Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Get in the spring spirit with moist Carrot Cupcakes topped with the best cream cheese frosting and candy melt carrot toppers!

Up until this very moment, Pineapple Carrot Cake was my favorite veggies-for-dessert recipe. There’s just something about a moist spice cake loaded with chopped pecans and slathered with a tangy cream cheese frosting that I can’t resist.

But these cupcakes? They’re light. They’re moist. They’re loaded with raisi… I kid, I kid! Raisins in carrot cupcakes should be illegal. And I’m not looking for any legal woes here, so let’s just keep the ol’ unwelcome wrinkled snacks where they belong… covered in chocolate and baked into cookies.

Why You’ll Love this Recipe

• Soft, fluffy and moist.
• Perfectly spiced.
• Thick, luscious swirls of tangy cream cheese frosting.
• Candy melt toppers for a show-stopping dessert that does double duty as tabletop decor.

Key Ingredients You’ll Need

• Eggs: Four large eggs give the batter proper structure, and therefore firmness, lightness and stability to the cupcakes.  
• Baking powder & baking soda: You’ll need both for this recipe to give the cupcakes lift.
• Vegetable oil: Oil contributes moistness far more reliably in cakes than butter because it remains liquid at room temperature while butter solidifies. Therefore, cakes made with oil tend to rise a little higher with a more even crumb. Most importantly, using oil instead of butter ensures your cupcakes stay moist and tender for days. Coconut oil or neutral-flavored olive oil can be substituted.
• Spices: Cinnamon and allspice add the perfect amount of spice and depth of flavor.
• Carrots: Aim for finely grated pieces rather than chunky. To do this, use the small shredding side of a box grater.

Pro tip: Skip the pre-shredded carrots at the grocery store! While it’s tempting to reach for that bag to save time, the resulting cupcakes won’t be as moist or fluffy. Bottom line: Fresh is best!

How to Make Carrot Cake Cupcakes

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line a muffin tin with cupcake wrappers.
2. Beat together the wet ingredients. Using a stand mixer (or a hand mixer), combine the eggs, sugar and vegetable oil.
3. Mix together the dry ingredients. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice and salt in a medium bowl. Gradually add the flour mixture to the stand mixer, beating until combined, stirring in the carrots.
4. Fill the cupcake liners and bake. Fill the cupcake wrappers 2/3 full with the batter then bake the cupcakes for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove the cupcakes from the oven and transfer them to a rack to cool completely while you make the frosting and decorations.

Pro tip: Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before decorating! Rushing this process will cause your frosting to melt.

How to Make Pipeable Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients: Cream cheese, butter, vanilla extract and confectioners’ sugar.

1. Bring the cream cheese and butter to room temperature. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese until smooth then add the butter and vanilla extract and continue beating until well combined. Sift in the confectioners’ sugar and beat until smooth and creamy.
2. Cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled. Refrigerating the frosting will help to thicken and firm it up for piping.

I used a Wilton #2A for these cupcakes, but any large, round tip will work.

This frosting recipe makes enough to pipe tall, thick swirls onto the cupcakes. If you’d rather slather the cupcakes using less frosting, divide the frosting recipe in half.

How to Make Candy Melt Cupcake Toppers

The real star of the show is the adorable carrots nestled atop the cupcakes. Best of all, they take less than 10 minutes to make! 

Ingredients: Green and orange candy melts. While there are various brands of candy melts to choose from, Wilton has been my longtime favorite.

1. Line a baking sheet with wax paper. 
2. Melt the green candy melts per the package instructions. Transfer the melted mixture to a sealable plastic bag or piping bag. Cut off the tip and pipe the greens of each carrot. Melt the orange candy melts per the package instructions then transfer them to a sealable plastic bag or piping bag. Cut off the tip and pipe the shape of a carrot partially overlapping the bottom of each green stem (so the two parts stick together).
3. Transfer the baking sheet to the fridge for 5 minutes or until the candy melts have fully hardened. Using an offset spatula, carefully release each carrot from the baking sheet.

These can be made and stored in an airtight container for a day but I wouldn’t push it much past that.

Frequently Asked Questions

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