These carrot cake cupcakes are everything you love about the cake—outstanding spice flavor, super moist crumb, and velvety cream cheese frosting—in a portioned cupcake wrapper! I’ve scaled down my popular carrot cake recipe to bring you a batch of cupcakes that’s easier and quicker, but just as delicious.
I think we can all agree that carrot cake and cream cheese frosting is a flavor duo surpassing time—it’s just never going out of style. I love it as carrot cake loaf and mixed up in this carrot Bundt cake. But nothing can compare to original carrot cake and today’s cupcake version. Just CLASSIC!
Tell Me About These Carrot Cake Cupcakes
- Flavor: These cupcakes are scrumptiously spiced with cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. You also have brown sugar, a little applesauce, natural sweetness from carrots, and the tangy-sweet frosting.
- Texture: The crumb of these cupcakes is soft and moist, but not at all greasy. (A difficult balance to achieve, but this recipe nails it!)
- Ease: Bakers of any skill level can handle this recipe. You can mix the cupcake batter by hand, though I recommend using a mixer to make the cream cheese frosting.
- Time: The batch of cupcakes takes about 2 hours start to finish, and that includes cooling. Cupcakes cook faster than cake layers, but they still need to cool completely before frosting.
I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: carrot cake is only good if it’s spiced and if it’s moist. Under-spiced carrot cake tastes like nothing. Dry carrot cake tastes like you forgot you were baking a cake and frosted a vegetable instead. Ha! I encourage you to stick to my recipe below for best results.
Key Ingredients You Need & Why
You can make carrot cake cupcakes with a handful of staple kitchen ingredients and these are the most important:
- Brown Sugar: Brown sugar not only sweetens the cupcakes, it lends more flavor and moisture than white sugar. I love using dark brown sugar in this recipe.
- Spices: Cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger add warmth and depth of flavor without overpowering anything else. I usually add some ground cloves to carrot cake recipes, but it’s quite potent and I don’t like it as much in the cupcakes.
- Vegetable Oil: When preparing cupcakes without strong flavors, like vanilla cupcakes, I prefer to use butter as the fat, because it adds flavor. But when I’m making a cupcake recipe with flavorful ingredients like these spiced cupcakes, I find using flavorless oil lets all those spice flavors shine. (Also, oil keeps the cupcakes SO VERY moist!)
- Carrots: Obviously, you need carrots. But actually, this recipe would be tasty if you substituted shredded apple or zucchini instead!
- Unsweetened applesauce: Applesauce adds even more moisture to these cupcakes, without making them oily. I love the subtle flavor that it adds, but you could also use sour cream or plain yogurt. Another popular swap for the applesauce is crushed canned pineapple, an addition many bakers love in pineapple carrot cake!
You may be surprised to see there’s only 1 and 1/3 cups of flour, which isn’t much considering all of the wet ingredients. Keep in mind that shredded carrots, while not necessarily a dry ingredient, bulk up the batter. Any more flour created a denser muffin-like texture. Trust this recipe because it works for cupcakes!
Success Tip: Shredding the Carrots
The bags of pre-shredded carrots you can find at the grocery store are not worth the extra couple of minutes it saves you to peel and shred whole carrots yourself. Store-bought carrot shreds are dry and tough, and that will translate into your carrot cake cupcakes. Grab whole carrots, a peeler, and a box grater, and flex your grating muscles!
And beyond that: After you’ve finished shredding, give the carrots a rough chop, so the pieces are finer and can distribute evenly in each cupcake, like this:
In this photo, you can see the difference. You want more carrots (moisture! flavor!) in each bite, so chop those shreds:
Photos: How to Make Carrot Cake Cupcakes
The full printable recipe is below, but let’s see a few photos of the process.
Expect a semi-thick cupcake batter:
We’re using my favorite cool and creamy cream cheese frosting recipe, which flawlessly pairs with warmly spiced desserts like carrot cake, spice cake, and pumpkin cake. One question we usually see with cream cheese frosting:
How Can I Keep My Cream Cheese Frosting Thick?
