Moist, fluffy, and warmly spiced, these carrot cake cupcakes are an easy, delicious treat! Tangy cream cheese frosting takes them over the top.
These carrot cake cupcakes are the fun-size version of my favorite spring dessert: carrot cake! I’m planning to bring them to every party and gathering I go to this season because they’re 1) easy to make, 2) perfect for sharing, and 3) sooo delicious. Just like a great slice of carrot cake, these carrot cupcakes are soft, moist, warmly spiced, and chock-full of fresh carrots. Rich, tangy cream cheese frosting takes them over the top.
Carrot Cake Cupcakes Recipe Ingredients
Here’s what you need to make this carrot cake cupcake recipe:
- Carrots, of course! They add moisture and sweet, earthy flavor to these scrumptious cupcakes. Grate them on the large holes of a box grater for more pronounced flecks of carrot or on the small holes if you want them to meld into the cupcakes.
- All-purpose flour – Spoon and level it to avoid packing too much into your measuring cup.
- Almond flour – It gives these cupcakes the perfect moist texture and nutty depth of flavor.
- Baking powder and eggs – They help the cupcakes puff up as they bake.
- Almond milk – Or any milk you like! My homemade oat milk would be great here too.
- Avocado oil – For moisture and richness. No avocado oil handy? Use canola oil or vegetable oil instead.
- Cane sugar – For sweetness.
- Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and vanilla – The vanilla and spices give these cupcakes that classic spiced carrot cake flavor.
- And sea salt – To make all the flavors pop!
If you want to decorate the cupcakes, you’ll also need cream cheese frosting. My recipe is easy to make with just 4 ingredients: cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. For a vegan version, check out this post!
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
How to Make Carrot Cupcakes
I love how simple this carrot cake cupcake recipe is to make. No mixer required! Here’s how it goes:
First, prepare your pan. Lightly spray or oil a 12-cup muffin pan, or line it with paper liners. While you’re working, preheat the oven to 400°F.
Next, whisk together the wet ingredients in one mixing bowl and the dry ingredients in another. Fold the grated carrots into the wet ingredients.
Then, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Careful not to overmix! If you do, the cupcakes will be dense.
Finally, bake! Divide the batter among the muffin cups and transfer to the hot oven. Bake until the tops spring back to the touch and a toothpick inserted comes out clean, 16 to 20 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Top with cream cheese frosting, and enjoy!
Carrot Cake Cupcakes Tips and Variations
- Let them cool to room temperature. It’s super tempting to frost and eat these carrot cupcakes while they’re still warm from the oven. But please, let them cool to room temperature first! Their texture and flavor actually improve as they cool. Plus, if they’re still warm when you add the frosting, it will melt!
- Get ahead. Don’t want to make cream cheese frosting and carrot cake cupcakes in a single day? You don’t have to! The frosting will keep for up to 5 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator, and the cupcakes freeze perfectly. Make a batch ahead of time, and allow them to thaw overnight in the fridge before frosting them. Once frosted, the cupcakes will keep for up to 3 days in an airtight container in the fridge.
- Add mix-ins! Do you love your carrot cake with raisins or nuts? Feel free to add them in! Fold 1/2 cup raisins and/or chopped walnuts or pecans into the batter before you divide it among the muffin cups. I also like to sprinkle the frosted cupcakes with chopped pecans for crunch.
More Favorite Dessert Recipes
If you love these carrot cake cupcakes, try one of these easy dessert recipes next:
- Best Carrot Cake
- Vegan Carrot Cake
- Carrot Cake Cookies
- Lemon Yogurt Cake
- Apple Cake
- Applesauce Cake
- Healthy Banana Bread
- Or any of these 25 Easy Baking Recipes!
Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- ½ cup almond flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 cup cane sugar
- 2 large eggs
- ⅔ cup unsweetened almond milk
- ½ cup avocado oil or other neutral oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups finely grated carrots
- Cream cheese frosting, or vegan frosting, optional, for topping
- Crushed pecans or walnuts, optional, for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and grease a 12-cup muffin tin or line it with cupcake liners.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, almond flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, ginger, and nutmeg.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, eggs, almond milk, oil, and vanilla. Stir in the carrots.
- Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Use a ⅓-cup measuring cup to scoop the batter into the muffin cups.
- Bake for 16 to 20 minutes, or until the cupcakes spring back to the touch or a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once cool, decorate the cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and crushed pecans, if desired.
I made the cupcakes, but may have made a few too many substitutions that affected the carrot cake flavor and it’s ability to bake well (four of the cupcakes didn’t pass the toothpick test even after I baked them for longer).
Can you please take a look at the substitutions I made and give me an educated guess as to what impacted the result? I used Trader Joe’s Gluten-free flour blend, oat flour (instead of almond), and reduced fat coconut milk (instead of almond milk). Thanks for your help!
Hi Joy, my guess is that the oat flour had the biggest effect on the recipe. It behaves quite differently from most other flours in baking recipes and can often lead to the underdone result that you described. I’d recommend sticking with the almond flour (or even using more gf flour) in the future. Hope this helps!
yum, and love the servings size with these too, and yes to cream cheese frosting, thank you!
Hi – would coconut oil work? Or light olive oil?
Hi Lexi, either should be fine.
Looks so good! Could I make a cake instead of cupcakes? How long to bake? Thanks.
Hi, I’d recommend making our carrot cake recipe instead. Hope you enjoy!
Hello, Can gluten free flour be sub for the all purpose flour
Hi, we haven’t tested this recipe with gluten-free flour, so I’m not 100% sure how it would go. A 1-to-1 gluten-free flour blend might work.
Thank you for this recipe! I love carrot cake, but making a whole cake means eating a whole cake! The cupcakes are perfect!
Thank you again for making your font darker. It makes it much easier, and enjoyable to read your post! Take care!
Hi Ellen, so glad you loved the cupcakes (and the design changes!). 🙂