Carrot Cake Cupcakes (with cream cheese frosting)

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When springtime rolls around, I love whipping up a batch of these carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.. This batter is very easy to put together and doesn’t even require an electric mixer. Toasting the walnuts beforehand helps bring out the flavor so don’t skip this step! When cooled, I love frosting with the whipped cream cream cheese frosting!

carrot cupcake with cream cheese frosting on a white plate


 

One of my all time favorite desserts, and my dad agrees with me is carrot cake. In all forms – whether’s it a carrot cake cookies, or carrot cake bread. I’ll take it all. Swoooon. Vegetables in my cake? Yes please. Just don’t skip the tangy cream cheese frosting.

But sometimes I just don’t feel like making a whole darn carrot cake. Enter the carrot cake cupcake. These are just the best carrot cupcakes if I do say so myself. I stirred toasted walnuts into the batter but you can totally omit those if that’s not your thing or there’s a nut allergy concern.

And instead of my regular cream cheese frosting recipe (which is great by the way and nothing wrong with frosting them in that!) I went for a whipped cream cheese frosting. It’s like cloud-like whipped cream cheese frosting. Creamy. Dreamy. Can’t get enough. Whipped cream gets folded into the frosting which lightens up the cream cheese flavor and texture. Lighter than air and perfect to pair with these homemade carrot cake cupcakes.

This recipe actually is a sneak peak into my new cookbook –> Dessert Cookbook For Beginners. It’s my new cookbook out and is sort of a sister cookbook to my first book, Beginner’s Baking Bible. I recently shared these iced lemon cookies from the cookbook as well – so soft and chewy! And this sour cream cinnamon coffee cake recipe too.

Well this new cookbook is chock full of easy beginner-friendly dessert recipes perfect for any occasion. There’s cakes, cupcakes, pies, crisps, and even some wonderful no bake desserts.

Since we are coming up on Easter in the next couple months, I thought what better recipe to share from the book then these carrot walnut cupcakes. They really are beginner-friendly. You do not need to a mixer for these, but simply two mixing bowls. You’ll combine your dry ingredients in one bowl and wet ingredients in a second bowl and then just combine! Easy Peasy.

See Also:

Why You Will Love These Carrot Cake Cupcakes

  • These moist carrot cake cupcakes are simple to make without a mixer!
  • Easier to make than a classic carrot cake!
  • Made with warm spices, and crunchy walnuts
  • Topped with a silky smooth cream cheese frosting you can make in advance
  • Wonderful to freeze if you have any leftovers (IF being the big word!)

Ingredients Needed

  • All purpose flour
  • Salt
  • Baking soda
  • Baking powder
  • Ground cinnamon
  • Ground nutmeg
  • Granulated white sugar
  • Packed light brown sugar – If you don’t have any, you can make your own brown sugar!
  • Vegetable oil – I like to use a neutral-tasting oil, like vegetable or canola oil. 
  • Applesauce – To lighten these up a bit I used half oil and half applesauce, but if you needed to you could make these with all oil instead.
  • Eggs – Make sure your eggs are at room temperature so they blend in easily and your cupcakes rise tall.
  • Carrots – I always recommend shredding your fresh carrots by hand for any carrot cake. I find using my food processor makes the carrots too mushy. 
  • Walnuts – Totally optional, but I love the texture and added flavor they give. Make sure to toast the walnuts first, whole and then chop them after. Toasting the walnuts brings out the flavor, so don’t skip this step!
ingredients for carrot walnut cupcakes

How To Make These Carrot Cake Cupcakes

You want to start by combining your dry ingredients. For this step, all I use is my whisk. In a large mixing bowl, you will whisk together your flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Adding a bit of cinnamon and nutmeg adds a major flavor boost to these cupcakes, that otherwise might might be a bit bland.

