Carrot Cake Cupcakes

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5 from 1 vote

These carrot cake cupcakes are the best! They are wonderfully moist and fluffy and topped with a cream cheese frosting.

Prep Time20

Cook Time25

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings:

Calories: 205kcal

Author: Alison

Ingredients

1 and ½ cups All Purpose Flour Measured Correctly*
1 cup Light Brown Sugar
½ tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Baking Powder
½ tsp Salt
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
¾ tsp Nutmeg
2 Large Eggs
1 and ¾ cups Grated Carrot (192g)
⅓ cup Canola Oil or Vegetable Oil
2 Tbsp Applesauce
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 tsp Distilled White Vinegar or Apple Cider Vinegar

For the Frosting:

1 Recipe Cream Cheese Frosting

For Decorating:

Chopped Walnuts Optional

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a cupcake tray with 12 cupcake liners.
Sift the all purpose flour into a mixing bowl and add the brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg to a mixing bowl and mix them together.
Add the eggs, grated carrot, oil, applesauce, vanilla extract and vinegar and mix into a thick batter. If it seems like there isn't enough moisture for the batter to come together, then leave the bowl for a minute or two and then come back to it and mix again. The carrots will release more moisture into the batter and it will come together perfectly.*
Divide the batter among the 12 cupcake liners and place into the oven to bake for 25 minutes.
Let them cool for a few minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
Frost with a cream cheese frosting and decorate with chopped walnuts.

Video

Notes

Measure the flour correctly using the spoon and level technique for measuring flour which is to spoon the flour into a measuring cup and then level off the top with a knife. Don't scoop it and don't pack it into the cup. Alternatively, weigh your flour on a food scale. Click 'metric' below the ingredients list to get the ingredient weight in grams.
The carrots must be freshly grated from fresh carrots. Don't use a store-bought pre-grated option as they will be too dry to work in this recipe. You can use a food processor to grate them or a box grater. The carrots don't need to be peeled, they can just be washed and the tops and ends cut off.
There is enough moisture in the batter from the grated carrots. It may seem like we've left an ingredient out when you start mixing the batter, but the freshly grated carrots release moisture into the batter which enables it to come together into a thick batter. If you start mixing and it looks like it won't come together, leave the bowl for a couple of minutes and then return to it and mix again. The carrots will release more moisture into the batter and it will come together.
The applesauce can be replaced with crushed pineapple.
The vinegar reacts with the baking soda and gives the cupcakes extra rise.
Chopped nuts are an optional add in to the batter. This recipe can accommodate up to a cup of chopped nuts. Pecans and walnuts are both great options.
Nutritional information is for the cupcakes only and excludes the frosting. The nutritional information for the cream cheese frosting can be found on the linked recipe.
Keep the cupcakes stored in the fridge (covered) for up to 5 days.

Nutrition