings.
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Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions
- Can Carrot Cake Cupcakes Be Made Ahead? Absolutely! Plain cupcakes can be made ahead 1 day in advance. Cover the cupcakes and store them at room temperature or in the refrigerator. The frosting can also be made 1 day in advance, covered, and stored in the refrigerator. If the frosting is thick or stiff after refrigerating, beat it with your mixer for 20-30 seconds to help loosen it before frosting.
- Can Carrot Cake Cupcakes Be Frozen? Yes. I recommend freezing cupcakes unfrosted. They can be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and frost if desired.
Should You Have Raisins Or Nuts In A Carrot Cake

Ive made my carrot cake cupcakes with raisins, as this is what I prefer. I like to soak the raisins in water before adding them to the cake mixture as this ensures they are nice and juicy in the cake and also prevents any on the top from burning when the cake is cooking.
If you prefer you could substitute in the same weight of chopped walnuts or pecan nuts, or use a combination of raisins and nuts if you like both.
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Ingredients For Carrot Cupcakes
This recipe is truly easy so dont be intimidated by a long list of ingredients. Everything goes into the bowl and you stir it together. It uses fairly common spices and pantry and refrigerator staples.
- All-purpose flour just regular flour, not self-rising
- Sugar we use granulated sugar to sweeten
- Baking soda and baking powder two leavenings give these cupcakes a beautiful rise
- Spices: cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves
- Salt balances the flavors and makes the flavors really shine
- Oil use a neutral oil like extra light olive oil, vegetable oil, or canola
- Eggs make sure they are at room temperature
- Applesauce adds moisture and natural sweetness to the cupcakes
- Carrots finely grated from 2 medium-large carrots
- Pecans finely chopped. You can also use walnuts
- Raisins we like the color of golden raisins but regular raisins work or omit them altogether
- Cream Cheese Frosting our go-to for carrot cakes
Maple Cinnamon Pastry Cream Filling:
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Why Is My Carrot Cake So Dense
Carrot cake can be dense because it uses oil in place of butter, which affects the raising. Don’t add more raising agent though, as it is bitter. Instead, make sure to really beat the eggs and sugar together well, to add in air. Then add the oil in a slow stream as you beat. It’s also important to make sure grate your carrots finely enough, as larger pieces make a heavier texture. And don’t add in extra carrot .
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Success Tip: Shredding The Carrots
The bags of pre-shredded carrots you can find at the grocery store are not worth the extra couple of minutes it saves you to peel and shred whole carrots yourself. Store-bought carrot shreds are dry and tough, and that will translate into your carrot cake cupcakes. Grab whole carrots, a peeler, and a box grater, and flex your grating muscles!
And beyond that: After youve finished shredding, give the carrots a rough chop, so the pieces are finer and can distribute evenly in each cupcake, like this:
In this photo, you can see the difference. You want more carrots in each bite, so chop those shreds:
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Tips For Making The Best Easter Carrot Cake Cupcakes
- Ingredients at room temp mix together better. Set the cold ingredients ahead of time.
- If youre short on time, use a food processor with a disc attachment to shred your carrots in seconds.
- Properly measure your flour or use a kitchen scale to measure your dry ingredients.
- Once you add the flour, mix your cupcake batter just until the ingredients are incorporated. This will ensure your cupcakes are tender and fluffy.
- Use a cookie scoop to easily fill your cupcake liners. It also makes sure your cupcakes end up being the same height.
- Bang your cupcake pan on the counter before putting it in the oven. This brings any air bubbles that are trapped in the batter to the surface.
- Seal off the top of your piping bags with a rubber band to prevent any frosting from seeping out the top of the bag and make the piping bags easier to use.
How To Make Carrot Cake
SAMS TIP: While a single batch of frosting will cover this cake, I typically increase the recipe by 50% to allow for a thicker coating and decoration.
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Tips For Making Cream Cheese Icing:
- Make sure that you are using full-fat brick cream cheese, not low fat or spreadable cream cheese .
- I always like to use unsalted butter and add a dash of salt so that I have complete control over the flavor of the frosting. However, if you only have salted butter on hand then just omit the salt called for in the recipe.
- Make sure you allow your cream cheese and your butter to soften before making your frosting! Softening the butter and cream cheese ensure that your ingredients will combine well and be lump free.
- If you intend to pipe your frosting, I recommend sifting your powdered sugar before mixing it into your butter/cream cheese mixture, as small lumps of sugar can clog up your piping tips, especially if youre using a smaller tip.
What About A Dairy

Todays cupcakes are dairy free when made with applesauce, so if youre looking for a dairy free frosting, try this creamy .
I topped this batch of cream cheese-frosted cupcakes with chopped nuts and a white chocolate carrot topper, but both are completely optional. See Notes for instructions on making the white chocolate topper!