For the best carrot cupcakes ever, I always recommend measuring your flour by weight so there’s no room for error. But if you are measuring by volume, then you want to spoon your flour into your cup (do not pack it down) and then level it off. If you add too much flour to your cup, it will result in a dense, dry cupcake.

hand whisking a bowl of carrot cake cupcake dry ingredients

Once your dry ingredients are prepared, start combining your wet ingredients. Again, this is super easy! Just whisk together the granulated sugar, brown sugar, applesauce, oil and eggs in a large bowl. I used both granulated and brown sugar here to not just provide sweetness, but also keep the cupcakes tender. The brown sugar also adds a wonderful caramel-like flavor.

Give this all a good vigorous whisk to incorporate some air into the eggs and make for a light fluffy cupcake. And that’s it! How easy was that? 

hand whisking carrot cupcake wet ingredients

Next you will combine your dry and wet ingredients together. Simply, add your flour mixture to wet mixture and stir to combine. You do not want to overmix at this point since you are adding your flour to the wet ingredients.

If you continue to stir the batter at this point, gluten will form (structure-building protein) in your flour that make for a chewy cupcake if you stir too much.

hand stirring carrot cupcake batter together with a spatula

What Is Gluten?

Do not overmix! I’m sure you’ve read that in a recipe before but maybe you weren’t sure why? If you continue to stir the batter at this point, gluten will form in your flour that make for a chewy cupcake if you stir too much.

Gluten is a protein that found in your flour that forms when the flour becomes hydrated. Gluten is what gives our baked goods structure. We do need some gluten to form so our baked goods don’t crumble on us, but the more we mix our batter the more gluten that can form. Too much gluten = a tough chewy cupcake.

So stir just unti the flour is no longer visible, making sure there are no pockets of flour hiding at the bottom of the bowl. There may be a few visible lumps and that’s ok, but otherwise stop mixing!

And don’t forget the best part! The carrots and walnuts! Simply stir in the carrots and walnuts and mix to combine. If you just toasted your walnuts make sure they have cooled before you stir them in. Again, a few good stirs is all you need so you know you don’t overmix.

black spatula in a bowl of carrot cupcake batter

Now that your batter is ready, go ahead and fill muffin wells to 3/4 full. Then bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Transfer cupcakes to a cooling wire rack and cool completely.

hand holding a pan of baked carrot cupcakes

Heather’s Baking Tips

  • Be sure to measure your flour correctly. If measuring by volume, then make sure to spoon and level the flour in. You can read my post here on how to measure your flour correctly. Or for best accuracy I recommend weighing your ingredients. You can read my post on how to measure ingredients here <– there’s a video too! 
  • Shred carrots by hand. This takes a little bit more time and effort, however it does result in a better texture. I find shredding them in my food processor makes the carrots too mushy. If you do use your food processor then make sure you are using the grater option.
  • Use an large cookie scoop for even scooping.  I use an ice-cream scoop like this one from OXO to scoop my cupcake batter. It makes quick work of scooping the batter and ensures all my carrot cake cupcakes are the same size and bake evenly.
  • Do not overfill your cupcake liners when scooping the batter. You want your liners about 2/3 full (no more than 3/4 full). Overfilled cupcakes can result in the cupcakes sinking after you baking them. Read this post for 6 reasons why your cupcakes sink in the middle.
  • Double check that your baking powder is still fresh. Because this recipe uses oil there is no creaming step to incorporate air, so you need to make sure the baking powder is fresh so your cupcakes rise properly. To check the freshness, add a teaspoon of baking powder to some hot water. If it bubbles, it’s still fresh. If it doesn’t throw it out. And don’t mix it up with baking soda, they don’t react the same. You can read more here about Baking Powder vs. Baking Soda
  • Use an oven thermometer. Make sure that your oven is heated correctly so these bake properly. For more oven 101, read this post.
  • Toast the walnuts first then chop. Measure your walnuts first, then toast and chop. I place my walnut halves on a baking sheet and toast at 350oF for about 7-8 minutes. Then I let them cool and chop them up before adding them to my cupcake batter.
  • Make sure the walnuts are cool. You want to make sure you’re NOT adding walnuts to the batter that are still hot.
  • Don’t overmix. This will not only result in a tough, chewy cupcakes. Make sure to read the “what is gluten?” section above!
  • Frost once they are cooled. You do not want to frost a HOT cupcake! This will cause your frosting to melt instead of hold shape.

Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting

You can use my regular The BEST Cream Cheese Frosting, or even try my Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting version! YUM.

But for this recipe I used a whipped cream cheese frosting. This is basically whipped cream + cream cheese frosting combined. And it’s magnificent! You will whip heavy cream and then fold that into essentially a cream cheese frosting. But unlike my regular cream cheese frosting there’s no butter in it.

It’s lighter than air. Slightly tangy from the cream cheese but not so much as a regular cream cheese frosting recipe. A little sweetness from the icing sugar. Pure heaven.

I like to pipe on a big swirl of frosting but if you use less frosting then I suggest cutting the frosting recipe in half. This recipe generously frosts 24 cupcakes.

How To Make The Frosting

To make the frosting start by whipping the heavy cream. In a mixing bowl, with an electric mixer, whip heavy cream until stiff peaks form. I start my mixer on low speed, and the increase to medium speed and mix for about 2-3 minutes.

In a second mixing bowl, with an electric mixer, beat cream cheese, sugar, salt, and vanilla extract until smooth, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl as needed.

Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in whipped cream into the cream cheese frosting until combined.  Frost cooled cupcakes, or store in the refrigerator for 4 days.

Recipe Variations

  • Make gluten free – You can swap out the all purpose flour and use a 1:1 gluten free flour. 
  • Swap out the walnuts – You can omit these completely or use toasted pecans instead!
  • Make my favorite cream cheese frosting instead of this fluffy cream cheese frosting made with whipped cream.

Recipe FAQ’s

Can I omit the walnuts?

Absolutely you can. Or replace with something else like pecans, or raisins.

How should I store these carrot cake cupcakes?

You can store unfrosted cupcakes, in an airtight container, for up to 2 days at room temperature. If they are frosted with a cream cheese frosting, then you must keep them, in an airtight container stored in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Can I freeze these carrot walnut cupcakes?

I recommend freezing the cupcakes, unfrosted, wrapped individually or stored in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Then thaw overnight in the fridge, and then frost as normal the next day.

Can I use pre-shredded carrots?

I find that pre-shredded carrots are too big in texture. I recommend shredding the carrots by hand using a box grater (rather than a food processor which makes them too mushy).

Can I make this recipe into mini cupcakes?

Yes you can use a mini cupcake pan and then bake the mini carrot cupcakes at bake for 10-12 minutes.

More Recipes To Try

Best Carrot Cake Cupcakes

When springtime rolls around, I love whipping up a batch of these carrot walnut cupcakes. This batter is very easy to put together and doesn’t even require an electric mixer. Toasting the walnuts beforehand helps bring out the flavor so don’t skip this step!
5 from 10 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 35 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 24 cupcakes
Calories: 406kcal

Ingredients

For the cupcakes

  • 2 cups (240 grams) all purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 cup (200 g) granulated white sugar
  • 1 cup (213 g) packed light brown sugar
  • ½ cup (120 mL) vegetable oil
  • ½ cup (100 g) applesauce
  • 4 large eggs
  • 3 cups (297 g) grated carrots about 4 medium
  • 1 cup (128 g) walnut halves toasted and chopped

For the frosting

  • 3 cups (720 ml) heavy cream cold
  • 16 ounces (2 packages) cream cheese softened to room temperature
  • 2 cups (226 g) confectioners sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 4 teaspoons vanilla extract

Instructions

To make the cupcakes

  • Prep oven and pans. Position rack to center of oven and preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Place cupcake liners into muffin pans and set aside. You will need two cupcake pans for this recipe.
  • Combine dry ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg.
  • Combine wet ingredients. Whisk together granulated sugar, brown sugar, applesauce, oil and eggs in a large bowl.
  • Combine wet and dry ingredients. Add flour mixture to wet mixture and stir to combine. Add carrots and walnuts and mix to combine. Do not overmix.
  • Bake cupcakes. Fill muffin wells to 3/4 full. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs clinging to it. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Transfer cupcakes to a cooling rack and cool completely.

