🥕 Carrot Cake Cupcakes are soft, moist, and tender, just like layered carrot cake but in handheld form. They’re fast and easy to make and perfect for holidays and parties!
Easy Carrot Cake Cupcakes Recipe
These carrot cupcakes took months to perfect. They were well worth the wait, though, because they’re the best carrot ckae cupcakes I’ve ever had!
I love all things carrot cake, like my Carrot Cake Loaf, Carrot Pineapple Banana Bread, Cinnamon and Spice Sweet Potato Bread, and even Soft and Chewy Spiced Carrot Cake Cookies. Drawing on these tried and tested recipes, I was finally able to create the perfect balance of flavors and textures.
- These cupcakes are fast and easy to make, ready in under 30 minutes.
- Plus, all you need is one bowl! There is no need to drag out a mixer.
- The batter is oil-based rather than butter-based, which keeps the cupcakes light and moist.
All my trials and tribulations of perfecting these carrot cake cupcakes were so worth it! Readers agree, too:
Oh my goodness! I made the recipe exactly as it is written and these cupcakes were perfect! My husband said he can’t imagine any way these could be better! I’ve made other carrot cake cupcake recipes before and they never turned out. Thank you for this amazing recipe!
Laura
What’s in Carrot Cake Cupcakes?
To make this carrot cupcake recipe, you’ll need:
- Eggs: Let them come to room temperature for easy mixing
- Canola oil: Substitute vegetable oil, if preferred. Don’t use olive oil, or the flavor of your cupcakes will change
- Sugar: Granulated sugar sweetens the batter and gives the cupcakes structure. Then, brown sugar adds sweetness, a molasses flavor, and keeps the cupcakes soft and tender
- Sour cream: Thick Greek yogurt makes for a good substitute and adds a boost of protein
- Flavor enhancers: Vanilla extract and spices (cinnamon, allspice, ground nutmeg, ground cloves, and salt)
- All-purpose flour: I haven’t tested this recipe with gluten-free flour, but it should work if you use a 1:1 all-purpose substitute
- Baking powder and baking soda
- Mix-Ins: Grated carrots and raisins. Feel free to omit the raisins if you aren’t a fan. You can also add nuts, such as walnuts or pecans, if desired
- Cream cheese frosting: Combine cream cheese, unsalted butter, vanilla extract, and confectioner’s sugar
A quick note about the carrots
I use a box grater on the coarsest blade, and it takes less than 2 minutes to grate them. I prefer the consistency of doing it by hand rather than using a food processor.
Don’t use bagged, pre-shredded carrots from the grocery store either, as they’re often quite dry and too large for my liking!
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Carrot Cake Cupcakes
This carrot cake cupcake recipe is as easy as it gets!
- Simply stir together the wet ingredients in a large bowl.
- Whisk in the dry ingredients, and then fold in the freshly grated carrots and raisins.
- Fill 12 muffin cups greased with cooking spray or lined with cupcake liners with the cupcake batter, and bake until the cupcakes are domed, set, springy to the touch, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter.
- Let the carrot cake cupcakes cool in the pan slightly. Then, transfer them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
- In the meantime, whip up the vanilla carrot cake frosting in the bowl of a stand mixer or with a hand mixer, starting on low speed and increasing to medium speed. Spread the frosting on top of the cupcakes before serving.
Can I Double This Recipe?
I’ve only made this carrot cupcake recipe as written, but readers have reported success with doubling this recipe.
Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting
Equipment
- 1 (12 Cup) Muffin Pan
- 2 Large Mixing Bowls
- 1 Stand Mixer or Hand Mixer
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup canola or vegetable oil
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup sour cream or thick Greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon allspice
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- pinch salt, optional and to taste
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ cups coarsely grated carrots, 2 to 3 medium/large carrots, peeled
- ½ cup raisins, optional
- ½ cup nuts, optional
Frosting
- ½ cup 4 ounces cream cheese (light is okay), softened
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar, more or less as desired
Instructions
For the Cupcakes:
- Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 12-count muffin pan very well with floured cooking spray or use liners (Cosmetically, I prefer avoiding the ripples and ridges that liners produce).
