These homemade carrot cupcakes are topped with the most delicious cream cheese frosting made from scratch. It takes just 10 minutes to make the cupcakes and another 10 for the frosting, plus you don't need a mixer!
I just cannot get enough of carrot cake! Is it healthy? Ok, probably not. But if you also love carrot cake then check out my carrot bundt cake or my pistachio carrot cake!
I decorated my cupcakes with some fun Easter sprinkles and mini eggs, but I also think they would be beautiful topped with crushed nuts or maybe edible flowers - perfect for Spring!
Jump to:
Tell me about this recipe!
- These cupcakes are so easy to make. You don't need a mixer, just a bowl and a whisk.
- Freshly grated carrots are mixed with sugar, oil, eggs and lots of warm spices.
- I folded in crushed walnuts but you can substitute any nut.
- The cupcakes are topped with the most delicious cream cheese frosting.
Ingredient Notes
- Flour: I use all purpose flour for these cupcakes.
- Oil: use a neutral oil like vegetable or sunflower oil. This is what makes the cupcake so moist!
- Spices: I used a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger but feel free to use the spices that you like in carrot cake!
- Cream Cheese: use the cream cheese that you can find in packets, not in tubs. If you're based in Europe and your cream cheese only comes in tubs, then just pat it down with a paper towel to get rid of excess moisture.
- Heavy Cream: the secret to my cream cheese frosting? Whipped cream! I whip up heavy cream until you have soft peaks, this makes the cream cheese frosting more stable.
How to make this recipe
Step 1: In a medium bowl, whisk together your sugar, oil, eggs, spices, vanilla extract, baking soda and salt together. Whisk until it's smooth and you have a few bubbles.
Step 2: Fold in your flour until it is smooth and you have no pockets of flour in the batter.
Step 3: Fold in the grated carrots and your crushed walnuts.
Step 4: Pour the batter into your cupcake cases and bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes.
Step 5: In a chilled mixing bowl, whisk the heavy cream with the salt, sugar and vanilla extract on medium-low speed for 2 minutes. You want the sugar to completely dissolve.
Step 6: Increase the speed to high and whisk for 2 minutes. It should look like Greek yogurt. Turn the mixing speed to low and add in the cream cheese, a tablespoon at a time. Turn off the mixer to scrape down the bowl, then turn the speed to high and whip for 5 minutes.
Recipe Tips and Tricks
- I recommend using a weighing scale and measuring out your ingredients the metric way. It makes a huge difference to your baking and is the most accurate way to bake!
- Make sure all of the ingredients for the cupcakes are at room temperature before you start baking.
- Use freshly grated carrots instead of the pre-made shredded carrots. Freshly grated carrots will make your cake much more moist!
- For the frosting, keep the cream cheese cold. Usually with frosting you would need the ingredients to be room temperature, but with this cream cheese frosting it is best to keep the cream cheese cold.
Frequently Asked Questions
Keep the cupcakes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Yes! Substitute in pecans, pistachios, or leave out the nuts entirely.
Definitely! Try out my brown sugar frosting or my maple buttercream. You could also top them with a simple American buttercream or leave them plain.
Try these Spring recipes next!
Have you made this recipe? Make sure to tag me on Instagram @alpineella and leave a review below if you have! If you want more baking ideas, you can follow me on Pinterest.
Recipe
Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Carrot Cupcakes
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups carrots grated
- ¼ cup walnuts crushed
Cream Cheese Frosting
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ¾ cup cream cheese cold
Instructions
Carrot Cupcakes
- Preheat your oven to 350°F/180°C and line a cupcake tray with 12 liners.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, sugar, eggs, spices, vanilla, baking soda and salt together. Whisk until the batter is totally smooth and there are a few bubbles at the surface.
- Fold in the flour and mix until smooth, making sure there are no flour pockets. Add in the carrots and walnuts and fold together until combined.
- Divide the batter evenly amongst the liners, bake for 18-20 minutes.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Chill your mixing bowl for at least 1 hour, or overnight. In a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whisk the heavy cream, salt, sugar and vanilla on medium-low for 2 minutes. The sugar needs to have completely dissolved.
- Increase the speed to high and whisk for 2 minutes, until it looks very thick like Greek yoghurt.
- While the mixer is running on a low speed, add in the cream cheese a tablespoon at a time. By the end, it should look like cream cheese. Turn off the mixer, and scrape the entire bowl to make sure no cream cheese is left on the side. Turn the speed to high, and whip for 3 minutes until smooth.
Sarah
Ella’s carrot cake recipes are all delicious and super simple. It made exactly 12 and the perfect amount of frosting!
Isabel
I made these cupcakes for my birthday and they were incredible. The recipe was simple to use and I was able to remove the nuts and swap the ground ginger for allspice without compromising on flavour. They were really moist and kept well for the two days they were in the fridge (although most were gone within a few minutes). I can't wait to bake them again, the perfect way to use up spare carrots!!
Ella
thank you so much for your review!!