Good news! As my previous stint as a pastry chef, I have tried literally. every. single. carrot cake. recipe. on. the. planet. Just so many, I couldn’t count!
Here is an adaption of 2-3 of my favorites that have some important qualities to making the best carrot cake! Plus it’s in a miniature version, so it’s extra cute and sweet. These Mini Carrot Cake Cupcakes would be perfect for a birthday get together and perfect for an Easter brunch! Best of all, once you make them, you will never use another carrot cake recipe. This one is the best!
Let’s make these Mini Carrot Cake Cupcakes! Scroll to the bottom for the printable recipe and read on for tips and tricks.
How to Make the Best Carrot Cake
The best carrot cake should ALWAYS include these ingredients: carrots (of course), in addition to walnuts, coconut, raisins and pineapple. These ingredients will give the carrots a bit more texture and crunch and a complexity to the flavor. It is heavenly.
The perfect carrot cake should also include buttermilk. The buttermilk adds a touch of tang that is delicious!
Although this is a complex set of ingredients, the perfect ingredients make the perfect carrot cake. Beyond the ingredients, making this cake is just a simple sift, mix, bake!
To Frost or Not to Frost. That is the question.
I am a classic Carrot Cake maker and thus always include a cream cheese frosting. Also, I just adore cream cheese frosting! However what frosting you choose is totally up to you. You could go with a Vanilla & Honey Buttercream. These mini carrot cakes are also flavorful enough to stand on their own, without the frosting.
You will notice that I make my cream cheese frosting with much less sugar than your average person. That’s because in general, I think frosting is too sweet. And I think you lose the flavor of the cream cheese by adding too much sugar. My recipe does make the frosting less stiff, but since these cupcakes once frosted, should be kept in the fridge, it should not cause any concern.
Mini Carrot Cake Cupcakes Recipe
Ingredients
For the Carrot Cake Cupcakes:
- 2 cup flour
- 2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3 eggs
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil peanut oil if you want something more flavorful
- 1 1/2 cup white sugar
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups shredded carrots
- 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
- 1 8 oz can crushed pineapple in juice
- 1 cup raisins I use golden raisins
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 1/2 block 4 ounces full fat cream cheese
- 4 ounces unsalted butter
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line with cupcake liners or grease and flour 2-3 cupcake tins.
- First start with your dry ingredients. Add the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon to a sifter and sift to blend the ingredients into a bowl.
- In a separate bowl, combine your eggs, buttermilk, oil, sugar and vanilla extract. Blend only until even.
- Add your flour blend, one cup at a time, to your egg and sugar mixture. Mix only until evenly blended.
- Combine your shredded carrots, coconut, walnuts, pineapple, and raisins in a bowl.
- Last, fold your carrot blend into your cake batter. Continue to fold until evenly blended.
- Pour into your cupcake tins and fill to around 2/3 full. This carrot cake does not rise like blueberry muffins would. But I still recommend only filling to 2/3 full.
- Bake at 350°F for around 22 minutes. Check them with a toothpick before removing them from the oven. Your toothpick should come out crumbly and not too wet.
- Allow to cool completely before frosting.
- To make the cream cheese frosting, combine your frosting ingredients (butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract and salt) into a Kitchen-Aid mixer or use an electric mixer to beat until evenly blended on medium speed.
- Scrape the sides as you mix. Your finished cream cheese frosting should feel whipped and perfectly blended.
- Add 1-2 tablespoons of frosting to each cupcake. If you are feeling fancy, shave with a microplane a touch of carrot to the top.
- Serve immediately or store in the fridge for 2-3 days. Cream cheese frosting can be store separately in a lidded container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
So have you made these Mini Carrot Cake Cupcakes? And what dishes are you going to serve these Mini Carrot Cake Cupcakes with? Tell us in the comments! Or better yet, tag us online @popshopamerica if you make this recipe, so we can see your creations!
And happy baking!
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My kids love carrot cake. I can’t wait to try these carrot cake cupcakes. Thanks for the recipe.