Cream cheese frosting is thinner than buttercream. Putting the frosting in the refrigerator for a bit—while you’re waiting for the cupcakes to cool—helps thicken it. This means your silky cream cheese frosting will hold its shape better when piped. Stick with basic piping tips and nothing intricate; even when chilled, the frosting will not hold shape as well as a sturdy buttercream.
And don’t fret, you don’t have to pipe this frosting; it’s just as tasty swiped on with a knife.
Which Other Frostings Could I Use? These carrot cake cupcakes would also taste great with whipped frosting, Swiss meringue buttercream, this caramel frosting, the cinnamon cream cheese frosting from these banana cupcakes, or simply unfrosted as carrot cake muffins (like morning glory muffins!).
What About a Dairy-Free Frosting Option?
Today’s cupcakes are dairy free when made with applesauce, so if you’re looking for a dairy free frosting, try this creamy marshmallow meringue frosting.
I topped this batch of cream cheese-frosted cupcakes with chopped nuts and a white chocolate carrot topper, but both are completely optional. See Notes for instructions on making the white chocolate topper!
Looking for Easter dessert inspiration? These cupcakes are always a favorite alongside a plate of jelly bean sugar cookies, or see 20+ more Easter dessert recipes.
PrintSimply Carrot Cake Cupcakes
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 22 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours (includes cooling)
- Yield: 12
- Category: Cupcakes
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These carrot cake cupcakes are a scaled down version of my popular carrot cake recipe. You can mix this easy cupcake batter by hand, though I recommend using a mixer to make the cream cheese frosting. The white chocolate carrot topper is optional!
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/3 cups (166g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 cup (120ml) vegetable oil
- 1 cup (200g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup (80g) unsweetened applesauce, sour cream, or plain yogurt, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 and 1/2 cups (200g) peeled, shredded, and coarsely chopped carrots* (about 3 large carrots)
- optional add-in: 3/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans; raisins
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 ounces (224g) full-fat block cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3 cups (360g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- optional garnish: white chocolate carrot topper (see Notes) and/or finely chopped walnuts or pecans
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg together in a large bowl. Set aside. Whisk the oil, brown sugar, eggs, applesauce, and vanilla extract together until combined, and then whisk in the carrots. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold or whisk together until completely combined. Batter will be slightly thick.
- Pour/spoon the batter into the liners, filling only about 3/4 full to avoid spilling over the sides. Bake for 21–23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. For around 30 mini cupcakes, bake for about 12–13 minutes, same oven temperature. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.
- Meanwhile, make the frosting: In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter together on high speed until smooth and creamy. Add confectioners’ sugar, vanilla extract, and salt. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds and then switch to high speed and beat for 2 minutes. Cover and refrigerate the frosting as the cupcakes finish cooling—this is helpful if you plan to pipe the frosting with a piping bag + tip. Cold cream cheese frosting holds its shape better.
- Frost cooled cupcakes and top with optional garnish, if desired. I used an Ateco 808 piping tip and then swirled the center with a small icing spatula (you can see me do that in the video—totally optional way of decorating). Cover and store leftover cupcakes in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. I recommend a cupcake carrier for storing and transporting decorated cupcakes.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Plain cupcakes can be made ahead 1 day in advance, covered, and stored at room temperature or in the refrigerator. Frosting can also be made 1 day in advance, covered, and stored in the refrigerator. If frosting is thick/stiff after refrigerating, beat it with your mixer for a minute to help loosen it up. Frosted or unfrosted cupcakes can be frozen up to 2–3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 12- cup Muffin Pan | Cupcake Liners | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Box Grater | Piping Bags (Reusable or Disposable) | Ateco #808 Piping Tip | Small Icing Spatula | Cupcake Carrier (for storage)
- Vegetable Oil: You can use melted and slightly cooled coconut oil instead of vegetable oil. If doing so, it’s imperative all other ingredients in the cupcake batter are room temperature so the oil does not solidify.
