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Sweet, simple, and delicious, vanilla Carrot Cake Cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. Light and fluffy carrot cupcakes made simply with freshly grated carrots, sweet brown sugar, and the real secret – double the vanilla. Each light carrot-filled cupcake is generously frosted with whipped cream cheese frosting. Carrot cake lovers, this moist carrot cake cupcake recipe is for you! These cupcakes are nothing short of delicious. Each sweet mini-cake can be decorated as desired for spring, Easter, Mother’s Day, or really any occasion!
There was a time a couple of years ago when I loved to bake and decorate layer cakes. Or at least I loved the idea of baking and decorating them. And don’t get me wrong, I still adore a layer cake, but they require more time than say, a cute personal-size cupcake.
This is the year I’m focused on cupcakes. They’re a bit easier, and sometimes even cuter. They taste just the same, but they’re fun – everyone loves a cupcake! Below are the ingredients for the best carrot cake cupcakes made from scratch.
Ingredients
- Melted coconut oil
- Brown sugar
- Plain Greek yogurt
- Large eggs
- Vanilla extract
- Grated carrots
- All purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Baking powder
- Ground cinnamon
- Ground ginger
- Kosher salt
Frosting
- Cream cheese
- Salted butter
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Warm milk
Kitchen Supplies
- Cupcake liners
- 12-cup muffin pan
- Toothpick
- Spatula
- Whisk
- Electric mixer
- Paddle attachment
- Baking sheet
- Medium bowl
- Wire rack
- frosting piping bag
Which brings me to the carrot cake cupcake. When it comes to carrots I’m much more familiar with the classic 2-layer, rather dense, overly sweet cake. It’s not something I’ve ever been overly excited about. And when I create a recipe, I want to be overly excited!
For that reason, I don’t have many carrot cake recipes. But do you all remember the carrot cake muffins I made a month or so ago? I ended up loving every last crumb of those muffins. Which got me thinking.
How could I create the perfect carrot cake cupcake? One that’s light, fluffy, and not too sweet, but just sweet enough.
A cupcake with no walnuts, no coconut flakes – just carrots. Simple and great with lots of wonderful vanilla flavor. That’s what I wanted. And of course a thick whipped cream cheese frosting was a must.
I kind of got excited. And when I’m excited, I usually go for it and don’t stop until it’s perfect. Yes, I’ve got the perfect carrot cake cupcakes! Well, they’re perfect through my eyes anyway, because this is not a classic carrot cake. These are not dense, and honestly, bland. They’re made with delicious flavors that help highlight the sweetness in the carrots.
The details
The cake batter is all made in one bowl. Simply mix the wet ingredients with the dry and that’s it. I prefer to use melted coconut oil for these. Then mix in brown sugar as the sweetener. I LOVE the rich depth of flavor brown sugar adds to baked goods. Now mix in the eggs, lots of vanilla, and plain Greek yogurt for extra moisture. Let someone lick the spoon of this yummy carrot cake batter!
For the dry ingredients, you’ll need all-purpose flour, baking powder, and baking soda. And then the spices, cinnamon plus ginger.
Mix everything together, then divide the batter between the cupcake molds. Fill these up about 3/4 the way, then bake until fluffy and rounded on the top. They’re going to smell so wonderful in the oven.
It’s the cinnamon with the vanilla that always does it for me, it’s the sweetest scent.
To make the frosting
Now it’s time to frost the cupcakes! The incredible flavor in this icing is the combination of cream cheese, butter, sugar, and a splash of both vanilla and milk. Beat that all together and you’ll have one of my favorite cake frostings.
No one ever knows there’s cream cheese in the frosting. But it’s what makes this frosting extra special and leaves everyone wanting more. And don’t forget the salt, it balances the fats.
When cooled, frost each cupcake. I like to decorate these with crushed dried strawberries, matcha powder, and fresh chamomile flowers. Sometimes I’ll do crushed chocolate cookie crumbs too (like an Oreo). My favorite combo though is the strawberry powder and matcha powder with a few chamomile flowers on top.
What I love most is how cute these turned out with minimal effort. They’re the perfect cupcakes to bake for both spring and summer and especially for upcoming Easter and Mother’s Day!
Make sure you have an airtight container to store these cupcakes over the next few days and to share with guests and friends! I hope your friends all give you star reviews.
Looking for other spring recipes? Here are some favorites:
Cream Cheese Swirled Cinnamon Carrot Cake Muffins
Strawberry Chamomile Naked Cake
Lemon Strawberry Dutch Baby with Ricotta Cream
Lastly, if you make these Carrot Cake Cupcakes, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Servings: 12 cupcakes
Calories Per Serving: 425 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup melted coconut oil
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/3 cups grated carrots
- 1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 2 sticks salted butter, at room temperature
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup warm milk
Instructions
- 1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Line cupcake molds with paper liners.2. In a large bowl, beat together the coconut oil, brown sugar, eggs, yogurt, and vanilla. Mix in the carrots. Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, and salt. Mix until just combined.3. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pan. Bake 25-30 minutes, until the tops are just set, and no longer wiggly in the center. Remove and let cool.4. To make the frosting. In a stand mixer, beat together the cream cheese until whipped. Add the butter and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the powdered sugar, salt, and vanilla. Beat until the frosting is light and fluffy, then slowly stream in the milk until your desired consistency is reached, you may not use it all.5. Frost each cupcake and decorate as desired. I love to dust the cupcakes with matcha powder, strawberry powder, and/or edible flowers.
