Moist, fluffy, and perfectly spiced small batch carrot cake cupcakes topped with a toasty brown butter cream cheese frosting.
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small batch carrot cake cupcakes
Hello hello! ☺︎ I’m here today to bring you these moist, fluffy, perfectly spiced and delicious carrot cake cupcakes that are topped with a creamy, flavorful and toasty brown butter cream cheese frosting. If you’re looking for a small dessert to celebrate with this Easter, these cupcakes are perfect for you. Like all my other cupcake recipes, this recipe makes enough for 6 cupcakes but of course you can scale it up if needed.
why you’ll love these small batch carrot cake cupcakes:
- They’re perfectly spiced: a mixture of cinnamon, ginger and cloves brings the perfect amount of spice to these cupcakes.
- They’re super moist: Sour cream and the moisture from the carrots helps to make these carrot cupcakes super moist and delicious.
- No mixer required: the cupcake batter comes together with no mixer. You could also beat the frosting by hand if you’re looking for a bit of an arm workout ☺︎
expert baking tips
Weigh your ingredients:
My recipes are all written in grams because it is the most accurate way to bake. When you use a kitchen scale, you ensure that your baked goods turn out as close to the written recipe as possible. Plus, the cleanup is way easier when using a scale! I will provide standard cup measurements but please note that I have not tested the recipe using cup measurements and therefore can not guarantee your recipe will come out how mine did. Here is my favorite kitchen scale.
Be careful when mixing the cupcake batter:
It is super important to not over-mix the cupcake batter or you will end up with tough and chewy cupcakes. Only mix just until all of the ingredients are cohesive.
Use room temperature ingredients:
This is super important for allowing the batter to come together smoothly. You’ll want to take your ingredients out of the fridge about an hour before baking to allow them enough time to come to room temperature.
Keep a close eye on the cupcakes while they bake:
Cakes and cupcakes like to go from under-baked to over-baked super quickly so it is important to keep a close eye on them. I’d recommend that you start checking on the cupcakes around 15 minutes.
A note on oven temperature:
Ovens vary and fluctuate in temperature and might not always actually be at the temperature they claim to be at. If you love to bake like I do, I highly recommend getting an oven thermometer. They are super helpful for letting you know when your oven might be lying to you! I use this one.
ingredients for small batch carrot cake cupcakes –
carrot cake cupcakes:
- All purpose flour: for structure.
- Baking powder & baking soda: for making the cupcakes rise.
- Ground cinnamon, ginger and cloves: for flavoring. I recommend adding in all of the spices but I know it can be uncommon to have ginger and cloves. If that’s the case for you then you can definitely replace the ginger and cloves with more cinnamon.
- Salt: for balancing and bringing out the sweetness of the cupcakes. We will add a touch of salt to both the cupcakes and the cream cheese frosting
- Vegetable oil: for making the cupcakes moist and tender. You can use any other neutral oil, such as canola if that is what you have on hand.
- Light brown sugar: for sweetening the cupcakes, adding moisture, and adding depth of flavor thanks to the molasses in brown sugar.
- Egg: for binding the batter, adding moisture, and leavening.
- Sour cream: for moisture. I recommend full-fat sour cream for the best texture.
- Carrot: the star of the show of course! Make sure you are using fresh carrots and not pre-shredded carrots.
brown butter cream cheese frosting:
- Cream cheese: the base of any good cream cheese frosting.
- Unsalted butter: for thickening up the cream cheese frosting. You can substitute in salted butter, just be sure to omit the extra salt!
- Powdered sugar: for sweetening and thickening up the cream cheese frosting.
- Vanilla: for flavor.
- Salt: to enhance the flavor.
- Salted caramel sauce: optional for putting on top of the cupcakes. Here’s my super easy, super delicious homemade salted caramel sauce.
how to make small batch carrot cake cupcakes
Here are a few images of the process of making these cupcakes. You can find the full recipe at the end of the blog post 🙂
- Wash, peel, and grate the carrots.
