Description
Easy carrot cake cupcakes topped with cream cheese frosting are the best springtime dessert. Instead of making a whole carrot cake, make a batch of these cupcakes that are easy to serve and even easier to eat.
Ingredients
Scale
For the Cupcakes
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups shredded carrots, about 3 medium carrots
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
For the Frosting
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Chopped walnuts, for decoration (optional)
Instructions
How to Make the Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Line cupcake pans with cupcake liners and set them aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
- In a separate bowl with a hand mixer, combine the sugar, apple sauce, oil, and vanilla at medium speed. Slowly mix in one egg at a time until each egg is incorporated.
- Adjust the mixer speed to low and slowly add the flour mixture. Mix in the carrots and nuts.
- Fill the cupcake liners 3/4 full with batter. Bake them for 5 minutes at 375°F and then turn the oven down to 350°F. Finish baking the cupcakes for 13-15 minutes or until you can insert a toothpick into the middle of the cupcake and it comes out clean.
- Cool the cupcakes before frosting them.
How to Make the Frosting
- Beat the cream cheese and butter in a bowl until well combined. Adjust the mixer speed to low and slowly add the powdered sugar. Stir in the vanilla and mix just until well combined.
- Place a large star tip in your piping bag and fill the bag with frosting. Pipe the frosting onto your cooled cupcakes. Sprinkle the chopped walnuts onto the frosting.
- If you don’t have a piping bag, you can also spoon the frosting onto the cupcakes and use an offset spatula or dinner knife to spread it.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Desserts
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cupcake
- Calories: 309
- Sugar: 27g
- Sodium: 164.4mg
- Fat: 15.8g
- Saturated Fat: 9.5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5.2g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 39.6mg
- Fiber: 1.2g
- Protein: 3.6g
- Cholesterol: 40.2mg
Keywords: carrot cake cupcakes, easy carrot cake recipe