These Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting are unbelievable! They’re soft, moist & tender and are going to knock your socks off. Topped off with mounds of cream cheese frosting. . . is there anything better?
I love a good carrot cake. And by good, I mean a carrot cake with no raisins (bleh!). Just plain old, classic carrot cake, topped with a thick layer of cream cheese frosting.
I’m pretty easy to please, don’t you think?
This carrot cake is the recipe I’ve been making for years. I love it. While there aren’t any raisins in it, there is coconut (which I love) and the option of nuts. Even with those “extra” ingredients, it’s still very basic and plain. It’s honestly delicious.
It’s been my go-to carrot cake for a long time and I will always love it. Buuuut these Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting have completely won me over. I think they are now my new favorite carrot cake ever.
This recipe comes from my America’s Text Kitchen Cookbook The New Family Cookbook. The recipe in the book is actually shown as a cake, with the variation of making cupcakes instead. Obviously I opted for the cupcakes because I’ve been wanting to find a really, really good carrot cake cupcake recipe. Either way, this recipe is amazing and I can honestly say it’s the best carrot cake/cupcake I’ve ever eaten.
Easter is just around the corner and if you are looking for a truly spectacular dessert, then you’ve come to the right place today.
I know I rave and rave about a lot of desserts here on my site, but I promise you these carrot cake cupcakes are some of the best you’ll ever find. The cupcakes themselves are amazing with or without the cream cheese frosting. But let’s be honest, when you’re eating cake or cupcakes, isn’t it all about the frosting? It is for me at least.
The cream cheese frosting is divine and takes these cupcakes to a whole other level.
I hope you give these a try.
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg (I always use fresh)
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
- 1 lb carrots, peeled and shredded (about 6 to 7 medium size carrots)
- 1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 cup butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
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Adjust oven rack to middle position. Heat oven to 350 F. Line 24 muffin tins with liners.
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In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cloves. Set aside.
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In a large bowl whisk eggs and sugars together until the sugars are combined. Continue to whisk and slowly drizzle in oil until thoroughly well combined and emulsified. Whisk in the flour mixture until JUST incorporated (don't over mix!). Stir in carrots.
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Fill each muffin tin with 1/4 cup of cake batter. Bake 25 to 28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cupcakes cool in pan for 10 minutes. Once completely cool, frost with cream cheese frosting.
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Using a stand mixer or handheld mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter, until well combined and creamy (about 1 to 3 minutes). Add vanilla and powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
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Spread or pipe frosting onto cupcakes.
You can grate your carrots in a food processor fitted with large or fine shredding disk or you can use a box grater and shred by hand.
You can easily half this recipe and make only 12 cupcakes. I like to pipe the frosting on which uses more frosting than spreading it on the cupcakes. If I make the full batch of cupcakes and pipe the frosting on, then I double the frosting recipes. If you are just spreading it on, then the recipe I have listed is enough frosting for the full batch of cupcakes.
This can also be made into a 9x13 cake. Pour into a greased 9x13 pan and bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Recipe Source: Cupcakes from ATK’s The New Family Cookbook, Cream Cheese Frosting from 5 Boys Baker.
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