Carrot cake is my husband Austin’s all-time favorite dessert. But somehow, until this week, I’d never attempted to make it at home from scratch before!
Since Easter is coming up this weekend and we have some family dinners on the schedule, I decided to give it a go. I combined several different recipes, mainly drawing my inspiration from Katie Rose Watson’s on The Rose Table but adding my own little twists here and there. The cupcakes turned out AMAZING – they might be the best thing I’ve ever made!
Without further ado, here’s how you can make your own amazing carrot cupcakes at home.
Carrot Cupcakes Ingredients
For the Carrot Cupcakes:
1 Cup Granulated White Sugar
1 Cup Granulated Brown Sugar
1 Cup Vegetable Oil
4 Eggs
1/2 Cup Applesauce
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1 Tsp Ground Cinnamon
1 Tsp Ground Ginger
1/4 Tsp Ground Nutmeg
1/4 Tsp Ground Cloves
2 Tsp Baking Powder
1 Tsp Baking Soda
1 Tsp Salt
2 Cups of Grated Carrots (About 3-4 Large Whole Carrots)
Zest of 1 Orange
1 1/2 Cups Pecans
1 Cup Golden Raisins
1 Tbsp Honey
For the Frosting:
8 Oz Cream Cheese
6 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
1 Cup Powdered Sugar
3 Tsp Orange Zest
2 Tsp Grated Ginger
1/4 Tsp Orange Extract
Carrot Cupcakes Recipe
Step 1 – Toast your pecans.
You can definitely buy pecans pre-toasted, and they would still work great! But if you don’t mind a little extra prep work, you can toast them yourself while you work on mixing your cake batter. I put 1 1/2 cups of fresh pecans into a bowl and tossed them with honey, a sprinkle of cinnamon, and a sprinkle of brown sugar. Then I just dumped them out on a baking sheet and popped them into the oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. They were so rich with flavor when they came out!
When they are done toasting, put them in a food processor to chop them up. Don’t grind them too finely, because you’ll set aside 1/2 cup to garnish the top of your cupcakes at the end and you will want some larger pieces.
Step 2 – Prep your batter ingredients.
If you didn’t toast your own pecans, make sure to pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Line your cupcake tins with paper. Grate your 2 cups of carrots and set aside. (This part seriously took me an HOUR, so I might just try pre-grated carrots next time!) Zest your orange and set aside. Then, start mixing it up!
Step 3 – Make the batter.
To make the batter you will combine all of your dry ingredients into one bowl and all of your wet ingredients into one bowl first.
Add the sugar, vegetable oil, eggs, applesauce, and vanilla extract to one bowl and mix well with an electric mixer.
Add the flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to another bowl and hand whisk it.
Pour the wet batter into the dry ingredients and combine them gently with a rubber spatula, not with a mixer. Make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl to combine all of the flour.
Step 4 – Add the final touches.
Once your main batter ingredients are combined, it’s time to add in the elements that make it distinctly a carrot cake. Start off with the carrots!
From there, you have some options. I included orange zest (setting aside 3 Tsp for my frosting first), golden raisins, and the toasted pecans. If you don’t like raisins or you are allergic to nuts, the recipe will still taste great without them! I set some batter aside to make a few nut-free cupcakes for my mom, since she can’t have pecans.
To add these ingredients in, just gently fold them into the mix with your rubber spatula.
Step 5 – Bake the cupcakes.
Now all you have left to do is scoop the batter into the cupcake tins with a spoon and bake them! 350 degrees for 20 minutes worked perfectly in my oven. To ensure they are finished baking, stick a toothpick in them and make sure it comes out clean.
Orange Ginger Frosting Recipe
While your cupcakes are in the oven, you can mix up this amazing frosting! This stuff will really take your carrot cupcakes to the next level.
Step 1 – Combine ingredients.
Put your cream cheese, powdered sugar, and room temperature unsalted butter into a mixing bowl. Add the ginger, orange zest, and orange extract.
Step 2 – Beat mixture until smooth.
Use an electric mixer to beat the icing, getting rid of any clumps from the butter or sugar. If you always struggle with clumps like I do, try this trick: stick your whole mixing bowl in the microwave for about 15 seconds. Take it out and keep on mixing!
Step 3 – Frost your carrot cupcakes.
When your carrot cupcakes have cooled, pipe the icing on. Sprinkle some of the leftover toasted pecans on top. Tada! Your carrot cupcakes are ready to serve for Easter dinner!
Happy Easter, and enjoy your carrot cupcakes!
I hope your cupcakes turn out amazing! For more recipes, crafts, and adventures, check out this link. To follow me on Instagram, check out this link.
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