Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

These Carrot Cake Cupcakes are heavenly and light. Each piece of moist cake is elegantly decorated with cream cheese frosting and sugar pearls. This springy dessert completes an Easter meal beautifully.

How to Make Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Firstly, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and place the liners into the cupcake tins.

2. Secondly, prep your carrots by washing, peeling, and grating them. If you prefer to have noticeable pieces of carrot in the cake, use a medium size grater. If you’d like the carrot pieces to blend completely into the batter, use a smaller grater.

3. Finely chop the pecans and drain the crushed pineapple. Set them to the side.

4. Next, in a medium sized mixing bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.

5. In a larger mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to blend the eggs, sugar, vegetable oil, buttermilk, and vanilla together. (An electric hand-held mixer works just fine.)

6. (If you do not have buttermilk in your refrigerator, you can easily make it with milk and white vinegar. For one cup of milk, stir in one tablespoon of white vinegar. Let it sit for about five minutes and then mix it into the wet mixture above.)

7. Slowly add the dry mixture into the wet, a little bit at a time.

8. Once your dry and wet mixtures are fully incorporated, fold in the grated carrots, drained crushed pineapple, and chopped pecans with a spatula.

9. After that, fill each cupcake liner 2/3 of the way with the batter. Use a small ladle and a spatula to easily scoop the batter into each liner without creating a mess.

10. Bake in the oven for fifteen-twenty minutes until the tops of the cupcakes are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.

Therefore, PLEASE do not open the oven or take the cupcakes out to peek at them before fifteen minutes has passed, they will deflate as you can see in the top picture.

Deflated cupcake that was taken out of the oven too early.

Cupcake that was cooked just right.

11. Lastly, place the cupcakes on a cooling rack and frost once cooled.

Frosting

My favorite frosting to decorate carrot cake cupcakes with is cream cheese. It is rich and oh so delectable.

Check out my Cream Cheese Frosting recipe!

I chose to decorate the cupcakes with an elegant rosette pattern using a Wilton 2D piping tip. I wanted the cupcakes to have a touch of whimsy and refinement so I added sugar pearls.

Spotify Playlist

This playlist is an outstanding selection of classical repertoire with themes based on Holy Week culminating with Easter. Enjoy!

Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

3-4 large carrots (grated, about 2 cups)
1/2 cup pecans (chopped)
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup buttermilk
8 ounces pineapple (crushed)
sugar pearls (for decoration)

*This recipe will make 16 jumbo sized cupcakes or 24 regular ones

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Firstly, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and place the liners into the cupcake tins.
Secondly, prep your carrots by washing, peeling, and grating them. If you prefer to have noticeable pieces of carrot in the cake, use a medium size grater. If you'd like the carrot pieces to blend completely into the batter, use a smaller grater.
Thirdly, finely chop the pecans and drain the crushed pineapple. Set them to the side.
Next, in a medium sized mixing bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
In a larger mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to blend the eggs, sugar, vegetable oil, buttermilk, and vanilla together. (An electric hand-held mixer works just fine.)
(If you do not have buttermilk in your refrigerator, you can easily make it with milk and white vinegar. For one cup of milk, stir in one tablespoon of white vinegar. Let it sit for about five minutes and then mix it into the wet mixture above.)
Slowly add the dry mixture into the wet, a little bit at a time.
Once your dry and wet mixtures are fully incorporated, fold in the grated carrots, drained crushed pineapple, and chopped pecans with a spatula.
After that, fill each cupcake liner 2/3 of the way with the batter. Use a small ladle and a spatula to easily get the batter into each liner without creating a mess.
Bake in the oven for fifteen-twenty minutes until the tops of the cupcakes are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.

Therefore, do not open the oven or take the cupcakes out to peek at them before fifteen minutes has passed, they will deflate.
Lastly, place the cupcakes on a cooling rack and frost once cooled.