Moist carrot cake cupcakes are topped with creamy and tangy frosting. The recipe may be small, but it's a favorite. These mini carrot cake cupcakes are addictive and perfect during Easter or the holidays.
This is my absolute favorite recipe for mini carrot cake cupcakes! It is a mini version of my popular classic carrot cake and these are addictive.
To me, there is a time and place for a full-size classic carrot cake and mini ones. For larger gatherings, I love making a large carrot cake. But for entertaining at Easter, for Birthdays and holidays, and even picnics, I love whipping up these carrot cake cupcakes.
These carrot cake cupcakes are moist and fluffy with the perfect texture and have the most amazing cream cheese frosting. The contrast of flavors of carrot cake and cream cheese frosting cannot be beaten. I can assure you that once you try these mini cupcakes, you will be hooked.
Let me walk you through all the steps to make the best mini carrot cake cupcakes that everyone will love!
What You Will Need
This recipe for mini carrot cake cupcakes is very simple and only requires basic baking items (aside from the carrots and cream cheese frosting) to put it all together.
Carrot Cake
- Whole carrots (not pre-shredded). Shredding your own carrots when making carrot cake is so important. Don't buy pre-shredded.
- Eggs. I always use large eggs for baking.
- Oil. There is no butter in this recipe, just oil and it makes cupcakes moist and amazing. I like to use lightly flavored vegetable oil.
- Sugar. Granulated sugar is fine here.
- All-purpose flour. Try to find unbleached flour if you can.
- Vanilla Extract. Look for a high-quality extract.
- Cinnamon. Ground cinnamon and carrots are a favorite pairing.
- Baking soda
- Baking powder
Cream cheese frosting
- Room temperature cream cheese. You bring the cream cheese to room temperature by placing it on the counter about 1 hour before you are ready to use it.
- Room temperature unsalted butter. Same as the cream cheese above, place it on the counter about 1 hour before you are ready to use it.
- Powdered sugar. When making these cupcakes, I like to sift the powdered sugar to make sure there are no lumps. This is totally up to you.
- Vanilla extract.
How To Make Mini Carrot Cake Cupcakes
This is a straightforward recipe. You only need one bowl. Just follow all the steps below and you will be rewarded with amazing mini cupcakes.
- Preheat oven: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Prepare a mini cupcake pan. Here you want to add mini cupcake liners to the mini cupcake pan.
Cake Batter
- Whisk (or stir) all of your dry ingredients into a large bowl. This is the flour, sugar, baking powder, spices, and salt.
- Next, you will add your wet ingredients to the flour mixture and mix them all together. I like to use large eggs when making this recipe.
- Then you will shred your carrots on the fine side of a grater and then add that right into your batter.
- Then add your freshly grated carrots to your batter and mix until just incorporated.
- Add batter to mini muffin cups: Now you scoop up a heaping tablespoon of the batter and add that into the mini muffin liners.
- Bake: Bake the mini cupcakes at 350 for 12-13 minutes.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Add frosting ingredients to a bowl: In a medium bowl add your softened cream cheese, room-temperature butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla
- Mix: For about 2-3 minutes until it is all light and fluffy.
Tips
- Grate your own carrots and do not buy pre-shredded carrots. This step will ensure you have a delicious and moist carrot cake cupcakes.
- I also like to shred my carrots with a box grater and I use the fine shred side.
Variations
- Add nuts: This classic style of carrot cake cupcakes does not have nuts. If you like them, go ahead and add some to the batter.
- Change up the frosting: Use mascarpone instead of cream cheese for the frosting. I have tried it that way and it is delicious. Nothing changes in the recipe except that you swap out cream cheese for mascarpone.
Storing
- Storing your carrot cake cupcakes: These mini carrot cake cupcakes are moist and made with dairy so they will need to be refrigerated after the first day.
- Freezing Leftovers: These carrot cake cupcakes store well without any freezer burn issues for up to one month in the freezer (with the frosting!) To thaw, just remove it from the freezer into your fridge overnight to thaw gently.
FAQS
Carrot cake cupcakes are fine left out for the first day it is made but after that, it is best to store them in the fridge since they are made with dairy.
Oil is always preferred when making carrot cake cupcakes because it helps to keep the carrot cake moist.
More Cake Recipes
If you love these mini cakes, here are some recipes you may like:
More Mini Desserts
If you love these mini carrot cake cupcakes, here are some more mini desserts you may like:
Classic Mini Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Equipment
- 1 mini cupcake pan
- hand held mixer or stand mixer
Ingredients
Mini Cupcakes
- 1 cups unbleached all purpose flour
- 1 cups granulated sugar
- 1 ½ cups finely grated carrots
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ tablespoon cinnamon
- ½ tablespoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt if using regular salt, just use half the amount
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 ounces softened cream cheese room temperature
- ¼ cup unsalted butter room temperature
- ½ cup powdered sugar sifted
- ½ tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat oven to to 350 degrees
- Add mini cupcake liners to a mini cupcake pan and set aside.
- Add all your dry ingredients to a large bowl and mix well1 cups unbleached all purpose flour, 1 cups granulated sugar, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt, ½ tablespoon cinnamon
- Now add your vegetable oil and vanilla to your dry ingredients and mix it all in.½ cup vegetable oil, ½ tablespoon vanilla extract
- Next beat in your eggs one at a time into the mixture.2 large eggs
- Grate your carrots on the fine side of the grater. You do not press the shredded carrots into the measuring cup when measuring.1 ½ cups finely grated carrots
- Now add your freshly grated carrots to the batter and gently mix it in until incorporated.
- Scoop out a heaping tablespoon of batter into each mini cupcake well. Try to make each well has the same amount of batter and that the batter sits just below the top.
- Bake for approximately 12- 13 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle of the cupcakes.
- Take cupcakes out of the oven and let them cool on cooling racks for approx. 10 minutes.
- Once cooled you can frost your cupcakes right way.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- In a medium bowl add your softened cream cheese, room temperature butter, powdered sugar and vanilla8 ounces softened cream cheese, ¼ cup unsalted butter, ½ cup powdered sugar, ½ tablespoon vanilla extract
- Mix on medium speed for about 2-3 minutes until it is all light and fluffy
Frosting the cupcakes
- Add frosting to a piping bag or use an offset spatula and add frosting to cupcakes.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Values are estimates only.
See full nutrition disclaimer hereTried the Recipe? We Would Love To Hear From You In The Comments Below!
Cookie says
Looks delicious! Has anyone tried this as gluten free or used a sugar substitute such as monk fruit?
Melissa says
Hi. I have not tried that but if you do, let me know how it turns out!