- Then whisk in all of the wet ingredients.
- Mix in the dry ingredients, then divide the batter between six parchment liners and bake.
- Make the cream cheese frosting and spread it on the cupcakes once they’ve cooled to room temp. Enjoy!
small batch carrot cake cupcakes recipe q&a
can I double this recipe?
Definitely – just double all the ingredients and distribute the batter between 12 cupcake liners. Please be sure to use grams for the best results.
can I make these cupcakes ahead of time?
Like most baked goods, these cupcakes will definitely taste the best on the day that they are baked. Because the frosting is made of cream cheese, it does need to be stored in the fridge. You can store the frosted cupcakes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
tools and ingredients
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other recipes you might enjoy:
did you make this recipe?
I’d love to see and know your thoughts! please leave a comment and review below, and tag me on instagram @freshbeanbakery. #freshbeanbakery
Small Batch Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Ingredients
Carrot Cake Cupcakes
- 90 g all purpose flour (¾ c.)
- ¾ tsp. baking powder
- ¼ tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp. ground ginger
- ¼ tsp. ground cloves
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 75 g carrot peeled & shredded (¾ c.)
- 65 g vegetable oil (⅓ c.)
- 100 g light brown sugar (½ c.)
- 1 egg room temperature
- 60 g sour cream room temperature (¼ c.)
Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
- 56 g unsalted butter room temperature (4 tbsp.)
- 110 g cream cheese room temperature (½ c.)
- ⅛ tsp. salt
- 180 g powdered sugar (1 ½ c.)
- ½ tsp. vanilla extract
- 6 tbsp. salted caramel sauce for garnish, optional
Instructions
Carrot Cake Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C. Line a muffin tin with six parchment liners.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt. Set aside.
- Wash and peel the carrots. In another small bowl or in a small food processor, grate up the carrots and put them into a medium sized mixing bowl.
- To the carrots, vigorously whisk in the oil, sugar, egg, and sour cream until well combined.
- Add in the flour mixture and use a rubber spatula to fold the mixture together just until no flour streaks remain.
- Distribute the batter evenly between the six parchment liners. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcakes comes out with only a few moist crumbs.
Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
- While the cupcakes are baking, brown the butter. Add the butter to a small saucepan and set it over medium heat. Stir the butter occasionally until it bubbles up, turns amber in color, and develops little brown specks. Set aside at room temperature until you're ready to frost the cupcakes.
- Once the cupcakes have fully cooled to room temperature, make the frosting. With a hand mixer or with a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the cream cheese, brown butter, and salt until light and fluffy (~1 minute)
- Beat in half of the powdered sugar until it's combined, then beat in the other half. Add in the vanilla and beat for an additional minute, until the frosting is light and fluffy.
- Add the frosting to a piping bag fitted with your piping tip of choice.* To make the little flowers on top I used a round piping bag and make a divot in the center for some salted caramel sauce. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Please note that the nutrition facts are only an estimate and may vary based on different brands of ingredients and any substitutions made.
These carrot cakes are delicious and perfectly spiced! I doubled the recipe and used a gluten free flour mix and they still turned out moist and delicious.
Thank you so much, so happy to hear they turned out well with a gf flour mix! 🙂
omgg i love the idea of the floral design on these cupcakes!! instead of salted caramel, i used walnuts for the middle 😀 they are sooo delicious and soft
Thank you so much Celine, I’m so happy you liked them!! ☺︎
This was an amazing recipe to try, I just know they’ll be a hit for Father’s Day, this is THE recipe for carrot cupcakes!
Thank you so much Mariel! ☺︎
Can you use gluten free flour for this?
Hi! I haven’t tried it but I don’t see why a 1:1 gf flour (such as King Arthur’s or Bob’s Red Mill’s) wouldn’t work! I’d love to know how it turns out if you do try it 🙂
I’m picky about carrot cake and I loved this recipe. Love the delicate cake and the frosting recipe is just right. Will definitely make it again. Might get wild and add raisins.