- Applesauce/Sour Cream/Yogurt: You can use any of these options, but applesauce is my favorite because it adds a little extra flavor. Or you could use the same amount of canned crushed pineapple instead (no need to drain).
- Carrot: Don’t use pre-shredded carrots found in the produce aisle because they’re quite dry. Rather, freshly shred large carrots to yield approximately 1 and 1/2 cups (200g) of moist carrot shreds. Before measuring, give the shreds a rough chop so the pieces are finer and distributed nicely in each cupcake. And instead of carrots, you could even use shredded apple or zucchini.
- How to Make White Chocolate Carrots Garnish: In a microwave-safe bowl, melt 4 ounces (113g, usually 1 bar) of white chocolate in 20-second increments, stirring after each until perfectly smooth. Separate into two bowls (don’t worry about making them perfectly equal). Tint one bowl with orange gel food coloring, and the other with green gel food coloring. (Use gel food coloring because liquid food coloring can change the consistency. I like the brand AmeriColor—you can find their gel colors in the baking aisle of craft stores or give it a quick search online. I use and recommend this set of 6 colors or this set of 12 colors.) Pour into two squeeze bottles. On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, wax paper, or a silicone mat, drizzle the orange melted chocolate into a carrot shape, then drizzle the green melted chocolate onto the tops to make the carrot stems. Refrigerate the pan until the chocolate carrots are set, at least 15 minutes. The white chocolate carrots do soften up when they come back to room temperature, so if making these cupcakes in advance, make sure to keep them in the refrigerator until it’s nearly time to serve them.
- Adapted from Carrot Cake Cupcakes in Sally’s Baking Addiction cookbook. This version yields fewer and the cupcakes aren’t as dense.
I have never liked Carrot Cake and then I made this one so I could try out my new pans. This is so good that I made four 4inch pans and ate one while waiting to frost. It took all my strength not to eat anymore Thank you so much for changing my mind about Carrot Cake (even better than the restaurants).
I love this recipe and now I want to make it for my 1-year-old granddaughters birthday party but 3 of the party goers (kids) can’t eat anything with eggs in it. Any suggestions?
Hi Nancy, we haven’t tested this recipe without eggs, so we’re unsure of the best substitute. Let us know if you give anything a try! And if you’re interested, here are all of our naturally egg-free recipes.
Can these cupcakes be frozen and then frosted later? I have a big party coming up and am trying to prepare as many things in advance as possible. Thanks!
Absolutely! See recipe notes: Frosted or unfrosted cupcakes can be frozen up to 2–3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
How long do you recommend taking these out of the fridge prior to serving? These are a hit every time and I love them!
We’d recommend taking them out anywhere from an hour to a few hours before serving, depending on if you’d like them a bit colder or room temperature. Glad they’ve been a hit!
These are so perfectly moist and delicious! I use many of your recipes, but this one…oh my! I made them for a neighbor, and thankfully it made 13, one too many for the container, so I got to try one! Lucky me-will be adding this to the favorites list! I think would be perfect per recipe, but I ran out of veg oil, so I used a few tablespoons of orange olive oil.
Thanks for the clear directions and tips on room temp butter (had the cream cheese out but I forgot to take out the butter to bring to room temperature).
These carrot cake cupcakes were delicious and so light! I actually got 18 cupcakes from this recipe!
Cake base was amazing! However I followed instruction for the icing exactly and it came out as a soup! Putting in the fridge overnight did not help. I tried adding a bunch of tapioca sta, which thickened it up a little, but still way too runny. Any tps how to fix/avoid this problem?
I’ve red elsewhere to mix sugar with butter first, then work in cold cream cheese. Would you recommend this?
Hi Matt! Did you use full fat block style cream cheese? Make sure not to use cream cheese that comes in the tub as it is much too watery to make a frosting.
Hello! I’d love to try this recipe, it looks so good, but I have a question, which other frosting would go nicely on these carrot cake cupcakes?