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What You Will Need To Make Carrot Cupcakes
- cinnamon or apple spice
- baking soda, baking powder, and a pinch of salt
These are the easiest cupcakes youll ever bake. You dont even have to whisk them! The only step that might slow you down is grating the carrots but I decided to grate them in the food processor. I have the grating attachment, if you dont have it you can use the normal setting and dice them really tiny.
Mix all the ingredients in a bowl with a wooden spoon then transfer into a muffin tin.
Want to spice them up? toss in some chopped walnuts, raisins, mashed bananas, or anything your heart wishes!
Bake for 13 minutes, cool, frost, and youre done! Moist and delicious carrot cupcakes in no time!
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It tasted gross dont recamend
If your halving the recipe do you use 1 or 2 eggs?
They were moist and tasted delicious. I found them easy to cook as well. My favourite muffin recipe.
These are easily the best pancakes I’ve tried
Wow these muffins were moist yummy and so easy..have made them lots now and they never fail to amaze me..delish
Wow these cupcakes are light, fluffy and totally delicious!!! Will be making them instead of a traditional carrot cake from now on. I halved the recipe and it yielded 11 medium cupcakes. Such an easy recipe too.
Im not a baker at all and this was easy even for me! Ive made it a couple of times now and its been delicious and moist, and thoroughly enjoyed by all. Like other reviews suggested, I put about 1 3/4 cups of sugar rather than 2.
They exploded and it was a terrible recipe.
A solid recipe – had to make it in batches but leaving mix to sit a while didn’t affect its ability to rise. Added a big tsp of ginger as well – loved the good amount of spices in the recipe, as well as fruits and nuts. Could even pop fresh ginger in it, I reckon. Icing quantity was also perfect. Made about 20 regular sized muffins and about 12 mini muffins.
Not bad but I would cut back on the sugar. 2 cups does seem like a lot.
My batch made 50 cupcakes!!!!
Really delicious but bountiful recipe! I got 24 cupcakes out of this recipe. I would use paper casings next time as the base of muffins were quite sticky. Deliciously moist cupcakes though, yummy.
Great!
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How To Make Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Making these cupcakes is just as simple as making carrot cake. If you have a couple of bowls and can stir ingredients together then you can absolutely make these cupcakes! Heres how I like to do it:
How To Make Carrot Cake Cheesecake
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Carrot Cake Cupcakes With Cinnamon Frosting
- Cooking – 25 mins
- Total – 35 mins
We love trying to sneak veggies into traditionally “sweet” recipes – hence why we love carrot cake cupcakes! This treat will keep any sweet tooth satisfied, with a spiced nutty filling and creamy icing on top. Yum!
Servings: 12Preparation: 10 minsCooking: 25 mins
- 2 1/2 cupsgluten-free plain flour.
- 1 teaspoonbicarbonate soda.
- 3 small carrots, grated.
- 1 cuppecans, coarsely chopped, plus 12 extra pecans.
- 1/4 cupcoconut oil, melted.
- 1/2 cupcoconut milk.
- 1/2 cuprice malt syrup.
- 100 gcream cheese, softened.
- 75 gbutter, softened.
- 1 tablespoonrice malt syrup.
- 1 teaspooncinnamon.
Directions
- 1. Preheat oven to 180ºC/350ºF/Gas Mark 4. Grease a 12 hole, 1/3 cup-capacity muffin pan.2. Combine the flour, soda, baking powder, spices, carrots and pecans a bowl. Make a well in the centre.3. Add coconut milk, syrup oil, and eggs. Mix until just combined. Spoon mixture evenly into prepared pan.4. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden. Stand in muffin pan for 5 minutes, before turning onto a wire rack to cool.5. To make frosting, beat cream cheese, butter, syrup and cinnamon with a electric beater until light and fluffy. Spread cream cheese mixture over cooled cupcakes. Top with extra pecans.
We love trying to sneak veggies into traditionally “sweet” recipes – hence why we love carrot cake cupcakes! This treat will keep any sweet tooth satisfied, with a spiced nutty filling and creamy icing on top. Yum!
Tips For Decorating And Storing These Easy Carrot Cupcakes
- Conceal the hole with a topping. With the cream cheese frosting already inside, there is little point in adding more on the outside, but that doesnt mean you cant decorate your carrot cupcakes. Walnuts and sliced almonds go particularly well with carrot cake. If you find the nuts are not staying on the cupcake, try brushing a little honey diluted with water on the top to help the nuts stick better.
- This recipe makes perfect Easter carrot cupcakes. Kids will love it when you add a few of these cupcakes to their Easter baskets. You can make the cupcakes more festive by topping them with pastel sprinkles or candy quins.
- Keep the cupcakes in the refrigerator. Since the cupcakes contain cream cheese, they need refrigeration. Store in a covered container for up to five days.
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