Best Carrot Cake Cupcakes . . . spiced with cinnamon and topped with brown sugar cream cheese frosting, these cupcakes are simply perfect!
Classic carrot cake gets a fun update with these moist carrot cake cupcakes. In a “grab and eat” form, they are perfect for serving at any type of gathering. And just about everyone loves a good carrot cake!
I don’t make carrot cake nearly often enough, and I forgot how much I love it. These cupcakes reminded me. They have a moist crumb and just the right amount of warm spices. Delicious!
In my world, homemade cream cheese frosting is an absolute must when it comes to carrot cake. Adding a little brown sugar to the tangy cream cheese frosting adds a richness and depth of flavor that is unbeatable!
I used a star tip to pipe my frosting onto the cupcakes. You can just spread the frosting on if you prefer. Spreading takes less frosting, so you can cut the frosting recipe in half if you opt for that method.
Handy supplies for making carrot cake cupcakes:
- Hand Mixer: I’ve used this Cuisinart mixer for over 10 years, and it is still going strong. Love it!
- Cupcake Liners: I like to use plain white cupcake liners to bake in, then place the cupcakes in fun liners after they cool.
- Food Processor: You can use a box grater to shred the carrots, but a food processor does make the job much easier. I have this food processor.
- Decorating bags and tips: I like to use a 1M star tip for my frosting. This is a great basic cake decorating set that is super affordable.
HOW TO MAKE EASY CARROT CUPCAKES
- PREP – Wash, peel, and grate the fresh carrots. Line 18 muffins with paper liners. Preheat oven to 350°. Let the cream cheese soften on the counter.
- DRY INGREDIENTS – In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
- WET INGREDIENTS – Beat the sugar, eggs, and oil in a separate bowl at medium speed for 1-2 minutes or until foamy. Mix in the sour cream, vanilla, and carrots. Gently stir in the flour mixture.
- BAKE – Fill the paper liners half full. Bake at 350° for 18-20 minutes.
- COOL – Let sit in the pan for a few minutes, then carefully dump out onto wire racks to cool completely.
- FROSTING – Combine cream cheese, butter, and brown sugar in a bowl and beat until smooth. Let sit for 5-10 minutes or until the brown sugar dissolves completely. Beat in vanilla, salt and enough powdered sugar to make a thick frosting. Use a star tip and piping bag to cover the top of the cupcakes with frosting.
Tips for making irresistible carrot cake cupcakes:
- Beat your wet ingredients well, but be gentle when you add the dry ingredients. You just need to stir them in till they are barely combined. Over-mixing can cause tough cupcakes.
- For best results, don’t overfill your cupcake liners. They should only be half full. After baking, the cupcakes will be flat. Don’t worry – that just makes them easier to frost!
- When making the frosting, leave enough time for the brown sugar to dissolve before you add the powdered sugar. You don’t want a grainy frosting!
VARIATIONS:
- For a tasty crunch, stir chopped pecans or chopped walnuts into the batter.
- Ground nutmeg is a tasty addition.
- You can add raisins to the batter – just don’t tell me about it. Haha!
- Feel free to use brown butter cream cheese frosting or your favorite cream cheese frosting recipe.
Give these carrot cupcakes a try. I’m sure that after just one bite you will fall in love with them!
MORE FAVORITE DESSERTS:
- Chewy Coconut Bars
- Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream Recipe
- Favorite Carrot Cake Recipe
- Pound Cake Cupcakes
- Chocolate Mousse Layer Cake
- Best Cream Cheese Frosting
- Carrot Cookies Recipe
Carrot Cupcake recipe published September 2018, post updated February 2025.
Carrot Cake Cupcake Recipe with Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
- ½ tsp + 1/8 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp + 1/8 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup vegetable oil or canola oil
- ¼ cup sour cream light is fine
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups finely grated carrots
Frosting
- 8 oz cream cheese softened to room temperature
- ½ cup butter softened
- ⅔ cup brown sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla
- dash of salt
- 3 cups powdered sugar more or less
Instructions
- Wash, peel, and grate carrots. Place 18 cupcake liners in muffin tins. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Whisk together flour, soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat sugar, eggs, and oil with an electric mixer at medium-high speed till thick and foamy, 1-2 minutes. Add the sour cream, vanilla, and carrots and mix well. Add the dry ingredients and stir till just blended.
- Fill paper lined cupcake pans half full of cupcake batter. Bake at 350° for 18-20 minutes. Let cool in the muffin tin for 3-5 minutes, then place cupcakes on a wire rack to cool completely.
- For frosting, beat together cream cheese, butter, and brown sugar till smooth. Let sit for 5-10 minutes till brown sugar dissolves completely. Add vanilla, salt, and enough powdered sugar to make a frosting thick enough to pipe.
- Transfer frosting into a piping bag. Use a large star tip to frost cooled cupcakes.
Notes
- This makes enough frosting to generously pipe frosting on the cupcakes. If you will be spreading it on, you can cut the recipe in half.
- You can store the cupcakes at room temperature in an airtight container for a couple days, but if you want to store them longer, pop them in the fridge for up to 5 days. I recommend letting them come to room temp before serving.