Hi Colette! A vanilla buttercream would be an excellent option. Or, if you’re looking for something less sweet, Swiss meringue buttercream or not-so-sweet whipped frosting would also be great. Here are all of our frosting recipes if you’re interested in browsing further. Hope you enjoy the cupcakes!
These cupcakes are so delicious. The recipe is perfect. I’m making them for the second time but this time fur a baby shower. Can the cream cheese icing be tinted pink or blue using gel food colouring? If so, how much gel would you use. I’d like to make pink and blue icing.
Hi Anne! Yes, you can definitely tint the frosting with gel food coloring. You can add it a tiny bit at a time until it reaches the color you’re looking for!
I loved these carrot cupcakes! Thank you for the suggestion to shred and then chop the carrots-they really did come out more uniform. The muffins were very moist and had such a warmth to them with all the spices. I did add 1/8tsp of clove since I love that smell. Another winner!!
These are delicious however SO MUCH frosting! I will half the frosting recipe next time.
Your recipes are always great and tasty!! I was wondering if I can substitute buttermilk into the recipe and eliminating apple sauce. Just because I have a full litre of it. Thanks!
Hi Winnie, buttermilk will likely not quite be thick enough in place of the applesauce/sour cream/yogurt for this recipe. Here’s all our recipes that use buttermilk!
How do I adapt this recipe to make a 6” 2 layer carrot cake? Thanks for any help you can give.
Hi Leslie, this batter is the right amount for a 3 layer, 6 inch cake, so we’d recommend making your 2 layers and using the leftover batter for a few cupcakes.
Another winning recipe from this website! Followed instructions exactly. They tasted better the next day after keeping them wrapped in foil overnight.
These carrot cake cupcakes are outstanding!! I followed the recipe exactly using the dark brown sugar and the applesauce options. Everything I’ve ever made from Sally’s has been excellent – this website is my go to for almost everything. Your caramel apple turnovers and lemon meringue pie were also major hits in our house . Thank you!
Made this for my sister for her birthday and she loved it – she kept going back for seconds, and thirds!
I have made these twice using your suggested crushed pineapple instead of apple sauce. I also added raisins and finished them with you cream cheese frosting. Everyone always raves about them – they are amazing!! My daughter’s physician recently suggested she try going gluten free as well as mostly dairy free to help alleviate some issues she’s been experiencing. Well I decided to try this recipe using King Arthur’s Measure for Measure Gluten Free Flour. It looked to be the only thing I would need to swap out as she can still have eggs. I actually made a traditional batch and a gluten free batch back to back so we could have both options available at a brunch she was hosting. These were also amazing!! She can still have Kerry Gold Butter so I did use that for the Cream Cheese frosting but used Miyoko’s Vegan Cream Cheese instead of the real stuff. Again – wonderful!! Sorry for the long post but I am sure you must get “Glutten Free” questions all the time and I just wanted to pass this successful bake on to you along with a big thank you for all of your recipes!!
Thank you so much for sharing, Kandace! We’re so glad those adaptations worked well!
Delicious recipe! I use Sally’s recipes all the time! The nuts on top are an elegant, sophisticated topping. I would advise using the applesauce for an added delightful taste. However, my favorite thing about this recipe is the moistness of the cupcakes. TOTALLY RECOMMEND!
I made these & they were delicious. I will be making them again.
I love this recipe! I tried it for the first time and the cupcakes were perfect! The only change I made was using fresh ginger instead of ground and that was only because I had extra from another recipe. I love this website and I use it constantly thank you Sally!
This is a delicious recipe. Love the bold flavors also loved that it wasn’t a large batch recipe. I was able to get 15 cupcakes from the batter. Thank Sally for another “keeper” recipe.
One of the best recipes. Period.
It was sooo good! The icing was perfection! I got so many compliments on it, but I can’t take the credit, because the recipe was easy to make, and one of the most delicious desserts you could ask for. Plus, it has carrots and applesauce…so it’s healthy right?! 😉
Thank you for another awesome recipe!
