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    Home » Recipes » Breads » Muffins » Carrot Cake Muffins

    Last updated: Mar 11, 2022 by Melissa Riker · 3 Comments

    Carrot Cake Muffins

    Jump to Recipe

    Springtime favorite carrot cake in cupcake form! Perfectly spiced carrot cake with a creamy, delicious cream cheese frosting. Perfect for Easter dessert.

    carrot cake muffins with cream cheese frosting and crushed walnuts

    I love carrot cake in all forms, which is why I decided this past week to rework my favorite carrot cake recipe into these delicious carrot cake muffins! Not only are muffins a little bit faster and easier to make, but I can totally pass them off as breakfast despite that sweet cream cheese-y dollop of frosting on top! (Kidding, maybe!)

    carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese frosting

    Why I love this recipe

    These muffins are perfectly spiced, and oh my goodness that cream cheese frosting is the best ever. My kids devoured these guys in all of one day-for both breakfast and dessert!

    The key to making a moist, flavorful carrot cake is to use high-quality ingredients. I use unsalted real butter and either low fat or full fat cream cheese.

    Ingredients

    • sugar
    • vegetable oil
    • eggs
    • all-purpose flour
    • cinnamon
    • baking soda
    • baking powder
    • nutmeg
    • carrots
    • cream cheese
    • butter
    • vanilla extract
    • powdered sugar
    • walnuts

    Step by step

    1. Preheat oven and place paper liners in a muffin tin.
    2. Shred carrots and set aside.
    3. Blend together wet ingredients.
    4. Mix dry ingredients and slowly add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, mixing until just blended.
    5. Fold carrots into the batter.
    6. Pour into muffin tin and bake.
    7. Allow muffins to cool completely before mixing up the cream cheese frosting and topping.

    Variations

    • omit the nuts
    • add raisins to the batter
    • drizzle the top with maple syrup
    • adapt for gluten-free with a gluten free flour baking mixture
    • make dairy free by omitting the cream cheese frosting

    FAQs

    Can these muffins be made ahead of time?

    I actually recommend making it ahead of time! The flavors will intensify and the frosting will soak slightly into the cake so I prefer to make it the day before I’ll be serving it.

    How do you store these muffins?

    Wrap loosely and keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

    Can I use applesauce instead of oil?

    I have substituted half of the oil with applesauce with good results. I have not tried to use all applesauce.

    If you try this recipe, please comment and rate it below, I love hearing from you!

    Print
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    Carrot Cake Muffins

    ★★★★★ 5 from 2 reviews
    • Author: Melissa Riker
    • Prep Time: 10
    • Cook Time: 20
    • Total Time: 30 minutes
    • Yield: 10-12 1x
    • Category: dessert
    • Method: baking
    • Cuisine: American
    Print Recipe
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    Description

    Springtime favorite carrot cake in cupcake form! Perfectly spiced carrot cake with a creamy, delicious cream cheese frosting. Perfect for Easter dessert.


    Ingredients

    Units Scale
    • 1 cup sugar
    • ½ cup vegetable oil
    • 2 large eggs
    • 1 cup all-purpose flour
    • 1 tsp cinnamon
    • ½ tsp baking soda
    • ½ tsp baking powder
    • ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
    • 2 medium carrots

    For the frosting:

    • 4 oz cream cheese, softened
    • ½ stick butter, softened (4 tablespoons)
    • ½ tsp vanilla extract
    • 1 cup powdered sugar
    • ½ cup chopped walnuts

    Instructions

    1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners.
    2. In a food processor (or I use my Ninja Blender) shred carrots finely, set aside.
    3. In a large bowl combine sugar, oil, and eggs and mix until combined.
    4. In a separate bowl combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and nutmeg. Whisk to combine.
    5. Slowly add dry mix into wet mixture while mixing on medium speed.
    6. Mix until just combined-do not over stir.
    7. Fold in carrots and pour into muffin pan, filling each almost full.
    8. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
    9. Cool on a wire rack until room temperature.
    10. For the frosting combine cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl and mix on medium speed until creamy and uniform.
    11. Add vanilla and then slowly add powdered sugar.
    12. Frost muffins once completely cooled.
    13. Top with chopped walnuts if desired.
    14. Serve immediately or store covered and refrigerate up to 3 days.

    Keywords: carrot cake muffins

    Did you make this recipe?

    Share a photo and tag @thehappierhomemaker — we can't wait to see what you've made!

    So what do you think? Can I get away with these for breakfast? Let me know in the comments!

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    Comments

    1. Rachel says

      March 11, 2022 at 1:48 pm

      these were delicious, thank you for the recipe!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    2. Jack says

      August 19, 2019 at 1:37 pm

      tasted great, made them for my mom's birthday and she loved them

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    3. Melissa says

      August 04, 2019 at 3:06 pm

      So good!

      Reply

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    Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

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