Soft, fluffy, and moist, these simple carrot cake cupcakes are not only easy to make but moorish too! If you are looking for something a little different this Easter and wanted to try something non-chocolate. than this might be a great alternative that you can make easily at home.
A winner recipe on any occasion and one of our family’s most favourite cakes. Made with ingredients you’ll most likely have on hand at home, they are not only super easy to make but tasty too.
The best part is the creamy cheese frosting with a hint of orange zest smooshed on top. That’s what makes a carrot cake so delectable.
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Simple Carrot Cake Ingredients
This recipe is made from our original carrot cake recipe (our family fave) and have just divided up into 12 cupcake sized portions.
Flour – A combination of self raising and plain flour. We’ve tried this with gluten free SR flour and plain flour and you wouldn’t notice the difference.
Sugar – soft brown is perfect
Spices – ground nutmeg and of course cinnamon
Carrot – grated by hand with a box grater is our preferred way. Sometimes if it’s cut by a food processor they can be a little large and coarse.
Sour cream – keeps the cake beautiful and moist and mixes in well with the olive oil and eggs.
Olive oil – the milder neutral tasting kind is lovely for cakes as it doesn’t have that real strong olive oil flavour.
Eggs – 2 for this recipe lightly whisked.
Bicarbonate of Soda – just a little bit.
Ingredients you’ll need for Cream Cheese Frosting
Butter – unsalted and at room temperature helps with blending.
Cream Cheese – packaged and purchased from the supermarket works perfectly. Philadelphia brand is great.
Icing Sugar – the super ingredient to make this a memorable frosting
Orange zest – zest is the best especially in this rich and creamy icing.
How To Make Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Combine all the wet ingredients together – eggs, sour cream and oil.
Add the sugar and spices and then both of the flours and mix well with a wooden spoon.
Finally fold in the grated carrot and pop into your cupcake or muffin pans. Fill up to around two thirds so they don’t overflow.
Do I need to line my muffin pan?
While lining your cupcake pan will make it easier to remove, it’s not necessary. As long as you’ve greased the patty holes well you should be fine. As an experiment I’ve use silicon muffin shells and placed them into a muffin tray. It was really easy to handle and they came away from the cakes easily.
I did remove them from the metal tray after a few minutes as the tray will retain the heat for a while and popped them out onto a wire rack to cool.
Simple Carrot Cake Cupcakes Recipe
Mini carrot cakes with creamy cheese frosting that are perfect and easy to make.
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup olive oil light or mild tasting
- ½ cup sour cream
- ½ cup brown sugar soft
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- ¾ cup Self Raising Flour or gluten free self raising flour
- ½ cup Plain flour or gluten free plain flour
- 1½ cups carrot grated
- 80 gms cream cheese softened
- 30 gms butter room temperature
- 1½ cups icing sugar
- zest of one orange
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Heat oven to moderate around 180 degrees Celsius.
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Prepare your cupcake tin. We used 12 silicon moulds that sit inside a muffin tin but you can use paper cupcake liners.
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Pop your eggs into a bowl and mix with a whisk lightly.
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Add your olive oil and sour cream and whisk together till combined.
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Mix in the soft brown sugar.
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Sift into the wet ingredients your two flours, spices, bicarb
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Finally fold in your grated carrot.
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Pop spoonful's into cupcake trays or moulds and pop into the oven for around 12 -15 minutes. Pop in a toothpick around the 12 minute mark to see how they are going as they may need up to15 minutes or slightly more depending on your oven.
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Allow to cook completely on a wire rack before icing.
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Place your butter and cream cheese into a bowl and mix with a hand mixter to soft and creamy.
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Add the icing sugar in half lots and beat till nice and fluffy.
These mini carrot cake cup cakes work beautifully with gluten free flours.
How to make your Cream Cheese Frosting
- Pop your room temperature butter, softened cream chees into a bowl and mix with an electric hand beater till nice and creamy.
- Add your orange zest and mix again.
- Now add half the icing sugar and mix in at a slow speed till combined. Then add the rest of the icing sugar and mix again.
How to Ice your Carrot Cake Cupcakes.
Allow those gorgeous little carrot cakes to cool completely before frosting. Smoosh the cream cheese icing over the top. The best way I’ve found is to use a butter knife and turn the cupcake while holding it in your hand..
Whys is my cream cheese frosting too runny?
- If you’re frosting is too warm it may loose it’s shape and ooze over the sides becoming too runny. (pop into the fridge for a few minutes till a little firmer.
- Or there may not be enough icing sugar in the mix to hold it’s shape.
- Your cupcakes are still too warm.
Other Carrot Cake recipes we love.
If you want to try a vegan carrot cake the you’ll want to try our Vegan Carrot Cake with Coconut Cream Frosting.
Simple Carrot Cake Cupcakes Video
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