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the first 11 ingredients (through optional salt) until combined.
- Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and stir until just combined, don’t overmix.
- Fold in the carrots, optional raisins and nuts.
- Turn batter out into prepared pan. Fill each muffin cavity between 2/3 and 3/4-full. Do not exceed 3/4-full because they will overflow. You may have batter remaining for a 13th (or 14th) cupcake and it’s better to either discard it or bake it in another pan even though it’s a pain for just 1 cupcake. I have overfilled, and then overflown, trying to make it all work in one pan.
- Bake for about 20 minutes, or until cupcakes are domed, set, springy to the touch, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter.
- Allow cupcakes to cool in pan for about 15 minutes before removing and turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- While cupcakes cool, make the frosting.
For the Frosting:
- With an electric mixer, beat together first three ingredients on high power until combined and light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Slowly add the confectioners’ sugar and beat to incorporate. Play with sugar ratio based on desired frosting consistency. If you accidentally add too much sugar, add a bit more cream cheese to thin it out.
- Frost the cooled cupcakes. I spoon on about 2 tablespoons frosting per cupcake. Pipe it with a piping bag if desired. If you have extra frosting, it will keep airtight in the refrigerator for many weeks.
Notes
- Note about the carrots – I use a box grater on the coarsest blade and it takes less than 2 minutes to grate them. I prefer the consistency of doing it by hand rather than using a food processor. Don’t use bagged, pre-shredded carrots from the grocery store; grate them yourself.
- Frosted cupcakes will keep airtight in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Unfrosted cupcakes will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week, or frozen for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Easy Easter Desserts:
ALL OF MY CARROT CAKE DESSERTS.
Carrot Cake Loaf with Cream Cheese Frosting — This is my favorite recipe for carrot cake because it turns out ridiculously moist, soft, tender, and is full of cinnamon-and-spice-and-everything-nice, including an abundance of carrots and sweet, juicy raisins.
Soft and Chewy Spiced Carrot Cake Cookies — All the flavors of richly spiced carrot cake, in cookie form. Soft, chewy, extremely moist, and not at all cakey!
Salted Caramel Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting – Soft, tender carrot cake infused with salted caramel sauce and topped with tangy cream cheese frosting is the ULTIMATE in decadence!
Soft Carrot Cake Bars with Cream Cheese Glaze — The bars are super soft, moist, dense, and not at all cakey. They aren’t like traditional carrot ‘cake’ and are like carrot cake blondies because of how buttery and rich they are.
The Best Pumpkin Carrot Cake — I married two of my favorite cakes into one soft, moist, and tender cake that’s topped with tangy cream cheese frosting. It’s one of the best cakes I’ve ever made!
Carrot Banana Bread — This super moist, springy, tender carrot banana bread is bread that reminds me of cake and I’m not complaining. It’s an easy, no mixer recipe that goes from bowl to oven in minutes.
Carrot Apple Cream Cheese Tunnel Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting – If you like carrot cake, you’re going to LOVE this version that includes apples and a tunnel of cream cheese that runs through the center! EASY, amazing, and a MUST-MAKE!
Carrot cake is one of my guilty pleasures…especially the icing. I’ve had the same difficulty when using my cake batter for cupcakes, so thank you for doing the dirty work for us all. They look spectacular!
After all the other carrot cake snags, I wanted to start from scratch and create a new batter recipe b/c you know how it is…sometimes cake/cupcake/quickbread batters are interchangeable and other times, well, not really!
Girl, you’re killing me lately with your cakey recipes. You are just banging out the best recipes lately! John is a HUGE carrot cake fan and he would love these and want to hoard them like your hubby. I wish I saw this post before Father’s day as this would have been the perfect treat for him.
