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Carrot cake cupcakes. Moist and fluffy spiced carrot cake cupcakes with walnuts topped with a delicious tangy cream cheese frosting and decorated with walnuts. Recipe by movers and bakers
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Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Spiced carrot cake cupcakes with a tangy cream cheese icing and lots of walnuts. Yum!
Servings 12 servings
Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 3 hours

Ingredients

For the cupcakes

  • 90 ml (¼ cup + 2 tbsp) oil (I used vegetable oil)
  • 80 ml (¼ cup + 1 tbsp) buttermilk
  • 50 g (¼ cup) caster sugar
  • 75 g (¼ cup + 2 tbsp) brown sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 large egg
  • 210 g (about 2 ¾ cups) carrots, grated
  • 190 g (1 ¼ cups + 2 tbsp) plain (all purpose) flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 0.5 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
  • 0.25 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 0.5 tsp nutmeg
  • 0.25 tsp cloves
  • 1 tsp cardamom (½ tsp if using freshly ground)
  • 70 g (½ cup + 1 tbsp) walnuts, broken into chunks

For the cream cheese frosting and decoration

  • 150 g (½ cup + 3 tbsp) unsalted butter
  • 150 g (1 cups + 2 tbsp) icing (powdered) sugar
  • 325 g (1 ¼ cups + 3 tbsp) full fat cream cheese
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 40 g (¼ cup + 1 tbsp) walnuts, to decorate

Instructions

For the cupcakes

  • Line the muffin tin with cupcake cases and set it aside. Preheat the oven to 170C/340F whilst making the carrot cake batter.
  • In a large jug or bowl, tip together the oil, buttermilk, sugars, vanilla and eggs. Whisk to combine, then add in the grated carrots and stir to mix it all together. Set aside.
  • In a separate large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda (baking soda), salt and spices, giving it a quick mix together. Pour in the wet ingredients and mix it all together with a spatula. Finally, tip in the broken walnuts and stir through.
  • Using an ice cream scoop or two tablespoons, divide the carrot cake mixture between the prepared cupcake cases. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until springy to touch and a wooden skewer inserted comes out clean. Cool for five minutes in the tin, then transfer the cupcakes to a cooling rack and cool completely.

For the cream cheese frosting and decoration

  • Once the cupcakes are cool, make the cream cheese icing. First, beat the butter well until light and fluffy, at least five minutes.
  • Add in the icing sugar and vanilla and beat again to combine completely and fluff up. Give the cream cheese a little mix to soften it slightly, then tip it in with the other ingredients and beat to fully combine.
  • Spoon the cream cheese icing into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle (I used a 1M), then pipe swirls over the cooled cupcakes.
  • Decorate with additional walnuts however you wish, and sprinkle with some additional cinnamon if desired too. Enjoy!

Notes

  • Always use room temperature ingredients when baking. In this recipe, this means the buttermilk for the cupcakes and butter and cream cheese for the cream cheese frosting. Using room temperature ingredients results in better mixing and bakes, so is important unless specified in the instructions.
  • Fill cupcake cases no more than ⅔ full. This will result in the cupcakes rising the perfect amount and not overflow the cases.
  • Use a good quality, full fat cream cheese when making the icing. Having tried many different brands and alternatives, I always come back to Philadelphia as being reliable and good to work with (and it tastes good too!).
  • Remember to beat the butter plenty enough when making the cream cheese frosting for carrot cake cupcakes. Doing this helps the butter and sugar blend together well with the cream cheese and not have the icing split.
  • Ensure the cupcakes are completely cool before decorating with cream cheese icing. Otherwise you could end up with a melted liquid mess for icing and a soggy carrot cake. No one wants that!
  • I have shared just a couple of different ways to decorate the cupcakes once finished. These are just a few ideas, but you could get creative and come up with other ways too! You could even try sprinkling a little extra cinnamon on the cupcakes once piped.
    • Author: Andrea
    Calories: 468kcal
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: International
    Keyword: Crunchy Toasted Walnut Topping, Easy Easter Carrot Cake Cupcakes, How to Make Homemade Buttermilk for Baking, Moist Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing, Spiced Carrot Cake Muffins with Buttermilk, Warm Notes of Cardamom, Nutmeg, and Cinnamon

    Nutrition

    Calories: 468kcal