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Carrot Cake Cupcakes come together in one bowl, with no fuss! These are super moist and tender, full of cozy spices, fresh carrot, and chopped pecans. Pipe swirls of a silky Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting on top, and watch these disappear off the plate.
Table of Contents
- Why you’ll love these Carrot Cake Cupcakes:
- Ingredient Overview:
- Recipe Substitutions & Variations:
- How to Make Carrot Cake Cupcakes:
- Serving + Storing:
- Expert Baking Tips:
- FAQs:
- Special Tools:
- More Cupcake Recipes to Love:
- Watch the cupcakes come to life:
- Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe
Why you’ll love these Carrot Cake Cupcakes:
- Moist, Flavorful Cake – The cake is moist, tender, and perfectly spiced, with the most delicious cream cheese frosting of all time!
- Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting – This frosting alone is worth the price of admission! It’s silky and not too sweet – with incredible depth of flavor.
- Easy Recipe – The batter comes together in no time, and everything can be assembled quickly!
Ingredient Overview:
As always, the full recipe with measurements & directions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this post. Use the table of contents (back at the top, below the first image, to navigate).
- All-purpose flour – Spoon your flour into the measuring cup, then level it with a flat utensil for best results, or use a scale. Scooping the measuring cup directly into your flour will lead to too much flour, and a potentially dry bake.
- Sour Cream – Use full fat sour cream, at room temperature.
- Carrots – Grate the fresh carrots as finely as possible by using either a box grater or food processor. Use your extra carrots in my Carrot Cake Cookies!
- Butter – I always use salted butter because in my experience, it lends the best flavor, but feel free to use unsalted butter if that’s what you prefer.
Recipe Substitutions & Variations:
- Sour Cream – Use full fat plain yogurt in place of the sour cream in a pinch.
- Nuts – Feel free to use walnuts instead of pecans, or omit the nuts entirely if desired.
How to Make Carrot Cake Cupcakes:
Step 1: Brown the Butter. Melt the butter over medium heat, then continue cooking, stirring constantly. The butter will get foamy, then turn golden, then start to turn brown and develop a nutty/caramely aroma.
Once it reaches a deep golden color, remove from the heat and pour into a heat-safe container to come to room temperature.
Step 2: Make the Cupcake Batter. Beat together the eggs and sugar. Whisk in the oil, sour cream, and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients, milk, carrots, and pecans. The batter will be quite thin – this is normal!
Step 3: Bake. Fill two cupcake pans with paper liners. Add about 50 grams of batter to each well (or fill about 3/4 of the way full). Bake as directed in the recipe card below.
Step 4: Cool. Let cupcakes cool on a wire rack until completely cooled, before frosting them!
Step 5: Make Frosting & Frost Cupcakes. In a large bowl, beat together brown butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla, milk, salt, and a pinch of cinnamon.
Pipe swirls of frosting with a Wilton 2A tip, and swoop the centers with an offset spatula to create the same look as I did.
Serving + Storing:
Enjoy the cupcakes immediately once frosted! Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. Bring to room temperature for 15-30 mins before serving. Love Carrot Cake? Try my Pineapple Carrot Cake too!
Expert Baking Tips:
- Grating the Carrots – Be sure to grate your own carrots, rather than using the pre-grated you find in a bag at the store. They are drier and can create a drier cake. Be sure to use the really fine holes on the box grater too – you don’t want big chunks of carrot in your cake.
- Food Processor – Use the blade on your food processor to grate the carrots. This method is quicker and easier than using a box grater.
- Oven Thermometer – An oven thermometer will tell you if your oven is actually running at the temperature you set it to. Your oven may not be accurate. Accurate oven temperature is crucial for most bakes, so I leave an oven thermometer in at all times to keep an eye on my oven’s calibration.
- Kitchen Scale – A food scale is the best way to make sure your flour is at the proper weight, since amounts will vary SO widely based on how you measure it, as well as the measuring cup you use, as they are not standardized.
- Make Ahead – Browning the butter can be done up to 2 weeks ahead and stored in an airtight container in the fridge. Let it soften back to room temp before using, as you normally would with butter, if it has completely hardened.
FAQs:
Yes, you can do either!
Yes! You can freeze them with or without the frosting, in an airtight container, for 4-6 weeks. Thaw in the fridge overnight.
