Carrot Cake Cupcakes

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Bite-sized with all of the traditional flavors of a classic Carrot Cake, Carrot Cake Cupcakes are a perfect Easter treat. Especially when they are decorated with these adorable toppings!

Carrot Cake Cupcakes | Perfect for Easter!

If you are looking for the perfect carrot cake cupcake recipe to make this Easter, you’ve found it! Made without eggs and very easily can be made vegan if needed, yet still as delicious as any normal cupcake. Topped with cream cheese frosting and you’ve got the perfect Easter treat. Plus I’ve got a couple tips on how to decorate yours with little fake carrots, so cute!

Main Ingredients Needed

Gather your baking supplies and these ingredients to get started on your carrot cake cupcakes:

• Milk + White Vinegar – these two are combined to sour the milk and create moisture in the cupcakes. These two can be subbed out for buttermilk. Or if you are looking to keep these cupcakes vegan, replace the milk with almond milk.
• Sugar – to sweeten!
• Flour – this fills out the cupcakes.
• Baking Soda + Baking Powder – for double lift! The baking soda reacts with the white vinegar for even more lift.
• Salt – to balance the sweet and other flavors.
• Cinnamon, Nutmeg + Cloves – all warm delicious spices found in traditional carrot cake recipes.
• Butter – used for flavor and moisture.
• Vanilla Extract – for flavor.
• Carrots – shredded! I highly recommend shredding your own carrots rather than buying pre-shredded carrots (the pre-shredded kind tends to be drier).
• Cream Cheese Frosting – this is made out of powdered sugar, cream cheese, butter, and vanilla. So good!

Variations

If you would like to add in the coconut, pecans and/or pineapple, here’s how to do it:

• Crushed pineapple: Reduce milk and vinegar mixture by 1/2 cup and add 1/4 cup extra flour to the batter. Drain one 8 oz. can of crushed pineapple. Stir in with the grated carrot. Bake, cool, and frost as usual.
• Pecans: Stir in 3/4 cup toasted and chopped pecans into the batter with the grated carrot. Bake, cool, and frost as usual. Walnuts or almonds are also a good substitution.
• Coconut: Stir in 1 1/2 cups sweetened, desiccated coconut into the batter with the grated carrot. Bake, cool, and frost as usual.

If you do not want to add in the crushed pineapple but would like to add in pecans or coconut, the milk and vinegar mixture does not need to be reduced because you’re not adding in extra moisture like you would be with the pineapple.

How to Make Carrot Cake Cupcakes

For full details on how to make carrot cake cupcakes, see the recipe card down below 🙂

Prep

Preheat oven. Line 24 muffin tins with paper liners and set them aside.

Make The Batter

Measure out almond milk and vinegar. Stir and set aside.

In a large bowl, measure out all dry ingredients and whisk them together to combine. Create well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the almond milk vinegar mixture, melted butter, and vanilla. Stir until just incorporated. Add in carrot and stir again.

Bake + Cool

Divide batter evenly between muffin tins. Bake until set. Cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting + Decorate

To make the frosting, mix cream cheese and butter together until well combined. {I use a hand mixer for this.} Stir in vanilla and powdered sugar until just combined and smooth. If you over-mix the frosting, it won’t hold its shape as well and will slowly drip off the cupcakes.

Spread about 3 tablespoons of frosting onto each cupcake and decorate as desired.

How to Decorate Carrot Cake Cupcakes

It’s always good to garnish your food with what is found in it, but I’m not about to throw a bunch of baby carrots onto my cupcakes! SO, I found lots of orange and green edibles in my pantry and went to town!

So, here’s the 411 on these: carrot cupcakes topped with cream cheese frosting and then decorated as follows: {follow along in the image above as I go left to right, top to bottom} M&M’s, dried mangoes {or apricots} and fresh thyme, sprinkles, clementine and pumpkin seeds, orange candy melts cut into triangles and fresh mint, orange peel cut into a triangle and parsley, marshmallow cut into a triangle and dipped in orange sugar topped with mint, cream cheese frosting dyed orange, topped with mint and surrounded in crushed Oreos and the last one? Just the candy melts and mint again 🙂

More Carrot Cake Recipes to Try!

• Carrot Cake Protein Bites
• Carrot Cake Cookies
• Carrot Cake Cobbler
• Carrot Cake Oatmeal
• Carrot Cake Donuts

So, if you’re celebrating Easter with a cake, it may as well be this one!

The printable recipe card is found below, enjoy!

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5 from 5 votes

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Carrot Cake Cupcakes are a perfect Easter treat, especially when they are decorated with these adorable toppings.

servings 24 cupcakes

Prep Time 1 hr 40 mins

Cook Time 20 mins

Total Time 2 hrs

Ingredients

• ▢ 2 cups almond milk {or regular milk} + 2 teaspoons white vinegar
• ▢ 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• ▢ 2 2/3 cups all purpose flour
• ▢ 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ pinch of salt
• ▢ 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon cloves
• ▢ 2/3 cup melted butter
• ▢ 4 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ▢ 3 cups finely grated carrot

for the frosting:

• ▢ 8 oz softened cream cheese
• ▢ 1/2 cup softened butter
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 1 lb powdered sugar

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Line 24 muffin tins with paper liners and set aside.
• Measure out almond milk and vinegar. Stir and set aside.
• In large bowl, measure out all dry ingredients and whisk together to combine. Create well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in almond milk vinegar mixture, melted butter and vanilla. Stir until just incorporated. Add in carrot and stir again. Divide batter evenly between muffin tins.
• Bake 15-20 minutes or until set.
• Cool completely before frosting.
• To make frosting, mix cream cheese and butter together until well combined. {I use a hand mixer for this.} Stir in vanilla and powdered sugar until just combined and smooth. If you over mix the frosting, it won’t hold it’s shape as well and will slowly drip off the cupcakes.
• Spread about 3 tablespoons of frosting onto each cupcake and decorate as desired.

Notes

*This recipe will make 24 cupcakes as stated above, 2 8-inch round cakes {350 for 20-25 minutes} or 1-9×13 cake {350 for 25-30 minutes}.

**There are no eggs in this recipe! It’s not a typo and yes, they will turn out just fine.

Nutrition

Calories: 297kcal | Carbohydrates: 44g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 34mg | Sodium: 217mg | Potassium: 97mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 32g | Vitamin A: 3076IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 53mg | Iron: 1mg

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Carrot Cake Cupcakes