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Best Carrot Cake Cupcakes (Easy + Moist!)

Name: Best Carrot Cake Cupcakes (Easy + Moist!)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 2 cups all purpose flour; 1⅓ cups granulated sugar; 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon; ½ teaspoon ground ginger; ¾ teaspoon ground cloves; 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg; 2 teaspoons baking powder; ¾ teaspoon salt; 1½ cups vegetable oil; 4 large eggs; 3 cups grated carrots; ½ cup salted butter (room temperature); 16 ounces cream cheese (room temperature); 3 cups powdered sugar (sifted); 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

byCaylie Crossland Updated:July 24, 2024

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These carrot cake cupcakes are everything you love about the classic cake: tender, moist, and deliciously spiced, but in cupcake form! The best part? You only need a handful of ingredients, a mixing bowl, and 30 minutes of time.

This post was originally posted in 2019.

close up of frosted carrot cake cupcake on white plate on top of a white washed wood board.

Confession time: I wasn’t always a carrot cake fan. Growing up, my mom’s catering business baked tons of them and everyone loved them… except me. I couldn’t find the appeal. A vegetable in a cake? Nope. I wanted a big slice of dark chocolate cake or maybe a gooey s’mores chocolate chip cookie bar but definitely not a vegetable!

When my mom suggested tweaking her carrot cake recipe to make cupcakes, I was originally hesitant but then thought, “Why not?”

Ohmygosh, I’ve been missing out! Who knew eating your vegetables could taste so good? 😉

What Makes These Cupcakes The Best?

My mom, Traci, has been baking and perfecting her carrot cake recipe for 30+ years! I have personally seen this recipe evolve over the last 20 years and, I gotta say, this version is THE BEST. Here’s why:

Flavor: These cupcakes are thoughtfully developed with many tests to find the perfect spice blend. Every bite is hinted with cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. You also have the natural sweetness from carrots and a tangy-sweet frosting to finish it all off!
Texture: The crumb of these cupcakes is unlike any carrot cake you’ve ever had! It’s soft, tender, moist, but never greasy.
Ease: Any baker can make these super simple cupcakes. The cupcake batter is mixed by hand and only requires one bowl! Though I recommend using an electric mixer to make the cream cheese frosting.
Time: Start to finish, your cupcakes will be out of the oven in 30 minutes or LESS! Then, while they cool, you can whip up your frosting and you should be ready to go. It’s one of those recipes that’s perfect for when you’re in a rush to get a delicious dessert that everyone will love!

overhead image of half of frosted carrot cake cupcake on white plate.

Here’s What You Need To Make Carrot Cake Cupcakes

There’s no need to worry about room temperature ingredients with this recipe! These cupcakes are an oil-based cake and take just seconds to mix up. Here’s everything you need:

All-Purpose Flour
Granulated Sugar
Spices
Baking Powder
Salt
Vegetable Oil
Large Eggs
Grated Carrots

⊹ Tip for Success! ⊹

I know it may be tempting, but the bags of pre-shredded carrots you can buy at the grocery store are not worth the extra couple of minutes it saves you! Store-bought carrot shreds are dry and tough, they will still be dry and tough in your cupcakes. Buy some large carrots, a peeler, and a box grater!

Expect A Thick Batter

While cupcakes traditionally have thinner batters and muffins are a bit thicker, these cupcakes actually need that thick batter to be able to hold in all of that carrot-y goodness! Thankfully, it’s not something that’s hard to deal with.

Simply mix together the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Then, in a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and oil. Combine the two and stir with a rubber spatula. Fold in the carrots and you’re ready to bake!

To get each cupcake the same size, we used a large cookie scoop!

A Classic Cream Cheese Frosting

We’re using our classic 4 ingredient cream cheese frosting! Which we always pair with some of our favorite desserts like banana cake, red velvet swirl loaf, and peach layer cake. Even sandwiched between carrot cake cookies!

Though, since cream cheese frosting is thinner than buttercream frosting, it can be a little difficult to work with! With our recipe, it’s a little bit easier to work with than you may be used to. You can even use our no-fail cream cheese frosting for an even thicker, easier to use frosting!

Whether you decide to pipe or just spread the frosting onto your cupcakes, it will always be delicious.

close up of two frosted carrot cake cupcakes on white plate.

Can I Make A Dairy-Free Frosting?

Of course! Since the cupcakes themselves are naturally dairy-free, you can make your own dairy-free frosting. If you have access to it, a dairy-free cream cheese and plant-based butter will give you the same flavor profile as regular cream cheese frosting.

You can also make our meringue topping to frost each cupcake, as this requires only egg whites, sugar, and water!

More Cupcakes You Will Love:

When you make these Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting, leave a comment down below! We love hearing from you and answering any questions you might have! Also, be sure to tag us on social media and hashtag it #BakersTable.

Happy baking!
x, Caylie

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