This post was originally published on March 31, 2023
i loved it, but my cupcakes with the 1/2 tsp salt tasted salty and in your instructions for frosting says add salt with vanilla but no salt listed in ingredients for the frosting (only the cupcake). Always love your recipes. I will try again and either reduce the salt or try a finer variety if that 1/2 tsp is the correct amount.
Just a heads up- if you’re hoping to reduce the saltiness, then you generally want to use something coarser. More coarse means more air per teaspoon, while finer salt ends up being denser. Kind of like the difference between filling a vase with sand vs rocks- you end up with a greater volume of sand!
I’ve noticed this with a few of her recipes that use kosher salt. The kosher salt doesn’t seem to dissolve totally but stays in crystal form so the taste is more noticeable. In some recipes it works, not so much in others. And a desired level of saltiness is very much a personal preference I don’t care for the salty highlight in this particular recipe so I’ll use a finer grain next time.
Hi Catherine,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try! You can skip the 1/2 teaspoon of salt next time or use unsalted butter. I hope this helps! xx
Made these last night and I thought they were wonderful! The cupcakes were the perfect texture, moisture, and sweetness. My only comment on the recipe itself is that I think half the frosting recipe would be enough for 12 cupcakes. That being said the frosting is absolutely divine, so extra is not a bad thing! Thanks again for a great recipe!
Hey Caitlin,
Happy Sunday!! Love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks so much for making it! xT
Can’t wait to make these for Easter! If you don’t have coconut oil which oil can you substitute canola or vegetable oil?
Hi Sue,
Either of those would work well for you! Let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
Excellent! Made these for a dinner party and they were a huge hit. I loved that they aren’t overly sweet. Will make them again for Easter next week.
One comment about directions- it says to add the powdered sugar, vanilla and salt to the cream cheese and butter when making the frosting. There isn’t any salt in the ingredients list, however. Not that I think it was needed. Tasted great as is.
Thanks for the delicious recipes! They never disappoint.
Hey Janet,
Fantastic!! So glad to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks so much for making it! Sorry for any confusion, I will fix that! Have a great weekend:)
My husband has just been diagnosed as a type two diabetic. I’d love to make these for him, as carrot cake is one of his favorites. Can you recommend something in place of the powdered sugar in the frosting? Thank you in advance for any suggestions.
Hi Michelle,
So sorry, I have only tested the frosting with powdered sugar, I’m not sure what another good option would be. You could always skip the frosting and serve without:) xx
Hi Michelle! Try using Swerve Confectioners Sugar. I’ve used several Swerve products with good results. You get a bit of a cooling after taste but it isn’t that distracting.
I was wondering if you could use sour cream for this recipe instead of Greek yogurt?
Hi Angela,
Totally, that will work well for you! Let me know if I can help in any other way, I hope you love this recipe! xx
I want to make these but need the amount of salt in the frosting please. Thank you.
Hi Donna,
A pinch of salt is great:) Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xx
What does matcha taste like?
Hi Joy,
As matcha is made from shaded green tea leaves that are steamed, and then stone ground into fine powder, it is only natural that it has a grassy flavor that almost reminds you of spinach. I hope this helps! xx
Why did you plagiarize this response?
Why would you want to add grass flavor to cupcakes?!
Why would you target this blog for harassment on a daily basis?!
Is there anything you recommend to make these gluten free?
I made these tonight with my favorite cup 4 cup gluten free flour (king arthur) and they turned out perfectly.
Thanks for sharing Tiffany!!
Hey Rebecca,
You should be just fine using an equal amount of gluten free flour. Let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
What edible flowers do you use and where do you get them? Thank you! 🙂
Hi Regan,
I order from Gourmet Sweet Botanicals, I love ordering a variety of flowers, whatever I’m feeling that day! Let me know if you have any other questions! xx
This is not a comment (other than this recipe sounds awesome!) but a question. I see that in a lot of your recipes you use coconut oil and nut milks. My husband is allergic to tree nuts. Do you see any problem with swapping out coconut oil for another type of oil that is not nut related? If so, what do you recommend/suggest?
Hey Nancy,
Totally fine to use any milk you like and another neutral oil:) I hope you love this recipe, let me know if you give it a try! xx
Recipe sounds fabulous!! Would like to do 13×9 , do you think it would work? how long baking?
thanks
Hey Erin,
Sure, I don’t see why not! I haven’t tested that with this recipe, but I would start checking for doneness at 35 minutes. I hope you love this recipe! xx
What oven time would you do for like 6inch round instead of cupcakes?
Hi Georgia,
I haven’t tested that with this recipe, I would probably start checking for doneness at 40 minutes. Please let me know if I can help in any other way! xx
Love your carrot cake in HBH Super Simple, must try these too! They are so pretty. Xx
Thanks so much Kelly-Jane!! I hope you love this recipe! xx
Could you add unsweetened coconut flakes to the batter (coconut lover here!)? For the 1/2 cup of coconut oil – do you measure half a cup out then melt correct? Also not a baker 🤪
Corianne, I am wondering the same thing. The way it’s written, it should be melted and then measured, but you never know for sure.
You’re going to measure after melting:)
Hi Corrianne,
Sure, coconut flakes would be great!! You are going to measure the coconut oil after it has been melted. Please let me know if you have any other questions!! xx