Carrot cake cupcakes are moist, fluffy and topped with delightful cream cheese frosting. Enjoy this carrot cake cupcake recipe any time of the year.
In the past, I always used to think that I didn’t like carrot cake. That maybe it was too close of a cousin to zucchini bread to actually be good. {You read that right, I’m not a zucchini bread fan}.
However, last year I decided to test the waters with a healthy mini carrot bundt cakes.
Let me just say, I had multiple co-workers asking for the recipe. It was so good that I almost didn’t want to take it to work to share with anyone.
Those mini carrot bundt cakes totally changed my feelings on carrot cake. So, I knew I had to do another take on the carrot cake recipe this year.
Plus, since Easter is fast approaching, I thought it would be fun to top the cupcakes with cute Easter chicks. Burken thought they looked like Peeps, but either way, they’re Easter ready.
Carrot Cake Cupcakes: the base
Let’s get this out there right now. These carrot cake cupcakes are in no way healthy. But dang, are they delicious!
These cupcakes use all the butter, sugar and regular flour possible. No whole wheat, butter or sugar alternatives here.
Just cream the butter and sugar together until nice and fluffy. Because it’s sometimes hard to tell what that actually means, definitely check out this wish-I-could-eat-the-screen picture of creamed butter and sugar.
Add in the flour, some milk {which, if you’re using regular milk, I have a nice note for you in the recipe of something to be careful of}, and of course carrots.
I sifted my flour for these carrot cake cupcakes. Typically I pass on sifting, because it seems like just one extra unnecessary step, but this time I’m telling you to go that extra mile.
Sifting flour creates a lighter, airier cupcake that you just won’t be able to stop eating.
If you decide to not sift your flour, you could walk away with a slightly denser cupcake. There’s honestly nothing wrong with that, but be forewarned about what kind of cupcake deliciousness you’ll end up with.
Of course, we have to add in those shredded carrots for our carrot cake cupcakes. I actually ended up buying matchstick carrots and pulsing them a few times in a food processor to break them down.
This made sure that the carrot pieces were nice and small and would soften when baked.
Carrot cake cupcakes: the frosting
Another confession. I did not make my own cream cheese frosting for these carrot cake cupcakes.
I do not look down on canned frosting. Today was one of those days where canned frosting definitely came in handy.
I chose cream cheese frosting because, well, it always seems to be that perfect pairing with carrot cake.
Before we go turning the frosting yellow for our adorable Easter chicks {or Peeps}, we’re going to spread a thin layer of white frosting on the cooled cupcakes.
Pour some green sprinkles on to a plate and roll the outside of the frosted cupcake in the sprinkles. This will give a grass type look to the cupcakes.
Make sure you do this right away though. The frosting dries pretty quickly, and you want to make sure all those green gems stick perfectly.
Making the Easter Chicks
Now that we’ve frosted and created our “grass” on the carrot cake cupcakes, we’re moving on to the cream cheese chicks.
With some drops of yellow gel food coloring, our canned cream cheese frosting is ready for Easter.
I used a similar frosting decorator to this one, which made making these Easter chicks super simple.
All you have to do is load the colored frosting into the center tube that’s been fitted with 1A decorating tip {don’t worry, it says it right on the outside of the tip what size it is}.
Squeeze out the frosting into a small blob {for the lack of a better term}, and then another, smaller, taller blob on top. Think of it like you’re creating a snow man, but be thankful that snow has finally gone.
Easter chick decorating
Now that the body is done, it’s time to make these blobs look like little chickens.
You can either dot two eyes with black icing pen, or you can use black or brown sprinkles and stick them in like eyes.
Next, dot a nose with orange icing pen. Now you’re already halfway through making your yellow blobs look like happy Easter chicks.
Finally, draw two lines towards the outside left of the bottom blob to look like feet. Do the same thing on the outside right side.
And there you have it! Easter chicks created from canned frosting, some sprinkles and icing pens.
Carrot Cake Cupcakes for the win
While our Easter chicks are almost too cute to eat, we of course have to enjoy a nice big bite of these moist and tender carrot cake cupcakes.
If you’re having difficulties actually eating the cupcake because the frosting is so tall, try cutting off the bottom half of the cupcake and sandwiching it between the frosting.
This works really well to get a great balance of frosting and cupcake.
Do you have Easter plans already? Will you be bringing some of these adorable Easter chick carrot cake cupcakes with you? Let me know in the comments!
Looking for more Easter inspired treats? Check these out:
Overnight Banana French Toast Bake
Mini Cranberry Orange Bundt Cakes
- 2 cups all purpose flour sifted*
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 ½ Tbsp. cinnamon
- 1 tsp. ground cloves
- 1 tsp. cardamom
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 1 cup {2 sticks} unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- ½ cup Silk unsweetened vanilla cashew milk**
- 1 ½ cups shredded carrots***
- 2 {16 oz} containers cream cheese frosting****
- Yellow gel food coloring
- Orange icing pen
- Black icing pen
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Preheat oven to 350° F and line cupcake tins with 12 cupcake liners.
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In a medium-size bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and salt. Set aside.
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In a large bowl, cream the butter. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy.
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Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add in the vanilla and beat until smooth.
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Add 1/3 of the flour mixture and beat until combined. Pour in half of the milk and mix until smooth. Repeat with flour and milk, ending with the flour. Beat until smooth.
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Fold in the shredded carrots.
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Spoon the batter into the prepared cupcake tins and bake for 23-25 minutes until cupcakes are golden brown on the top. Remove to a wire rack to cool.
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Once the cupcakes are cooled, spread a thin layer of the frosting on the cupcake. Sprinkle the green sprinkles on a small plate, and roll the outside of the frosted cupcake in the sprinkles. Repeat with remaining cupcakes.
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In a medium-sized bowl, add the remaining cream cheese frosting. Add about 25 drops of yellow gel food coloring and stir until all frosting is yellow.
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Spoon the frosting into a pastry or large Ziploc bag fitted with a Wilton 1A tip.
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Pipe a {for lack of a better term} blob in the center. Pipe another, smaller, blob on top. Sort of like you’re making a two-tier snowman.
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Dot two black eyes with the black gel pen in the center of the top blob.
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With the orange gel pen, dot a small nose, and draw two small lines at the bottom of the big blob to look like little feet.
*Note: Sifted flour will yield a lighter, fluffier cupcake. Unsifted flour will yield a denser cupcake.
**Note: if you decide to use dairy milk, lessen your baking time by about 3-4 minutes. The natural sugars in milk will brown the cupcakes faster.
***Note: if using matchstick carrots, either chop them up, or run them through a food processor so that they’re smaller and soften while baking.
****Note: you’ll probably only need about 1 1/2 containers of frosting, depending on how heavy handed you are with the Easter chick bodies.
<3 So adorable! Will totally try this 😀
Aww, so glad you think so! Can’t wait to hear what you think when you try them out!