Light & moist carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, and chopped walnuts!
Carrot cake
Recipe updated May 2020 – This recipe has been updated as it’s been on my blog for over five years now, and it needed it! I will put the original recipe below, but this newer and updated version is definitely better!
These cupcakes I must admit are utterly delicious – and amazing for a cake that is based on a vegetable. I realise that carrot cake is essentially a ‘classic’ cake these days, but with the idea of vegetable cakes growing and growing, it’s nice to not forget a good’un! This has to be one of my favourite cakes around.
If I’m being honest, I used to think it was icky when I was younger, why would you want vegetables in a cake?! But my young naivety has disappeared, and I now realise how amazing it is! Vegetables in cakes are ingenious and epic.
Carrot cake cupcakes
The cupcake is utterly delicious and packed FULL of flavour thanks to the spices, but is so incredibly light that sometimes I worry that the icing might weigh it down! However, the addition of cream cheese frosting works beautifully! Both are equally are light and delicious and beyond yummy.
I like to keep the cupcake mix plain, but you can easily add some walnuts into the mix as well as on top, or you can add raisins to the mix, or any other nut for that matter! It’s so easily adaptable.
Carrots
When grating the carrots, you don’t want too big chunks, but you don’t want the tiny grating you can do – like parmesan cheese. You want a standard grated carrot. The good thing about the carrot is it works so well to keep a cake moist, and it means the sponges don’t dry out in the fridge when topped with the cream cheese frosting!
Cream cheese frosting
With these delicious cupcakes, I just adore how light they are, and yet so moreish. I honestly can’t stop repeating myself! They are incredibly easy to make, and for the actual sponges, you don’t want to use a mixer! You just want a bowl and a spatula. However, for the frosting – I find using my stand mixer with the beat attachment the best!
If you want more information on the cream cheese frosting – I advise looking at the blog post I’ve done! It’s a full-on in detail post about cream cheese frosting, why it can sometimes go wrong, and so on! It’s dreamy once you get it right though and it’s the best! You can see from these photos how perfect they are!
Carrot cake recipes
I have a carrot cake recipe as well or even a gluten free carrot cake! I have endless carrot cake related posts on here that you won’t get bored if you like it as much as I do. I even have a carrot cake cheesecake that is SO GOOD! Literally… can someone be too obsessed?!
Piping tips and baking cups
As always, I used my favourite 2D Closed Star Piping Tip to decorate these, and I used the beautiful baking cups from Iced Jems! Enjoy! x
Carrot Cake Cupcakes!
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Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 125 ml sunflower oil
- 2 medium eggs (or large)
- 175 g grated carrots
- 125 g light brown sugar
- 175 g self raising flour
- 1.5 tsps mixed spice
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 150 g unsalted butter (room temp)
- 150 g icing sugar
- 300 g full fat cream cheese (cold)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Decoration
- Chopped walnuts
- Carrot decorations
Instructions
Cupcakes
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Heat oven to 180C/160C fan, and line a muffin tray with 12 cupcake/muffin cases, or use 12 Iced Jems baking cups on a flat tray!
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Grate your carrots (peel first and chop the ends off), and leave to the side. You need 175g of grated carrot to be the weight at the end.
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Whisk together the sunflower oil and eggs.
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Add in the grated carrots and sugar, and mix again.
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Add in the flour, mixed spice, ground ginger, and cinnamon, and bicarbonate of soda!
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Try not to over mix it – I use a large glass bowl with a spatula.
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Split the mixture between the 12 cupcake cases, and bake in the oven for 20-22 minutes!
Cream Cheese Frosting
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Beat your butter on its own for a few minutes to loosen it.
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Add in the icing sugar, and beat again – I beat this for about 5 minutes, to make it really smooth.
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Make sure your cream cheese doesn’t have any excess water – I find it best to add it to a bowl first just to make sure.
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Add in the cream cheese, and vanilla and beat. At first, it may look a little weird, but just keep on beating. I end up beating it for a few minutes – it can go through a lumpy stage first, but eventually, the lumps beat out and it’s smooth and thick!
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Once beaten – it should be lovely and thick.
Decoration
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Get your favourite piping tip – I use a 2D closed star piping tip!
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Pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes.
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Sprinkle over some chopped walnuts, and a carrot decoration!
Notes
- These cupcakes will last for 3 days, in the fridge.
- You can add 100g of walnuts or raisins to the cupcake mix.
- I use a 2D closed star piping tip to decorate!
- I use these cute baking cups for the cupcakes!
- The original recipe was:
- 125g light brown sugar, 175g self raising flour, 1 1/2 tsp mixed spice, 1/2 tsp ground ginger, 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda, 1 large egg, 115ml sunflower oOil, 175g grated carrots
- 150g unsalted Butter, room temperature, 300g icing sugar
ENJOY!
Find my other Cupcake Recipes on my Recipes Page!
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J x
© Jane’s Patisserie. All images & content are copyright protected. Do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words and credit me, or link back to this post for the recipe.
