These Simple Carrot Cake Cupcakes are just as soft, moist and delicious as the full-sized version but served in cute individual portions. Top with our velvety cream cheese frosting and decorate as desired for a quick and easy crowd-pleasing dessert perfect for any occasion.
Feel free to add chopped pecans, walnuts or even raisins to the cupcake batter if you wish, and make sure to bake plenty because they freeze perfectly. You can go as easy or as intricate as you want with the decorating. A sprinkle of chopped nuts works great, or you can pipe a little frosting carrot over the top of each cupcake.
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Simple Carrot Cake Cupcakes
This simple Carrot Cupcake recipe packs everything that you love about carrot cake into cute, tasty, individual portions. They’re perfect for holidays, baby showers, birthday parties or whenever you don’t feel like building, decorating and slicing a full cake.
For this post, we’ve taken our popular carrot cake recipe, including the cream cheese frosting, and given you instructions on how to portion, bake and even decorate these adorable carrot cupcakes.
You can go as simple or as intricate as you want - it’s completely up to you and the amount of time you have to spend. No matter what, we promise they will be super soft, moist, perfectly spiced and totally delicious.
Carrot Cupcake Recipe Ingredients
- Flour - this recipe calls for all-purpose flour, but you could try substituting a portion of whole wheat flour. You could even use gluten-free flour if you’d like.
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda - these help the cupcakes rise a bit and keep them nice and moist.
- Cinnamon - any kind of ground cinnamon will work.
- Nutmeg - this has a distinct flavor that works super well in Carrot Cake.
- Ground Cloves - you should be able to find ground cloves, or you can grind your own in a coffee grinder.
- Salt - sea salt or kosher salt work great.
- Carrots - we recommend washing and grating your own rather than using pre-shredded carrots. They will keep the cake much more moist and give it a stronger flavor.
- Sugar - regular white granulated sugar.
- Brown Sugar - we also use ½ cup of brown sugar for the flavor and because it adds moisture.
- Eggs - any kind of large eggs will work great. It helps when you are mixing for these to be at room temperature.
- Vegetable Oil - we like to use vegetable oil or canola oil because it has minimal flavor and adds a ton of moisture to the cupcakes, as opposed to butter.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Cream Cheese - make sure your cream cheese is at room temperature. If you forget, you can soften it gently in the microwave for about 10 seconds at a time.
- Butter - your butter should also be room temperature.
- Vanilla Extract - pure vanilla extract tastes best.
- Powdered Confectioners Sugar - it’s always a good idea to sift your powdered sugar before using it.
Candy Carrot Decorations
- Orange Starburst - you can also use orange Tootsie Rolls for the candy carrots.
- Green Tootsie Rolls - if you prefer, you can also color some of your cream cheese frosting green and pipe the carrot stems.
- Cocoa Powder - this is for dusting over the candy carrots to make them look like they have a little dirt from the garden.
How to Make Carrot Cake Cupcakes
- Prepare your cupcake pan. Spray (2) 12 cupcake or muffin pans with nonstick spray and add cupcake liners. Set aside.
- Sift together the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt.
- Whisk together the wet ingredients. In a separate large bowl, mix together the grated carrots, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and vegetable oil. Whisk until the eggs are broken up and the ingredients are well-combined.
- Combine and add to pans. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix with a spatula until evenly combined. Using an ice cream scoop, portion the carrot cake batter into the lined cupcake pan, filling each cupcake about ⅔ of the way.
- Bake. Bake in a preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove the cupcakes from the oven and let cool to room temperature on a cooling rack.
- Make cream cheese frosting recipe. Place room temperature butter into the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the whisk attachment, whip until light and fluffy. Add the room temperature cream cheese and whip again until light and fluffy. Turn the mixer off and add the vanilla extract and half of the powdered sugar. Turn the mixer on low to combine, then add the remaining powdered sugar and increase to medium high speed. Whip until light and fluffy - about 2 minutes. You could also make a lemon cream cheese frosting recipe for a fun flavor variation.
- Frost. Frost cupcakes as desired and decorate with candy carrots, chopped nuts or however you would like. Enjoy!
How to Make Candy Carrot Decorations
First off, these carrot cupcakes taste perfectly fine with zero decorations! If you want to go super simple, you could pipe the frosting using a star tip and then sprinkle some toasted walnuts or pecans over the top.
One of my favorite ways to decorate them, however, is by making small candy carrots. Here’s how:
- Unwrap orange starbursts and place them on a paper plate. Microwave for about 20 seconds, or until you start to see the first bubble form.
- Being careful not to burn yourself, combine 2 soft starbursts in your hands. Roll into a ball, rub the candy between your fingers to make a long cone. Use a toothpick to create lines horizontally in the candy, then let the carrots cool.
- Once cooled, rub with cocoa powder to give the look of garden fresh. Add leaves made from green tootsie rolls or green colored buttercream frosting if desired.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you want to add nuts to your carrot cake batter, pecans and walnuts are both excellent choices.
