Category Archives: carrots

Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

1 Reply

Truth be told, people probably ask me to make Carrot Cake more than anything else. It makes sense—I make damn good Carrot Cake. It’s super moist, flavored with brown sugar and spice, and filled to the brim with carrots, raisins, and nuts. I know there are about a million ways to make a Carrot Cake, but I swear mine’s the best.

Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting​

That said, it’s nice to have alternatives for when I don’t feel like making a layer cake. I’ve made carrot cake blondies, vegan gluten-free carrot cake, carrot cake petit fours, and cream cheese carrot muffins that are honestly a masterpiece. I’ve been on a cupcake kick lately, so this year, I’m adding Carrot Cupcakes to my repertoire.

Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting​
Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting​
Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting​
Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting​

These little cakes have the perfect amount of spice, and are extra moist thanks to brown sugar, sour cream, and an abundance of shredded carrots. They bake up in twenty minutes and cool in under an hour. They’re finished with my best-ever cream cheese frosting and some sweet little piped carrots. You don’t have to put the carrots on top, but it seems kind of illegal not to, you know?!

Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting​

I know Carrot Cake (er, cupcakes) is super popular for Easter, but I get requests for it all the time, so it’s a year-round thing as far as I’m concerned. Okay? Okay. Don’t let anyone tell you any differently.

Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting​
Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
makes 16-18 cupcakes

Cupcake Batter:
1/3 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)
~1/2 cup water, for raisins (optional)
1/3 cup raisins (optional)
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
1 cup light or dark brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup neutral-flavored oil (I use canola)
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/4 cup full-fat sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 cups freshly shredded carrots, not packed (about 3 medium carrots)

Cream Cheese Frosting:
8 ounces full-fat brick-style cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 pound confectioner's sugar
pinch of Kosher or sea salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

For Decoration:
1/4 cup Cream Cheese Frosting (see above)
orange food coloring (or red and yellow)
green food coloring


Preheat oven to 350F. Line 16-18 cups in muffin/cupcake pans with liners. Set aside.

Toast the nuts. Place chopped pecans (or walnuts) on a dry rimmed baking sheet. Place in the oven and let toast until fragrant, about 5-7 minutes. Let cool completely.

Plump the raisins. Pour water into a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in raisins. Let sit while you prepare the cake batter.

In a small-medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together brown sugar and oil. Mix in eggs one at a time, followed by sour cream and vanilla. Add dry ingredients in two installments, whisking just until combined. Scrape down the bowl as needed.

If using raisins, drain and discard soaking water.

Use a silicone spatula or wooden spoon to fold carrots into cake batter. Stir in raisins or nuts, if using.

Scoop batter into prepared liners, filling them 1/2-2/3 full (about 2 generous tablespoons). Bake 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean.

Let cupcakes cool in the pan for about ten minutes before transferring to a rack to cool completely.

While the cupcakes are cooling, make the frosting. In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to beat cream cheese and butter together until light and fluffy. Add confectioner's sugar and salt in two installments, until completely combined. Beat in vanilla. Once combined, beat on high for two additional minutes, until light and fluffy.

Frost cupcakes as desired, reserving 1/4 cup of frosting if you want to pipe carrots.

If piping carrots, divide frosting into two separate bowls, dying each with either orange or green food coloring. Put it into small piping bags, snip the tips, and create your carrots. Instructional video here.

Cupcakes will keep covered at room temperature for up to two days, or in the refrigerator for up to five.

Carrot Cream Cheese Muffins

1 Reply
Carrot Cream Cheese Muffins

There are two kinds of people: the ones who love carrot cake and the ones who don’t. I’m decidedly the former, as evidenced by posting two carrot recipes in a row. To those of the latter persuasion, let me say this: sorry, not sorry.

Carrot Cream Cheese Muffins

Where last week’s carrot cake was vegan and gluten-free, this week’s muffins are quite the opposite. Made with a carrot-flecked batter and filled with a little well of sweetened cream cheese, these Carrot Cream Cheese Muffins are a delightful addition to your Easter repertoire.

If these look familiar, it’s because they are…kind of. They’re inspired by some cream cheese-filled muffins Starbucks used to have (and maybe still does) that looked cute, but didn’t taste very good. These muffins, however, look cute *and* taste great. I should know—it took eight batches to get them just right!

Carrot Cream Cheese Muffins
Carrot Cream Cheese Muffins
Carrot Cream Cheese Muffins

Carrot Cream Cheese Muffins are simple to make, but require some special assembly. Once you’ve whisked up the carrot muffin batter, put 3 tablespoons in each well of a standard muffin pan. Next, pipe some sweetened cream cheese into the center of each well of batter. It’s about a heaping tablespoon of cream cheese per muffin, but since that’s impossible to measure while piping, I have a little trick. The wells are about 3/4 full before the cream cheese, so when I pipe it in, I watch for the batter to juuuuust reach the top of the well. It’s the perfect amount every time.

Carrot Cream Cheese Muffins

These muffins bake up in just about 20 minutes, getting some lift from a 425F start, then baking to perfection at 375F. The cream cheese will rise to the upper third of the muffins and expand a bit, which is a very good thing as far as I’m concerned. If you’d like a well that goes further into your muffins, bake them at 350F for 20 minutes. You should know, though, that if you go for the lower temperature, you’ll have flatter muffins.

That said, they’re delicious both ways. There’s no wrong way to get your carrot cake on, after all.

Carrot Cream Cheese Muffins
makes 12 muffins

Carrot Batter:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
1/2 cup neutral-flavored oil (I use canola)
1/4 cup water
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 cups shredded carrots, not packed (about 3 medium carrots)

Cream Cheese:
1 8-ounce brick full-fat brick-style cream cheese
1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar

Preheat oven to 425F. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners, or grease well. Set aside.

Make the carrot batter. In a medium-large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a liquid measuring cup, whisk together oil and water. Add eggs one at a time, followed by vanilla. Whisk in dry ingredients in two installments, mixing just until combined. Set aside.

Fold shredded carrots into the dry ingredients. Add liquid in two installments, stirring to combine. Batter will be thick. Let batter sit 5 minutes while you prepare the cream cheese.

In a small-medium mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to beat cream cheese until it’s fluffy (about 2 minutes). Beat in confectioner’s sugar until combined. Load mixture into a piping bag, twist to close and snip off a corner.

Assemble muffins. Put 3 tablespoons of the carrot batter into each well of the prepared muffin tin. They will be about 2/3-3/4 full. Tap pan on the counter 5 times to release any large air bubbles. Pipe cream cheese into the center of each well until the batter reaches the top of each well (or within 1/8-inch of the top). Wet your finger and smooth down any peaks on the cream cheese to prevent burning. Tap pan 5 times on the counter again to help the cream cheese settle.

Bake muffins 5 minutes before reducing the heat to 375F for another 15-16 minutes. Muffins are ready when a toothpick inserted in the non-cream cheese section comes out clean. Let muffins cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing to a rack to cool completely.

Leftovers will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or at room temperature for up to 2 days.