Carrot Cupcakes {Carrot Cake Cupcakes}

Quick, easy spiced carrot cupcakes with cream cheese icing, homemade from scratch with simple ingredients. Soft and moist with classic carrot cake flavor.

I have eaten all variations of these cupcakes over the years. Ones with our without raisins, with or without nuts, even those with pineapple. Each of those ingredients bring something extra to your cupcakes, but my favorite is this version with pistachios. I also enjoy these Carrot Cookies and Carrot Cake I encourage you to try!

*Thank you Vital Proteins for sponsoring this post so that I can share this recipe with you. As always, all opinions are my own.*

How to make easy carrot cupcakes recipe from scratch?

• Mix together- Eggs, oil, applesauce, vanilla extract, brown sugar, and granulated sugar.
• Add in- Shredded carrots.
• Whisk together- Flour, collagen peptides, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon powder, allspice, and nutmeg powder.
• Dump dry mixture– Into the wet mixture and mix until combined.
• Pour batter– Into cupcake liners and begin preparing batter
• Bake- until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
• Prepare Icing- Add the cream cheese, butter, vanilla extract in a mixing bowl.
• Continue to mix– While adding powdered sugar
• Frost cupcakes- Once cooled.
• Sprinkle- Chopped pistachios and golden edible pearls on top. Enjoy!

Variations for moist carrot cake cupcakes

• Add raisins and nuts- You can add ⅓ cup of mixed raisins, pecans and walnuts into the batter, if you like. If you are really fond of nutty/chewy cupcakes, you can increase that quantity to ½ cup. Make sure to toss these “add-ins” in some flour so as to prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the cupcakes.
• Replace protein powder– With the same amount of all-purpose flour without any noticeable difference in these cupcakes.
• Add zests- For a bit of tang using lime, orange, or lemon. You’d be surprised at the tasty results.
• Change extracts- Instead of using vanilla, you can change the flavors by adding maple, almond, or lemon extract.
• Try different frostings- The cream cheese frosting is my favorite with this recipe, but you can also try Maple Frosting, Sugar Free Frosting, or American Buttercream Frosting.
• Try different toppings- If you aren’t a fan of pistachios, you can always use raisins, walnuts or various nuts, different kinds of sprinkles, or mini chocolate chips.

Tips and techniques

• Mix until smooth- You want to mix ingredients for about 2 minutes so that everything is smooth with no lumps.
• Don’t over-mix- Because this will make your cupcakes fall and make the texture chewy.
• Don’t put all the powered sugar in at once- Because you want to make sure it reaches the correct thickness. Start with 1 cup of powdered sugar and then work your way up to the desired consistency.
• How to thicken frosting- Add in more powdered sugar.
• How to make frosting thinner- Slowing mix in a Tablespoon of milk until you reach the desired consistency.
• Use Vital Proteins- to increase the nutritional value with a boost of vitamins and minerals without adding an unwanted odor or taste.
• How do I know when the cupcakes are done?– The cupcakes should begin to turn a golden brown and when a toothpick is inserted, it will come out clean. If the toothpick is still gooey, put the cupcakes back into the oven toa cook a few minutes more.

Storage of cupcakes

Fridge- Store in an air-tight container for up to 3 days.

Freezer- Store unfrosted in an air-tight container for up to 1 month. Thaw in the fridge and then frost as desired.

More cupcake recipes

• Filled Cupcakes (Stuffed Cupcakes)
• Gingerbread Cupcakes (With Cake Mix)
• White Wedding Cupcakes
• Rainbow Cupcakes (With Cake Mix)
• Brownie Cupcakes from Scratch

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Easy Carrot Cupcakes With Cream Cheese Frosting

Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

Cook Time: 20 minutes mins

Total Time: 30 minutes mins

Quick, easy spiced carrot cupcakes with cream cheese icing, homemade from scratch with simple ingredients. Soft and moist with classic carrot cake flavor.

Yield: 12 Cupcakes

Ingredients

Cupcakes

• ▢ 1 cup All-purpose flour, All-purpose
• ▢ 3 tbsp Protein powder, Optional
• ▢ ½ cup Granulated
• ▢ ½ cup Brown sugar
• ▢ 1 cup Carrots, Shredded not pureed
• ▢ ½ cup Oil
• ▢ ¼ cup Applesauce, Unsweetened
• ▢ 2 Eggs, Large
• ▢ 1 tsp Baking powder
• ▢ ½ tsp Baking soda
• ▢ 1 tsp Cinnamon powder
• ▢ ½ tsp Allspice
• ▢ ½ tsp Nutmeg powder
• ▢ ½ tsp Vanilla extract

Icing

• ▢ 4 cups Cream cheese frosting

Toppings/Decoration

• ▢ 2 cups Pistachios, Chopped
• ▢ ½ cups Golden edible pearls

Instructions 

• In a mixing bowl, add eggs, oil, applesauce, vanilla extract brown sugar and granulated sugar.
• Mix for two minutes until everything is smooth and there are no lumps.
• Add the shredded carrots and mix everything, until just combined.
• In a separate small bowl, whisk together the flour, collagen peptides, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon powder, allspice and nutmeg powder.
• Dump this dry mixture into the wet mixture and mix until just combined. The batter will be thick but don’t over-mix!
• Pour this batter into cupcake liners and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

While the cupcakes are cooling, prepare your cream cheese icing…

• Add the cream cheese, butter and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl. Mix everything until there are no lumps.
• Then, start adding powdered sugar, while continuing to mix. Start with 1 cup of powdered sugar and work your way up. More powdered sugar = thicker consistency of frosting. Less powdered sugar- Thinner consistency of frosting.
• Once the cupcakes have cooled down to room temperature, frost them in cream cheese icing and cover them in chopped pistachios and golden edible pearls. Enjoy!

Notes

• Read all my tips above.
• Leftovers can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days. 

Nutrition

Calories: 724kcal, Carbohydrates: 101g, Protein: 8g, Fat: 34g, Saturated Fat: 10g, Cholesterol: 68mg, Sodium: 211mg, Potassium: 380mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 87g, Vitamin A: 2465IU, Vitamin C: 2.6mg, Calcium: 93mg, Iron: 1.9mg

Course: Cupcakes

Cuisine: American

Calories: 724

Author: Abeer Rizvi