Carrot Cake Cupcakes—moist, tender, and perfectly spiced—topped with sweet cinnamon-cream cheese frosting. Finish with pecans!

Carrot Cake Cupcakes on a cake stand

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

My family loves these Carrot Cake Cupcakes, and everyone who tries them loves them! My dad’s favorite dessert is Carrot Cake, so after years of perfecting my recipe, I turned it into these moist, tender, and flavorful cupcakes.

For “testing,” I’ve made them more times than I can count, and my toddler asks for them (or the cake) every Sunday when we bake together.

As much as I love the cake, these cupcakes are easier—especially with little hands adding ingredients faster than I can keep up!

Process shots-- images of the wet and dry ingredients being prepped in seperate bowls

How To Make Carrot Cake Cupcakes Tips

  1. Use room-temperature ingredients for the best texture. Warm eggs mix in better, making the cupcakes lighter.
  2. Measure flour correctly—spoon it into the measuring cup and level it off. Too much flour makes cupcakes dense, while too little makes them wet and sunken.
  3. Stir just until mixed. Overmixing makes cupcakes heavy.
Process shots-- images of the wet and dry ingredients being combined and mixed together and then added to a prepared muffin pan to bake

How To Know When Cupcakes Are Done

  • How to tell if they’re done: Cupcakes should be slightly domed with golden-brown tops.
  • Toothpick test: Stick a toothpick in the center—if it comes out clean or with a few soft crumbs, they’re done. No toothpick? Lightly press the top—if it bounces back, they’re ready.

Quick Tip

#1 Tip: Grate carrots by hand for ultra-moist cupcakes. Store-bought shreds are too big and dry!

Carrot Cake Cupcakes in the pan

Cream Cheese Frosting

This frosting is soft, tangy, and sweet—the perfect match for these spiced cupcakes!

Frosting Tips:

  • Use room-temp ingredients. Set out butter and cream cheese an hour before baking. Cold ingredients won’t mix smoothly, leaving lumps.
  • Add powdered sugar slowly. Adjust to taste—more makes it sweeter and firmer, less keeps it tangier and softer.

Quick Tip

This recipe makes plenty of frosting for generously topped cupcakes. For less, halve the recipe or use extras as a fruit dip or spread on waffles or pancakes!

Variations

Switch Things Up

  • Gluten-Free: Use gluten-free flour instead of regular flour.
  • Nuts or Raisins: Put in some chopped nuts or raisins for extra crunch and sweetness.
  • Pineapple: Mix in some crushed pineapple to make the cake moist and fruity.
  • Switch Up The Frosting: Add a plain Vanilla Frosting, Vanilla or Chocolate Buttercream Frosting, or a Peanut Butter Frosting.

More Tasty Desserts

4.89 from 17 votes

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

These easy Carrot Cake Cupcakes are flavored with just the right spices and topped with sweet cinnamon-cream cheese frosting. A sprinkle of pecans adds the perfect finishing touch!
Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Servings: 12 cupcakes

Equipment

  • Muffin pan lined
  • Mixer

Ingredients 
 

  • 1-1/3 cups flour spooned and leveled
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1-1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 2/3 cup light brown sugar packed
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/4 cup applesauce unsweetened
  • 3/4 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil or canola oil
  • 1-1/2 cups finely shredded carrots see note 1

Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter room temperature
  • 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese room temperature, do not use low fat
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans optional

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 350℉. Line a 12-cavity muffin pan with cupcake liners and set aside. Set out the cream cheese and butter to get to room temperature.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves. Set aside.
  • In a separate large mixing bowl, use a mixer to beat together the brown sugar, granulated sugar, and eggs until combined. Mix in applesauce and vanilla extract. With the mixer running at low speed, slowly pour in vegetable oil and mix until combined. Finely shred the carrots on the small side of your grater and measure to ensure you have 1-1/2 cups. Add the dry ingredients right on top of the wet ingredients and the shredded carrots right on top of that. Stir until just combined, be careful to not overmix.
  • Pour batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling each cup about 3/4 full. You should use all of the batter between the 12 cavities. Bake in preheated oven for about 18–22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Cool in the muffin tin for several minutes; transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.

Frosting

  • Using a hand mixer, cream together the room temperature butter and cream cheese on medium-high speed until completely smooth. Mix in vanilla extract, salt, and cinnamon. With mixer running on low speed, slowly add powdered sugar and beat until well blended and smooth. If you'd like a thicker frosting, add a bit more powdered sugar (see note 2). Chill the frosting while the cupcakes finish cooling.
  • Frost completely cooled cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and if desired, sprinkle crushed pecans on top.

Video

Recipe Notes

Note 1: Shredding carrots by hand can be a pain, but you’ll be amazed at how much moisture you get. Pre-shredded carrots in the grocery store are much too large and dry for these cupcakes and the results won’t be the same.
Note 2: This makes a lot of frosting, enough for each cupcake to have as much frosting as pictured in these photos. If you’d like less frosting, you can halve the recipe.
Storage: Store cupcakes in the fridge, tightly wrapped with plastic wrap, or in a cupcake holder for up to 4 days. The finished and frosted cupcakes don’t freeze and thaw well, but you can freeze unfrosted cupcakes.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 286kcal | Carbohydrates: 30.5g | Protein: 2.7g | Fat: 17.7g | Cholesterol: 51.3mg | Sodium: 27.8mg | Fiber: 0.9g | Sugar: 18.9g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Meet Chelsea


Hello, and welcome to Chelseaโ€™s Messy Apron! Iโ€™m Chelsea, the recipe developer, food photographer, and writer behind the site. Iโ€™m passionate about creating simple, reliable, and delicious recipes that anyone can make.

Thanks for stopping byโ€”I hope you find something delicious to make!

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4.89 from 17 votes (3 ratings without comment)

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72 Comments

  1. Alana says:

    Hi! Can I make a 2 layer 9 inch cake with this recipe? If so, what bake time would you recommend?

  2. Brooke says:

    5 stars
    I keep coming back to this recipe, year after year! My family all raves over these cupcakes! They make the perfect dessert for Easterโ€ฆDelicious and moist. Only change I make is substituting the vegetable oil for melted butter. Thanks Chelsea!

    1. Chelsea says:

      I am so thrilled to hear this! Thanks so much Brooke! ๐Ÿ™‚

  3. Jeannine says:

    Please add me to your e-mail list. thank you.

  4. Kaitlin says:

    How do I adjust the cook time to make mini cupcakes?

  5. Mary Beth says:

    These were way too spicy. They tasted more like spice cake than carrot cake. Wont make them again.

    1. Chelsea Lords says:

      Shoot, so sorry to hear that! We love the amount of spice in these! If you did ever want to try again, you can always reduce spices to your personal preference

  6. Ann Oโ€™Connell says:

    I have found sifting powdered sugar before adding it to the rest of the ingredients eliminates any lumps and creates a very smooth frosting. You may want to mention that option.
    Love the recipes!!

  7. Barb says:

    I love your presentation for the cupcakes! I plan on making them for Easter. Can you tell me what tip you used to make your frosting so beautiful? I love the swirl and the height! Thank you

  8. Brenda says:

    5 stars
    I have made these at least twenty times for co-workers, husband and friends and it was always asked for a repeat especially the icing, some even took home the extra icing. Thank you

    1. Chelsea Lords says:

      Yay! I am so happy to hear how big of a hit these are! Thanks Brenda! ๐Ÿ™‚