Nutrition
If you love carrot cake, this handheld version is going to become a new favorite! Carrot cake cupcakes are easier to serve, and fun to eat.
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I have made these many times and they are delicious. Was curious if I could bake in a 9×13 pan? Same time and temp
So glad you love them Kathy! It’s not quite enough batter for a 9×13″ pan. You would need to double the recipe, and increase the baking time to about 45-55 minutes. Or you could just use my carrot cake recipe: https://www.creationsbykara.com/carrot-pineapple-cake-with-orange-cream-cheese-frosting/
Happy baking! 😋
Can this recipe be used in a 9×13 cake pan? Same temp?
Would I be able to use coconut oil instead of vegetable oil for this recipe?
You can try it, but the cupcakes won’t be quite as moist. Oil that is liquid at room temperature keeps baked goods soft. They shouls still be good, but not quite the same. 🙂
Wow, The combination of cupcakes looks absolutely delicious, I will definitely try this recipe for my weekend cooking adventure. Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe.
You are so welcome. Hope you love the cupcakes!
ABSOLUTELY DELISH!! Best carrot cupcakes ever! So soft & moist! And the frosting is perfect!! Great combo. Definitely saving this recipe!
Yay, I am so happy that you loved them Rachel!
Will definitely try on oreo cupcakes, thank you for sharing such an amazing tip.
I haven’t tried that yet, sounds delish!
Easy carrot cupcakes that have the best brown sugar frosting recipe! They turn out perfect every time and are super moist. THIS is the recipe you need! Thanks
So happy that you enjoyed the cupcakes and the frosting Lisa! I appreciate you stopping by! 🙂
Could I make these into Jumbo cupcakes (muffin tin size)? If so, what would the temp and/or time adjustment be? Thank you!
You shouldn’t need to adjust the oven temperature, but they will take longer to bake. I’d start with 25 minutes, but leave the oven light on so you can watch them carefully.
Made a batch for my dad’s birthday, they were amazing and I don’t normally like carrot cake! The super fine grate really was a nice touch and the sour cream makes them so light an fluffy, the brown sugar and the cinnamon have something going on, just an awesome recipe and they were quick 2 hours total , I cheated and placed in front of AC to cool 🙂 I did add chopped walnuts to half the batch and it worked out great. Thank you, can’t wait to try some more of your recipes!
Hi! I am going to make these for Easter on Sunday. Is the butter salted or unsalted? Thanks so much!
Sorry, I just saw your comment. I always just use regular salted butter. Too much hassle trying to keep track of both kinds. Haha.I hope your cupcakes turns out just perfectly for your Easter dinner. 🙂
Did it today with my 5y son. Yummy!
yummy!
Can I use the same recipe to make a 3 layer cake??
I want to try this recipe. It looks absolutely delicious. But can I replace the powdered sugar entirely with brown sugar in frosting?
I don’t recommend it. Powdered sugar is blended to be super fine so that it dissolves easily and makes a smooth frosting. It also adds volume. I think it would be nearly impossible to get a creamy frosting using just brown sugar.
These are amazing! I’ve made them multiple times and they’re a huge hit! Is there anyway to turn this recipe into just a regular 8in cake?
I think it’s probably too much batter for one 8″ pan, but not quite enough for two. I’d cut the recipe in half and have a shorter cake rather than risk the batter overflowing into the oven. If you give it a try, let me know how it works!
What if i don’t have a sour cream?.. is there any alternate for it?
Plain yogurt or plain greek yogurt would work just as well. Buttermilk would probably work in a pinch. 🙂
This recipe was… how do I say it? Excellent!! Finally I have found a carrot cake recipe I love. Appreciate it!
Wow, just the cupcake recipe I was searching for, so good! Thanks!
Cupcakes look good, saved to my bookmarks!
Thanks for a Carrot Cake cupcake recipe without crushed pineapple or pecans! Looking forward to making these!
You are so welcome! My kids prefer them this way, that’s for sure. Hope you enjoy them!
I’ve always loved carrot cake, but I think I might like these cupcakes even more. The frosting is incredible!
Superb recipe, some of the tastiest cupcakes I’ve ever made!
I wanted to thank you for this very good cupcake recipe!! I absolutely enjoyed every bite. The frosting is so good!
Made this tonight and it was a hit. The icing was the best! Thanks for sharing. Need to work on my frosting skills.
It took me a bit of practice to get my frosting to look decent. Don’t worry, you’ll get there! But of course even if the frosting doesn’t look perfect, they still taste amazing! 🙂
Such a fun idea to serve carrot cake in cupcake form! We loved them, and the frosting is divine!
These cupcakes look super delicious. Thanks for sharing such a nice recipe.
Thanks for stopping by and leaving a nice comment. I appreciate it! And I hope you do give the cupcakes a try!
Oh yum – I haven’t always been fan of carrot cake – but these cupcakes are phenomenal! And that frosting… SO good!!
Thanks Kristyn, so glad you liked them!
This looks amazing!!! I’ve got to try this.
These are amazing and that cream cheese frosting is to die for!! I’ll have to make extra of the frosting next time so I can eat it on its own! 😉
Making extra frosting is a great plan!