Perfectly moist and flavorful Carrot Cake Cupcakes with the best homemade Cream cheese frosting. These are easy to make from scratch and a guaranteed crowd pleaser!
If there is one dessert that screams Spring, it's these Carrot Cake Cupcakes! I've adapted my favorite Carrot Cake recipe to make these delicious, handheld treats. The cake is perfectly spiced, and the addition of toasted walnuts is one of my favorite parts. If you like raisins, feel free to toss those in too!
Table of contents
These are easily one of my favorite Easter dessert recipes to bring to a family gathering. If you are looking to round out an Easter brunch menu, these cupcakes pair beautifully alongside my Bacon Spinach Quiche or Honey Glazed Ham. For a bright, seasonal contrast, I also love serving them with my Lemon Asparagus or these delicious Lemon Bars!
Key Ingredients & Substitutions
- Greek Yogurt - This is the secret to a moist carrot cake cupcake. It adds moisture to help create a tender crumb. Substitute with vanilla or pineapple yogurt for even more flavor. Sour Cream also works perfectly as a 1:1 substitute.
- Warm Spices - I love using a blend of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and ginger to get that signature scratch-made flavor.
- Toasted Walnuts - One of my favorite additions to carrot cake. Pecans also work beautifully here. If adding raisins, use about ⅓-1/2 cup of raisins.
- Fresh Carrots - Always shred or grate your own carrots. Pre-shredded carrots are dry and just don't work the same in the batter.
See the recipe card below for the full list of ingredients and measurements.
How To Make Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Making homemade carrot cake cupcakes from scratch is surprisingly simple. Here is how I do it:
- In a large bowl, whisk together the sugars, eggs, oil, yogurt, and vanilla extract until fully combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients until fully combined.
- Add your shredded carrots and ¼ cup of the toasted and chopped walnuts. Mix together until evenly distributed.
- Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just incorporated.
- Fill each cupcake liner ¾ of the way full. Bake for 20 minutes and cool completely before frosting.
- Frost with the cream cheese frosting then top with remaining toasted and chopped walnuts. Enjoy!
See the recipe card below for the full recipe.
👉 Sky's Tips
- Use Your Hands: To ensure the carrots are evenly distributed, use your hands to mix them into the dry ingredients.
- Use Room Temperature Ingredients: For the smoothest cream cheese frosting make sure your butter and cream cheese are softened. This prevents little clumps of cream cheese in your frosting.
Storage
Because of the cream cheese frosting, these cupcakes should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.
Frequently Asked Questions
This usually happens if the oven door is opened too early for too long. Don't check the cupcakes until the 18-minute mark.
I suggest using a pineapple yogurt instead of adding pineapple to the carrot cake. I have not tested it with actual pineapple; it may cause the cupcake batter to not bake properly. Shredded coconut or raisins can be tossed into the batter without changing the texture. ⅓-1/2 cup or these add-ins is a safe amount to use.
I hope these cupcakes bring a little bit of that fresh, spring feeling into your kitchen!
-Sky🩷
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📖 Recipe
Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Equipment
- 1 cupcake pan
Ingredients
Cupcake Batter
- ½ cup light brown sugar packed
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 3 ounces plain Greek yogurt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ cup carrots shredded
- ½ cup walnuts toasted and chopped
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 4 ounces unsalted butter softened
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- For the batter: Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a cupcake pan with liners.
- In a large bowl mix together both sugars, eggs, oil, yogurt and vanilla extract. Mix until fully combined.
- In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, all of the spices and the salt. Whisk until fully combined.
- Next add the carrots and ¼ cup of the walnuts to the dry ingredients. Reserve the rest of the walnuts for decorating the cupcakes. Using your hands, mix until all of the carrots and nuts are coated with the flour and there are no clumps of carrots.
- Now stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix until fully incorporated.
- Scoop into the lined cupcake pan, filling each liner ¾ of the way full. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a cupcake comes out clean.
- Cool completely before frosting.
- For the Cream Cheese Frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and cream cheese until well combined. Make sure there are no clumps before adding the powdered sugar.
- Next add in the powdered sugar, a little at a time until completely combined. Stir in the vanilla extract and salt.
- Frost the cooled cupcakes, then top each one with the remaining chopped walnuts. Enjoy!
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