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Carrot Cake Cupcakes

These are the BEST carrot cake cupcakes, and they are absolutely perfect for a holiday treat, or anytime. With cream cheese icing & walnuts.

Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword best carrot cake cupcake recipe, carrot cake cupcakes
Prep Time 17 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Colling time 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 7 minutes
Servings 24 cupcakes
Calories 291 kcal
Author Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy

Ingredients

For the cake

  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 1/4 cups oil (I used avocado, but canola works too)
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 3 cups grated carrots

For the cream cheese icing

  • 1 package cream cheese, softened (8 ounce package)
  • 1 stick butter, softened
  • 1 pound confectioners' sugar (powdered sugar)
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Garnish/ topping

  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts pecans also make a great substitute

Instructions

For the cupcakes

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

  2. In a large mixing bowl, mix together all dry ingredients - flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon; set aside.

  3. In the bowl of your stand mixer (or other large bowl if you are using a hand mixer), beat together the sugar, eggs, oil, and vanilla.

  4. With the mixer on low, slowly incorporate dry ingredients and shredded carrots, mixing until just combined.

  5. Ladle or spoon batter into two 12-cup muffin tins, eyeballing to make sure these are filled somewhat evenly, about 2/3 full.

  6. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit, until toothpick comes out clean, about 20 minutes; cool completely

For the cream cheese frosting

  1. Combine the cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar and vanilla, and beat with a mixer until smooth. Start out at a low speed, and gently ramp up until it looks like frosting (about a minute). 

  2. Frost the cupcakes only after they have cooled completely. You can use a spatula/ spreader, or using a piping bag. I used a gallon freezer bag and snipped a tiny bit out of the corner to pipe mine.

  3. Garnish with finely chopped walnuts, if desired.

  4. Store in refrigerator.

Recipe Notes

If you are allergic to walnuts, pecans make a great substitute.

You will have some icing left over, and not all of it will be used on the cupcakes, most likely.

Nutritional information is approximate and was calculated using a recipe nutrition label generator.

Nutrition Facts
Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Amount Per Serving
Calories 291 Calories from Fat 144
% Daily Value*
Fat 16g25%
Saturated Fat 3g19%
Cholesterol 32mg11%
Sodium 227mg10%
Potassium 83mg2%
Carbohydrates 36g12%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 27g30%
Protein 3g6%
Vitamin A 2771IU55%
Vitamin C 1mg1%
Calcium 16mg2%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.