My goodness, this is the best carrot cake recipe! Thank you for sharing it with us! Would one be able to use gluten free flour instead of regular? Not 100% sure if the flour loses certain properties when gluten is taken out .
Hi RayJ, we haven’t tested a gluten-free version of this cake, but it will likely result in a different texture and taste. If you decide to give it a try, let us know how it goes!
I made them with kinnikinnick gluten free all purpose flour and they turned out amazing. I used sour cream instead of apple sauce because I find it does a better job keeping them moist when using gf flour.
Great and easy recipe! I made it as a double layer 6 inch cake. I made it with apple sauce. If anyone is sensitive to oily taste, I recommend waiting a full 24 hours to serve the cake. I trimmed the tops of the cake and tried it – it was perfectly moist, but tasted oily to me. The next day, when I frosted the cake, the oil taste had mellowed and you could taste the spices and carrots. Delicious! Oh, and I made an orange white chocolate cream cheese frosting – went perfectly with the cake!
Where do you find the orange white chocolate cream cheese frosting recipe?
I have made these cupcakes three times already. They have been a hit each time.
Wanting to make them for a political reception, but would like to do mini cupcakes. Suggestions?
Hi Kay, see step 3 for mini cupcake baking instructions. Glad you love these carrot cake cupcakes!
I did not have regular vegetable oil, so I use olive oil – extra virgin to boot! I was concerned about it since olive oil is so different – but WOW! This was hands down the best carrot cake I have ever had! The olive oil adds a richness and depth that is hugely complimentary to the carrots, spices, and nuts (I used walnuts). I plan to make it again with regular vegetable oil to compare, but I highly recommend the olive oil – maybe even half olive and half regular. It was a revelation! Also, I made a 6-inch layer cake instead of cupcakes and I chose the applesauce option.
That’s very interesting about the olive oil. I don’t typically buy canola oil anymore, but was wary also of using olive oil. My husband had canola in his camping supplies so I’m going to go half and half,; I’m intrigued by the effect you liked with the evoo!
Made these for Easter and they were a hit! Perfectly light, sweet and moist.
I have been making the same carrot cake recipe for years from the Australian Women’s Weekly Cookbook and it was always a hit with the family but decided to give this recipe a try as a change. The Women’s Weekly Cookbook is being retired after making these! Like everything else I have cooked from this website, as long as you follow the easy instructions, its virtually fool proof.
These are unbelievable melt in the mouth moist. The mix of spices are perfect , Not overly sweet , although I have to admit I tweaked the frosting as I prefer a hint of lemon and I cut back the quantity in half and still had plenty
Added the pecans as suggested . Absolute winner.
So glad I found this baking website so far have cooked chocolate chip cookies banana muffins Big giant cinnamon Cinnabon rolls, ( cant believe people eat these for breakfast ! but still yum) now carrot cake muffins all ten out of ten. Great recipes and website . Thank you
Thank you so much for your kind feedback, Rach — we’re thrilled you’ve been enjoying our recipes!
First time making carrot cake and this recipe was pretty easy to follow and turned out fantastic. Thank you!
Fabulous recipe- thanks for the options between apple sauce, yogurt, sour cream or crushed pineapple ( I had sour cream on hand) and the add-ins. The cake is moist and flavorful with spice and the frosting is easy and perfectly covers 12+ cupcakes. Will be making this again!
Cupcakes were delicious, however the carrot chocolate topper did not turn out, when I added the gel food coloring the chocolate hardened. I used the witon piping bottle and the carrot was to thin. Any suggestions? Can you post a video?
Hi Melissa! You can see the topper portion of the video at the end of the video. I’m sorry to hear you had trouble with it– are you using baking/cooking chocolate? Chocolate sold in the candy aisle may not hold color very well.
I used the Ghirardelli’s white chocolate baking chips.what do you use?
I do not recommend chocolate chips– use chocolate in bar form, found in the baking aisle. I do like the Ghirardelli brand.