I’m right there with you on loving raisins in carrot cake but not a fan of the nuts either. Nuts in my sweets, don’t do it for me. :) xoxo, Jackie
This is SUCH an easy little recipe, too. No mixer, comes together super fast, so you can surprise him :)
First off, gorgeous photos (as always!). The dark and light colors must have been awful to try to properly photograph, but the pictures really turned out lovely! I want to grab a cupcake through my screen and taste taste! They really need to work on e-sharing technology!
Second, I never realized how good carrot cake is until a few months ago. I made your carrot cake loaf and was hooked! (That would be one of my fav recipes, no brown nosing intended :) ) Anyways, I love how you made these into adorable little cupcakes! For some reason a cupcake seems so much more manageable than a slice of normal cake!
The dark and light colors must have been awful to try to properly photograph <-- YES!!!! I told someone else that in the comments. Nightmare, actually. I am not really in love with the photos but just getting anything passable was a major feat :) So thanks for saying you like them. And thanks for telling me you made my carrot cake loaf and love it! I love that cake too. So much! One of my fave cakes ever. I was just worried that it wouldn't translate into fluffy cupcakes b/c you know how moist that sucker is :)
I love carrot cake (it’s my absolute favorite, actually) and these look like little bites of heaven! That cream cheese frosting is to die for… A must-try in my kitchen! Thanks, Averie.
These look great, Averie! Making the perfect carrot cake is quite an art, as I learned this weekend as I went through several trials trying to make my boyfriend the perfect birthday treat. The vanilla cream cheese frosting sounds just divine!
Oh you know then that it’s not as easy as you’d think! So many variables from amt of carrots to sugar(s) to flour to baking soda/powder. Just trying to nail it all. And not have it explode or overflow. I think I went thru it all :) You have a lucky boyf. Bet he loved them!
I know I would love your carrot cupcakes because of all the spice you used in them. They look delicious.
Thanks – and yes. I cannot stand bland carrot cake (or pumpkin or sweet potato recipes)!
Carrot cake is one of my faves! I agree about the oil – I know some people will only use butter, but oil creates a really wonderful texture!
It’s way superior to butter in cakes like this I think!
These look so moist and delicious! Carrot cake is one of my all time faves.
I love carrot cake, but what I really want to take a spoon to is that frosting. Fab!
I am digging the deep orange of these cupcakes! All those spices with yogurt and oil must make these over the top good. Mmm, these are telling me “make, make me!” through the screen! . . . how do you do that?!
I can see why these were hard to classify as muffins or cupcakes. I really think you could pass them as muffins without the frosting, too. A double-duty recipe!
I am a HUGE carrot cake fan. It is my preferred cake these days and one of the only kinds of cake that I eat without the frosting. The carrot cake flavor is robust and delicious enough on its own!
They would have been fine as muffins, too. Yes, you understand my dilemma now. But with the frosting, clearly, they go into cupcake realm :) You would love these things! They’re not too sweet (until the frosting goes on…lol) but even that isn’t super sweet; it’s got that classic cream cheese frosting tang! And robust is the only way to eat carrot/pumpkin/sweet potato recipes!
Mmmm those cupcakes look soooo good! Feel free to stop by my link party and share your Facebook Page :)
Carrot cake is my favorite!! Even had it as our wedding cake. :) Are any of your recipes for carrot cake-type items gluten-free? Or do you have a suggestion on making this (or your carrot cake cookies) gluten-free?
Wow, three months to developing this recipe? That’s dedication! I would have given up after the first few tries! These look incredible; the three months was worth it!
Longer than that. I’ve been tinkering with it on and off for a few years :)
Whoo hoo for another one-bowl recipe! I also love carrot cake and would definitely enjoy this in cupcake form.
How GORGEOUS are these?! OMG. I love em’. And my carrot cake loving mama would flip for some! I may have to make them for her birthday next month.