Soft, moist, and warmly spiced, these Carrot Cake Cupcakes are filled with sweet shredded carrots and crunchy walnuts, then topped with a light and fluffy cream cheese frosting. Every bite has that classic carrot cake flavor in a soft cupcake form that is hard to resist.
Carrot Cake Cupcakes with the Perfect Texture
When I’m making cupcakes with lots of mix-ins (in this case, shredded carrots and walnuts), I experiment with the ratios of other ingredients to make sure that the cake’s texture is just right.
To get a carrot cake that isn’t dry, isn’t too oily, and isn’t too wet, it’s important to use the right amounts of flour and leaveners, and to use two different types of fat, including oil and sour cream, to keep the cake tender without being greasy.
I’ve done all the trial-and-error work for you, and what you’ll see here is my BEST carrot cake muffin recipe, along with my classic, fluffy cream cheese frosting. Carrot cake, in all its variations, is a popular Easter dessert and fun for birthdays, potlucks, or any time you like!
Ingredient Notes
Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
- Oil: Use a neutral-flavored oil when baking cakes, such as avocado, canola, or vegetable oil. I use oil instead of butter to make moist carrot cupcakes. I found that the butter in this recipe left the cakes a bit dry and dense.
- Sugar: Use mostly light brown sugar to sweeten the batter, with a little granulated sugar.
- Eggs and Sour Cream: For a smooth cake batter, let your eggs and sour cream come to room temperature before mixing them in. Instead of sour cream, you can also use plain Greek yogurt.
- Spices: A carrot cake is nothing without some spice! My perfect carrot cake spice blend starts with ground cinnamon and is rounded out with ginger, nutmeg, and a bit of ground clove.
- Carrots: Shred your carrots with your food processor or a box grater. You want them to be shredded finely, but not too finely that they completely disappear in the cupcakes. I like to see a little bit of orange color in each bite. You cannot use pre-shredded carrots in this recipe; they are much too thick and dry to work properly.
- Chopped Walnuts: I love the nutty flavor and texture that these add. For extra flavor, toast the walnuts first! If you’d prefer carrot cake cupcakes without nuts, leave them out! You can also replace walnuts with pecans or even raisins if you like.
- Cream Cheese Frosting: The perfect mixture of softened cream cheese (full-fat is best), unsalted butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and heavy cream. Use room temperature ingredients to avoid lumpy frosting. This frosting is easy to pipe and makes enough to frost 12 cupcakes generously.
Cupcake Tips
- Paper Liners: I think that paper liners are a must when baking cupcakes. They keep the batter from sticking to the pan, and also help the cupcakes to stay fresh longer.
- Avoid Overmixing: If your cupcakes have ever turned out tough and dense, it’s possible that you’ve mixed the batter too much. Mix the dry ingredients in just until you don’t see them anymore. Then, when you add the nuts and carrots, fold them in gently.
- I use a cookie scoop to add the batter to the liners. This helps me portion the batter evenly and avoid any drips on the pan or sides of the papers.
- Let the carrot cake cupcakes cool completely on a wire rack before adding the frosting. You don’t want the frosting to melt!
- When mixing the frosting, start with just one tablespoon of heavy cream. The frosting should be thick so that it’s easy to pipe into tall piles. If you need it thinner, add up to another tablespoon of cream until is the perfect texture and consistency. If you need to thicken the icing, add a little bit of powdered sugar at a time.
- To pipe the frosting, I use a large star tip and a piping bag. If you don’t have these, you can just generously frost the cupcakes with a spatula for a more rustic feel.
- Decoration: I ground up a few extra walnuts to use as sort of a “sprinkle” on top of the cupcakes. You could also use festive pastel Easter sprinkles or whatever cute sprinkles fit your occasion.
Storing Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Keep these cupcakes in the fridge after frosting them. They’ll keep in an airtight container for 2-4 days.
Before serving, let them sit out at room temperature for 20-30 minutes so that the cream cheese frosting softens.
If you would like to make carrot cakes for spring parties ahead, I suggest waiting to frost them. Without frosting, the cakes can be stored in the freezer for a few weeks. Let them thaw overnight in the fridge and then add fresh frosting before serving.
More Cupcake Recipes to Try
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Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Equipment
- 12-cup muffin tin
- Cupcake liners
- Rubber Spatula
- Hand mixer or stand mixer
- Piping Bag optional
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- 1 ¼ cups (150 g) all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ cup (120 ml) neutral oil such as canola, avocado, or vegetable oil
- ½ cup (100 g) packed light brown sugar
- ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup (60 g) sour cream
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups (225 g) shredded carrots lightly packed
- ½ cup (65 g) chopped walnuts
For the frosting:
- 8 ounces (225 g) cream cheese softened to room temperature
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 3 ½ cups (420 g) powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 to 2 tablespoons (15 ml) heavy cream
For topping:
- 2 tablespoons (15 g) finely chopped walnuts optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and line a 12 cup muffin tin with cupcake liners.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, sour cream, and vanilla until smooth.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix just until combined.
- Fold in the shredded carrots and chopped walnuts.
- Divide the batter evenly between the cupcake liners and fill each about ¾ full.
- Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool the cupcakes in the pan for 10 minutes and transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth and creamy.
- Add the powdered sugar and mix on low speed until combined.
- Add the vanilla and 1 tablespoon of heavy cream, then beat until fluffy.
- Add more cream, 1 teaspoon at a time, until the frosting reaches your preferred piping consistency.
- Pipe or spread the frosting over the cooled cupcakes and top with finely chopped walnuts.
Notes:
- For the best texture, shred the carrots finely so they blend smoothly into the batter.
- Do not overmix the batter after adding the flour, or the cupcakes can turn dense.
- Make sure the cupcakes are fully cool before frosting them.
- You can toast the walnuts first for a deeper nutty flavor.
- Store the cupcakes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Let them sit at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes before serving
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
© Little Sunny Kitchen
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