Simply Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Carrot Cake Cupcakes – yum! Cream Cheese Frosting – double yum! Carrot cake cupcakes are one of those treats in our house that we make when we have too many carrots on hand. This time of year, we end up finding a lot of carrots at the farmer’s markets, a bunch hiding in our garden and at Costco. 🙂 It’s just how the Florida growing seasons roll!

So, for our Sunday family dinner, we make chicken parm for dinner and these cupcakes for dessert. It was not a light dinner, but it was for sure, a tasty one (if you want a lightened up version of these cupcakes, try these).

These cupcakes were so easy to make, too. We made the cupcake part in the am after breakfast so they’d have plenty of time to cool, and then frosted them right before it was time to eat them. Super easy, super delicious!

Thanks for another great recipe, Sally’s Baking!

Simply Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Servings: 12 cupcakes
Time: 40 minutes + cooling time
Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

Cupcakes:

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup avocado oil
1 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/3 cup plain yogurt, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups peeled, shredded, and coarsely chopped carrots (about 3 large carrots)

Cream Cheese Frosting:

8 ounces full-fat block cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners.
Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg together in a large bowl. Set aside. Whisk the oil, brown sugar, eggs, yogurt, and vanilla extract together until combined, and then whisk in the carrots. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold or whisk together until completely combined. Batter will be slightly thick.
Pour the batter into the liners, filling only about 3/4 full to avoid spilling over the sides. Bake for 21–23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.
Meanwhile, make the frosting: In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter together on high speed until smooth and creamy. Add confectioners’ sugar, vanilla extract, and salt. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds and then switch to high speed and beat for 2 minutes. Cover and refrigerate the frosting as the cupcakes finish cooling.
Frost cooled cupcakes and enjoy!