Special Tools:
- Piping Bag & Tip – I used a piping bag and a Wilton 2A tip to frost the cupcakes.
- Food Processor – A food processor with the grater blade makes shredding carrots a BREEZE!
More Cupcake Recipes to Love:
- Better-Than-Bakery Vanilla Cupcakes
- Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes
- The Only Chocolate Cupcakes You’ll Ever Need
- Maple Bacon Cupcakes with Candied Bacon
- Peach Pie Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Mini Vanilla Cupcakes with Brown Butter Frosting
- Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes
Watch the cupcakes come to life:
Did you make this recipe? Leave a comment & star rating!
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Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp dark brown sugar, packed, 190 grams
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar, 75 grams
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil, 112 mL
- 3 tbsp full fat sour cream, at room temperature , 40 grams
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 and 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp all-purpose flour, spooned & leveled or weighed out , 183 grams
- 1 and 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp + 1/8 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 and 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 2/3 cup milk, at room temperature , I use 2%. 160 mL
- 1 and 1/2 cups finely grated carrots, see note, About 3 large carrots -150 grams (weigh this out for the best accuracy!)
- 1/2 cup pecans, chopped, Can sub walnuts or omit entirely. 50 grams
For the Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1 cup salted butter, cubed, 226 grams
- 12 ounces cream cheese, cold
- 4 and 3/4 cups powdered sugar, 540 grams
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- pinch of cinnamon
Instructions
- Brown the Butter: Brown your butter ahead of time so it can chill in the fridge. In a nonstick pot or pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Turn the heat to medium-low and continue cooking the butter – stirring constantly. The butter will get foamy, then turn golden, then start to turn brown and develop a nutty/caramely aroma. Once it reaches a deep golden color, remove from the heat and pour into a heat-safe container. Let it chill in the fridge so that it can come back to the consistency of room temperature softened butter. Make-Ahead Tip: This can be done up to 2 weeks ahead and stored in an airtight container in the fridge. Let it soften back to room temp before using, as you normally would with butter, if it has completely hardened.1 cup salted butter, cubed
- Prep: Preheat your oven to 350° F. Line two cupcakes pans with paper liners.
- Start the Cupcake Batter: Add the eggs to a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer for 30 seconds on medium high speed. Add sugars and beat on medium high speed until the mixture is pale and thick, 1 minute. Whisk in the oil, sour cream, and vanilla.2 large eggs, at room temperature , 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp dark brown sugar, packed, 1/3 cup granulated sugar, 1/2 cup vegetable oil, 3 tbsp full fat sour cream, at room temperature , 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Finish the Cupcake Batter: Add the dry ingredients and begin folding in with a silicone spatula until halfway incorporated, then pour in the milk, grated carrots, and chopped nuts. Continue gently folding together just until the last streaks of flour disappear into the batter. If there are a few lumps, that's fine.1 and 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp all-purpose flour, spooned & leveled or weighed out , 1 and 1/4 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp + 1/8 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp salt, 2 tsp cinnamon, 1 and 1/2 tsp ground ginger, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp ground cloves, 2/3 cup milk, at room temperature , 1 and 1/2 cups finely grated carrots, see note, 1/2 cup pecans, chopped
- Bake: Add 50 grams of batter to each cupcake well (about 3/4 of the way full, if you're eyeballing this). Bake for 13 to 16 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center will pull out moist crumbs, and the top of a cupcake should spring back when gently pressed with a fingertip. Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting them.
- Make the Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting: Add the brown butter and cream cheese to a medium mixing bowl and cream on high speed with an electric mixer until well combined, about a minute. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla, and mix until creamy. If it's not coming together, add 1-2 tsp of milk. Taste, and add a pinch of salt and or cinnamon to taste (don't skip these flavor makers!). Frost the cooled cake with a butter knife or offset spatula and create swoops and swirls with the back of a spoon for a pretty look.1 cup salted butter, cubed, 12 ounces cream cheese, cold, 4 and 3/4 cups powdered sugar, 2 tsp vanilla extract, pinch of salt, pinch of cinnamon
- Serve + Store: Sprinkle the top of the cupcakes with chopped nuts, if desired. Serve the immediately, and store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
“Absolutely delightful and exquisite.”
Thank you so much, Luz!