To make the frosting

  • Make the whipped cream. In a mixing bowl, with an electric mixer, whip heavy cream until stiff peaks form. I start my mixer on low speed, and the increase to medium speed and mix for about 2-3 minutes.
  • Make cream cheese frosting. In a second mixing bowl, with an electric mixer, beat cream cheese, sugar, salt, and vanilla until smooth, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl as needed.
  • Add whipped cream.  Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in whipped cream into the cream cheese frosting until combined.  Frost cooled cupcakes, or store in the refrigerator for 4 days.

Video

Notes

  • Storage: You can store unfrosted cupcakes, in an airtight container, for up to 2 days at room temperature. If they are frosted with a cream cheese frosting, then you must keep them, in an airtight container stored in the fridge for up to 4 days.
  • Freezing: I recommend freezing the cupcakes, unfrosted, wrapped individually or stored in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Then thaw overnight in the fridge, and then frost as normal the next day.
  • Frosting: I like to pipe on a big swirl of frosting but if you use less frosting then I suggest cutting the frosting recipe in half. This recipe generously frosts 24 cupcakes.
  • Applesauce – To lighten these up a bit I used half oil and half applesauce, but if you needed to you could make these with all oil instead.
  • Carrots – I always recommend shredding your carrots by hand for any carrot cake. I find using my food processor makes the carrots too mushy.
  • Walnuts – Totally optional, but I love the texture and added flavor they give. Make sure to toast them first, whole and then chop them after. Toasting the walnuts brings out the flavor, so don’t skip this step!

Nutrition

Calories: 406kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 89mg | Sodium: 215mg | Potassium: 177mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 29g | Vitamin A: 3407IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 71mg | Iron: 1mg
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13 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    These cupcakes came together very easily and tasted great. I did a couple of subs to be able to share with more people and to customize to my taste.
    1. Subbed flour for gluten free flour in a 1:1. Didn’t affect bake times at all. I could taste the texture difference, but not in a negative way. I made sure to weigh the flour so there wouldn’t be any issues. Easy sub!
    2. I used 1/2 cup less of white sugar (so 1/2 white, 1 cup brown) as I like less sugar. I haven’t made them with the full sugar amount, but they tasted sweet and delicious all the same.
    3. No frosting. While this frosting sounds good, I only like a very, very small taste of frosting and not on my baked goods. They were still moist and yummy without.

  2. 5 stars
    These cupcakes are so moist, sweet and delicious. I follow your suggestion and I stored a few without frosting to eat later. I didn’t have walnuts but I had pecans and they were so good.

  3. 5 stars
    I love your carrot cupcakes recipe. So flavorful and easy to make. I will be making these again. Thanks for sharing!

  4. 5 stars
    These are definitely the best carrot cupcakes I have ever made. So easy too and simply delicious!

  5. Kayla DiMaggio says:

    5 stars
    These carrot cupcakes seriously were the best! Loved every bite!

  6. This was my first time making carrot cake and thanks to you it was a huge success. These cupcakes were perfectly moist and so flavorful. My family ate them up in no time and were begging for more.

  7. Amanda Mason says:

    5 stars
    The applesauce, carrots, and walnuts are my favorite ingredients in this recipe. I love the crunch and unique flavor of the combination of those ingredients! So good!

  8. 5 stars
    Toasting the walnuts first…what a great idea!! I love this recipe with cream cheese frosting, it’s the perfect combination!

    1. Taylor Smith says:

      Toasting the walnuts really brings out their flavor.

  9. 5 stars
    Carrot cupcakes are the best! These look and sound so delicious! Excited to give them a try! We are huge carrot cake fans in our house!

  10. 5 stars
    The crumb in these cupcakes is so fine and perfect! This was my first time making whipped cream cheese frosting and wow, this won’t be the last! It’s so light and so incredibly delicious. I’ll be using that frosting on so many other cakes, too!

  11. 5 stars
    I make carrot cupcakes all the time but I never added nutmeg and walnuts. Sounds like a delicious combination, I’m gonna try your recipe next time I make these cupcakes. Bookmarking!

5 from 10 votes

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