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Carrot Cake Cupcakes

A moist, spiced cupcake that pairs beautifully with fluffy cream cheese frosting. A perfect fall treat!
Prep Time20 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: carrot cake, cupcakes
Servings: 24 cupcakes

Ingredients

  • 2 cups All-Purpose flour
  • 1½ tsp Baking powder
  • 1 ½ tsp Baking soda
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 2 tsp Cinnamon
  • ½ tsp Nutmeg
  • 4 Eggs room temperature
  • 1 cup Brown sugar
  • ½ cup White sugar
  • 1 cup Vegetable or canola oil
  • 12 oz Carrots, shredded
  • 1 cup Pecans, toasted and chopped
  • 2 tsp Vanilla

Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients

  • 2 lb powdered sugar
  • 8 oz Cream cheese, softened
  • 2 sticks Butter, softened
  • 2 tsp Vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • ¼ cup Heavy whipping cream

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 375° F and prepare two standard muffin tins
  • In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside
  • In a large bowl (or your stand mixer), mix together the eggs, brown sugar, white sugar, and vanilla until smooth and creamy
  • Add oil and mix until well incorporated.
  • Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, one cup at a time, and mix
  • Once combined, stir in the grated carrots and toasted pecans using a rubber spatula
  • Pour batter into the prepared cupcake tins, filling each cavity about two-thirds full
  • Bake for 20-24 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cupcake comes out clean
  • Let the cupcakes cool for 10 minutes before removing from the tin
  • Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting with cream cheese frosting

Cream Cheese Frosting Instructions

  • In a stand mixer, combine 8 ounces of cream cheese (softened) and 2 sticks of butter (softened), and mix on medium until combined and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes)
  • Add powdered sugar, one cup at a time, into the cream cheese/butter mixture. Make sure to incorporate each cup well before adding more powdered sugar. Add a splash of heavy cream after each cup of powdered sugar
  • Once all of the powdered sugar has been incorporated, add vanilla and salt. Mix for an additional 2 minutes

Notes

You can totally use this recipe to make a cake instead of cupcakes. You can use three 8-inch round pans or two 9-inch round pans
I highly recommend toasting your pecans!  I put the pecans on a baking sheet for about 10 minutes while the oven was pre-heating. Make sure to keep an eye on them, though and give the pan a good shake to toss the pecans after about 5 minutes.