Classic carrot cake is a staple spring dessert, but if you don’t have the time (or energy) to make a layered cake, then these carrot cake cupcakes are the next best thing. These cupcakes perfect the warming, lightly-spiced cake and decadent cream cheese frosting in a shareable, bite-sized form. If you’re serving a crowd this Easter, then these cupcakes are the best (and easiest) way to make sure everyone gets plenty of this sweet-and-spiced, carrot-filled cake. Here’s everything you need to know:
The carrots:
We know it might be tempting to buy a bag of pre-shredded carrots, but we highly recommend grating your carrots by hand. We use a hand grater to finely grate our carrots for this recipe. If you don’t have a hand grater, you can also use a food processor that has a “grate” setting.
The frosting:
Just like in the classic carrot cake, we perfect these cupcakes by icing them with homemade cream cheese frosting. We add a pinch of cinnamon to our frosting for a warming, spiced touch, but if you’d rather skip it, feel free to leave it out.
Top tips for making carrot cake cupcakes:
— Variations. If pecans aren’t your thing, feel free to leave them out of the filling and topping. Have another nut you prefer, like walnuts? Use them instead.
— The secret to moist cupcakes. When mixing your batter, mix until just combined. If you overmix, you run the risk of your cupcakes being dry instead of moist and tender (and nobody wants that).
— How to top your cupcakes. We topped our cupcakes with toasted pecans, but you can leave them plain if you prefer, or top them however you like!
Storage:
Once made, store these cupcakes in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Made this? Let us know how it went in the comments below!