While you don’t have to use muffin cups, as long as you spray the muffin tins with nonstick spray, we highly recommend it. Not only does it make it far easier to remove the cupcakes after they bake, it also looks better and is easier for people to pick up.
You can use this carrot cupcake recipe and split between 2 9” loaf pans or even bake it in 3 separate 9” round cake pans to create a 3-tiered Carrot Cake. The main difference will be the baking time - the more batter that you bake in a pan, the longer it will take.
Absolutely! It’s easiest to freeze unfrosted cupcakes simply because it’s less messy. Make sure to wrap well in plastic wrap and aluminum foil, or pop them into freezer bags, and store frozen for up to 2 months. To thaw, transfer to the refrigerator overnight.
Storing Cupcakes
- Refrigerator: store your leftover frosted cupcakes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. We recommend bringing them to room temperature for at least 30 minutes before eating.
- Freezer: unfrosted Carrot Cake Cupcakes freeze great for up to 2 months. Store in an airtight container or freezer bags and thaw out in the fridge overnight or on the counter top for a few hours before you plan to frost and serve.
Best Carrot Cupcake Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 ½ teaspoons Cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon Nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon Ground Cloves
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 3 cups Carrots shredded
- 1 ½ cups Sugar
- ½ cup Brown Sugar
- 4 large Eggs room temperature
- ½ cup Vegetable Oil
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 ounces Cream Cheese room temperature
- ½ cup Butter room temperature
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 4 cups Powdered Sugar
Carrot Candy Decorations
- 20-30 individualy wrapped Orange Starburst or Tootsie Rolls
- 8-10 individualy wrapped Green Tootsie Rolls or your can use green buttercream frosting
- 1 Tablespooon Cocoa Powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Spray (2) 12 cupcake pans with nonstick spray and add cupcake liners. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt.
- In a separate large bowl, mix together the shredded carrots, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and vegetable oil. Whisk until the eggs are broken up and the ingredients are well-combined. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix with a spatula until evenly combined.
- Using an ice cream scoop, portion the carrot cake batter into the lined cupcake pan, filling each cupcake about ⅔ of the way.
- Bake in a preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove the cupcakes from the oven and let cool to room temperature.
How to Make Cream Cheese Frosting
- Place room temperature butter into the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the whisk attachment, whip until light and fluffy. Add the room temperature cream cheese and whip again until light and fluffy.
- Turn the mixer off and add the vanilla extract and half of the powdered sugar. Turn the mixer on low to combine, then add the remaining powdered sugar and increase to medium high speed. Whip until light and fluffy - about 2 minutes.
- Use immediately, or store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
To Decorate Carrot Cupcakes
- Frost cooled cupcakes with prepared cream cheese frosting and set aside.
- Unwrap orange starbursts and place on a paper plate. Microwave for about 20 seconds, or until you start to see the first bubble form.
- Being careful not to burn yourself, combine 2 soft starbursts in your hands. Roll into a ball, rub the candy between your fingers to make a long cone. Use a toothpick to create lines horizontally in the candy. Let the carrots cool.
- Once cooled, rub with cocoa powder to give the look of garden fresh. Add leaves made from green tootsie rolls or green colored buttercream frosting if desired.
Notes
- Cream cheese frosting: A classic topping for carrot cupcakes is cream cheese frosting. You can make it with cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract.
- Nutty carrot cupcakes: Add some crunch to your cupcakes by incorporating chopped nuts like walnuts or pecans into the batter. You can also sprinkle some on top of the frosting.
- Spiced carrot cupcakes: Add some warmth to your cupcakes with spices like cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. These spices will complement the sweetness of the carrots and give your cupcakes a cozy, autumn flavor.
- Pineapple carrot cupcakes: Adding crushed pineapple to your batter will add a sweet and tangy flavor to your cupcakes. You can also add some coconut flakes for a tropical twist.
- Zucchini carrot cupcakes: For a healthy twist, you can add grated zucchini to your batter. This will add some extra moisture and nutrients to your cupcakes.
- Maple cream cheese frosting: Replace some of the powdered sugar in your cream cheese frosting recipe with pure maple syrup for a unique and delicious twist.
- Carrot cake cupcakes with raisins: Add some sweetness and texture to your cupcakes with raisins or other dried fruit like cranberries.
- Carrot cupcakes with orange zest: Add some fresh citrus flavor to your cupcakes by adding orange zest to your batter. You can also add a splash of orange juice to your frosting.
Nutrition
More Easy Muffin and Cupcake Recipes to Try
- Pumpkin Cupcakes
- Root Beer Cupcakes
- Zucchini Cupcakes
- Pumpkin Muffins with Cheesecake Swirl
- Applesauce Muffins
- Double Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Lemon Blueberry Cake Muffins
- Carrot Cake Recipe
- More Cake Recipes
- More Simple Desserts
These Carrot Cake Cupcakes are super soft and moist and topped with a velvety cream cheese frosting. They're perfect for all types of occasions and couldn't be easier to make.
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