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Homemade Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Thanks for sharing!

All of the delicious flavors of carrot cake in cupcake form! These beauties are the perfect dessert for Easter, Thanksgiving and every day in between!

carrot cake cupcake with wrapper pulled down, caramel frosting on top and drips of caramel topping

       Lightly spiced cake made super moist by an abundance of shredded carrots, these cupcakes the the perfect balance of everything you’d want in a carrot cake.  Whip up a batch for the Easter Bunny and he’s sure to hide you some extra eggs!

I told you we are building up to something fun! Yesterday I shared with you one of my new favorites, easy caramel buttercream frosting.

      It makes the perfect topping for these lovely cupcakes.  It pipes well and has a nice caramel flavor.  Plus it is super easy to make, no candy thermometer needed.

bowls of wet and dry ingredients for carrot cake and food processor with shredded carrots.

      Tomorrow we are going to take the cupcakes and frosting and put them together to make something super fun.  The Easter Bunny and your family are going to love it!

      But today I will tell you a bit more about the cupcakes.  What actually got me started on this whole thing is a request from Pops for carrot cake.

       He said it had been a while since I made one and he was right.  Normally I make Linda’s famous carrot cake.

carrot cake batter in cupcake liners in tin.

      It is a definite favorite in our family and the last one I made got gobbled up in an instant! I topped it with some maple cream cheese frosting and the combo was amazing.

       As good as it was, I had to do something a bit different this time.  I am a food blogger after all and what would I share with you if I made the same stuff all the time?!

       So this time I decided to do the carrot cake in cupcake form.  I love cupcake because they are super easy to serve and easy to send home with folks as well.

carrot cake cupcakes on wire cooling rack.

      Not to mention they are easy and fun to decorate.  You don’t have to make sure you have sharp angles and smooth sides like a layer cake, but they have some panache that a 9×13″ cake has a hard time living up to.

      A quick flick of the wrist with a star tip and you have something nice. Start from the outside and work your way in for a nice swirly pile of frosting or start from the center and work your way out for a rosette. Both are simple to do and leave a bit impression.

      My family prefers a lightly spiced carrot cake, so I kept the spices on the low side for this recipe.  If you like more of a spice kick, you could easily double the ginger, cloves and nutmeg if you’d like. Or play with it a bit and do something in between.

      Make sure you come back tomorrow to see the fun way I decided to serve these cupcakes.  And get your grocery list handy, you are going to want to make a batch of these soon!

carrot cake cupcake cut in half with moist inside texture showing.

Tips and Tricks for Making Carrot Cake Cupcakes:

  • You want your carrots to be finely shredded. You can do that by hand, or use the fine disk on your food processor
  • This recipe is lightly spiced, if you like more kick feel free to do 1.5-2x the ginger, nutmeg and cloves.  Or you can just increase your favorites.
  • I like using a large cookie scoop to portion out the batter. It makes getting it from the bowl to the cupcake papers easy. 
Yield: 24 Cupcakes

Homemade Carrot Cake Cupcakes

carrot cupcake unwrapped to show soft texture with rosette of caramel buttercream and caramel drizzle on top.

Lightly spiced cake made super moist by an abundance of shredded carrots, these cupcakes the the perfect balance of everything you’d want in a carrot cake.  Whip up a batch for the Easter Bunny and he’s sure to hide you some extra eggs!

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 2/3 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon cloves
  • 1 1/3 cups brown sugar
  • 2/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 pound carrots, finely shredded

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F and place 24 cupcake liners in cupcake tins.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves until it is combined and there are no clumps. Set aside.
  3. In a second bowl, beat together the brown sugar, sugar and eggs until the mixture is thick and well mixed. 
  4. Stir in the vanilla and vegetable oil, mixing well.
  5. Add the dry ingredients, stirring as little as possible to get it incorporated.
  6. Fold in the shredded carrots until the mixture is uniform.
  7. Spoon into prepared cupcake tins, getting an even amount of batter in all 24 wells.
  8. Bake for 18-22 minutes.  Cool for 5-10 minutes in the cupcake tins and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. 

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

24

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 232Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 31mgSodium: 187mgCarbohydrates: 28gFiber: 1gSugar: 16gProtein: 3g

All nutritional information is estimated and will depend on the exact ingredients you use.

Did you make this recipe?

I'd love to see it! Share a picture on Instagram or Pinterest and tag me @carleecooks to let me know how it went!

All of the delicious flavors of carrot cake in cupcake form! These beauties are the perfect dessert for Easter, Thanksgiving and every day in between!

Thanks for sharing!

Big Rigs 'n Lil' Cookies

Sunday 7th of April 2019

Confession: I've never made carrot cake! I love it, but have just never taken the time to make it. I need to make this.

Toni | Boulder Locavore

Friday 5th of April 2019

This is such an amazing carrot cake!

Carlee

Sunday 7th of April 2019

Thank you!

MegUnprocessed

Thursday 4th of April 2019

This looks so yummy! I love carrot cake!

Carlee

Sunday 7th of April 2019

Thank you!

Amy

Tuesday 2nd of April 2019

I can't wait to see the surprise! These look and sound fantastic, I really love carrot cake, but I love the frosting even more! :)

Carlee

Sunday 7th of April 2019

Me too!

mommar6

Tuesday 2nd of April 2019

I was lucky enough to see the finished product! I'm excited for the big reveal tomorrow. People are going to love it!

Carlee

Sunday 7th of April 2019

I think so too! I thought it turned out pretty cute!

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