Carrot Cake Cupcakes Recipe (barefoot contessa)

For my husband’s birthday this year,  he requested a carrot cake. Thinking we were originally going out of town the next day , I did not want a large cake leftover, I thought I would make cupcakes instead.

I was a little nervous about what he would think because let’s face it there is something about eating a cake with frosting in the middle versus just one layer of frosting.

To save some time too, I went ahead and looked for The Barefoot Contessa to help me through this, with her Carrot Cake Cupcakes Recipe. 

Carrot-cake-cupcakes

One of my favorite things about carrot cake is the dense cake topped off with a creamy cream cheese frosting. This carrot cake cupcake was lighter but still full of the flavor. 

One of the important steps in making good cake batters is creaming the eggs and sugar to the right consistency. You want this lemon yellow color. 

creaming-eggs-sugar in a mixer

WHAT IS INSIDE TRADITIONAL CARROT CAKE

  • Shredded carrots
  • walnuts
  • raisins

I was worried that the batter would not be enough to make 11 cupcakes, but once you add all the add-ins  that really make a carrot cake, chopped walnuts, raisins and shredded carrots it really bulks up this cupcake. 

carrot-cake-ingredients

Look at how dense, full of flavor and many textures of this carrot cake batter.

carrot-cake-cupcake batter mixed in a glass bowl

HOW LONG SHOULD YOU COOL CUPCAKES BEFORE FROSTING THEM

Once they are baked and cooled, I felt the recipe baked too long so I took them out about 10 minutes early.

Allow them to cool and frost with my favorite frosting, cream cheese frosting.

 easy-carrot-cake-cupcakes frosted on a cake platter, some unfrosted on table

How to make crispy carrot topping

To make the topping, simply cook some extra carrot shreds with butter and maple syrup. The perfect topping so people know exactly what they are eating.

carrot-cake-topping-idea

Thought I would show you a quick picture of the inside of the cupcakes, well what was left over the next day..

carrot-cake-cupcakes-recipe1

Next time you are thinking of making a carrot cake, make life simpler with these carrot cake cupcakes with Ina Garten Carrot cake 

Carrot-cake-cupcake-recipe close up
I halved this recipe and it worked out just fine. I used 2 regular eggs.

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Yield: 11
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

Carrot Cake in A cupcake is a delicious single serving idea.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 1/3 cups vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 3 extra-large eggs
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 3 cups grated carrots, less than 1 pound
  • 1 cup raisins
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts
  • For the frosting
  • 3/4 lb cream cheese, at room temperature (we used greek cream cheese)
  • 1/2 lb unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 lb confectioners' sugar

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F
  2. Beat the sugar, oil, and vanilla together in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.
  3. Add the eggs, 1 at a time.
  4. In another bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt.
  5. With the mixer on low speed, add 1/2 of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.
  6. Add the grated carrots, raisins, and walnuts to the remaining flour, mix well, and add to the batter.
  7. Mix with a spoon until well incorporated into batter.
  8. Spoon into cupcake liners
  9. Bake for 20-25 minutes checking after 20 minutes
  10. Allow to cool and make frosting
  11. Cream butter and cream cheese together. Add vanilla. Slowly add sugar until spreading consistency

Notes

Easiest way to shred carrots is in a food processor.

Adapted from Barefoot Contessa

Nutrition Information
Yield 11 Serving Size 1
Amount Per Serving Calories 1042Total Fat 63gSaturated Fat 20gTrans Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 39gCholesterol 139mgSodium 555mgCarbohydrates 115gFiber 3gSugar 90gProtein 9g

All information and tools presented and written within this site are intended for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and any nutritional information on stayingclosetohome.com should only be used as a general guideline.

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34 Comments

  1. My hubby loves carrot cake and carrot cake cupcakes are even better!! They look delicious. Time to make a shopping list to get the ingredients to make these.

  2. Hey Maria, These look so good! Can’t wait to try your recipe. I have my own but, love trying new ones. This just might be them. Pinned for later.

  3. Happy belated birthday to your husband! I love the idea of the carrot topping and will definitely try that next time. Thank you so much for sharing your recipe on the Inspire Me Mondays Link-Up. Have a great weekend!

  4. Becky thanks so much look forward to interacting as well.thanks for stopping by

  5. Yummy! I love carrot cake, and these look delicious. Thanks for sharing. I’m a new food blogger and found you on a link party. I’ve followed your social sites and hope we can connect on those. Can’t wait to read more of your blog. Becky

  6. Those look so good. I will have to make these for my house.

  7. These look so delicious! I’ll try these with my kids to get those veggies in.

  8. I’ve never been a big fan of carrots. However, those look really tasty!

  9. My husband would LOVE these!

  10. These look amazing. I love carrot cake!

  11. Your Recipes always look so great! These Carrot Cupcakes makes me want to Bake ( and I’m not even a Baker )

  12. I am such a carrot cake girl. These look amazing!

  13. These look delicious – Carrot Cake is one of my husbands favorite cakes.

  14. I really love carrot cake! This looks absolutely yum! Wish I could come over!

  15. Oooo yummy. This looks tasty. Great recipe.

  16. I never thought of portion control, we would just eat more than one if we have leftovers!!

  17. I make carrot cake cupcakes and cookies a lot, but never with a topping like that! I’ll definitely shred a little extra carrot next time!

  18. I agree…the best part about carrot cake (or cupcakes) is the decadent cream cheese frosting! I love that you added carrots, raisins, and walnuts too…full of flavor!

  19. I have a little boy who just loves carrot cake. I’ve never thought to make it in cupcake form. Good thinking!

  20. I love carrot cake, and the idea of doing them as cupcakes is brilliant!

  21. Carrot cupcakes sound so good! I’d love to have a fresh batch of these!

  22. I hate that I don’t really like carrot cake. I mean, it’s a real tragedy because these look delicious!

  23. Oooh these look yummy! I love that there’s fruit and veggies snuck into the sweets. Perfect for Easter too. Yum!

  24. Yummy Carrot cake is my favorite kind of cake. I love the cream cheese frosting.

  25. My mom would love these. I should surprise her with some.

  26. I love carrot cake! This recipe looks great!

  27. These look so amazing and the fact is carrot cake is my fave.

  28. YUMMY! I adore carrot cake and these cupcakes would be the perfect portion control solution. Must make them soon. I’m drooling for them.

  29. Minus the raisins I am all over these! Yummy

  30. I have such a soft spot for carrot cake though I have never thought of making them cupcakes. So fun. Will have to give these a try. Thanks for sharing.

  31. I can not even tell you how much I love these. I can not wait to try these.

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