Easter Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Last Updated on March 29, 2022

These adorable carrot cake cupcakes are the perfect Easter treat for kids of all ages. They are as yummy and easy as they are festive!

Hey, it's Trish from Spoonful of Butter, and I'm back with another guest post recipe here at Kaleidoscope Living. Since Easter is a few weeks away, I thought of sharing a super easy carrot cupcake recipe with the most amazing cream cheese frosting! Yes, it is truly super easy – even for novice bakers, kids, or for moms like me who are short of time; no special baking skills are required! It is also easy in the sense that you don't need to prep anything ahead. You don't need to remember to take out an ingredient from the fridge (like butter or cream cheese) to let it come to room temperature. And that is why I love this recipe, and I hope you'll love it as much! This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

A few recipe notes:

Using a food processor to shred your carrots is definitely way faster and easier. However, during my recipe testing, I found the shredded carrots a bit too thick and chunky for my carrot cupcakes. So what I did with the next batch, I further chopped the shredded carrots (about 4-6 pulses in the food processor) to get smaller bits. Worked perfectly!
Pecans are also good if you don't have walnuts. If you're allergic to nuts or you just don't have any on hand you can easily omit it. They'd still be delicious!
Because of the cream cheese frosting, this cupcake needs to be stored in the fridge. And because I opted to use pure oil instead of butter for the carrot cupcakes, you can pretty much eat this treat straight from the fridge. Unlike cakes/ cupcakes made with butter, butter hardens when cooled so it's best to wait for them to come at room temperature.
I used a Wilton 1M tip for the frosting, but any piping tip will work as they'll be covered with toppings anyway. If you don't have one, you can simply use a spatula to spread the frosting on top.
For the cupcake toppings, I just use the usual easter treats like cream eggs, bunnies, carrots, and chocolate eggs. Use your creativity and top the cupcakes with whatever you like; there's really no right way of doing it! With the cute shapes and pastel colors, you could never go wrong in decorating them!

Tools & Equipment:

food scale / measuring cups and spoons
mixing bowls
spatula
baking cups or cupcake liners
hand mixer
Wilton 1M piping tip (optional)
piping bag (optional)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350F. If using a cupcake pan or muffin tin, fill them with cupcake liners. If using baking cups, place 12 baking cups on a small baking tray.

Gather and measure all the ingredients. You can place the flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in one bowl. Mix them well so they are evenly distributed.

In a separate bowl, combine the eggs and oil.

Add in the carrots and walnuts. Mix until evenly combined.

Add the flour mixture and stir until just combined. The fewer strokes, the better.

Fill your baking cups or cupcake liners 2/3 full. I like to use an ice cream scoop!

Bake for 23-25 minutes or until a toothpick test comes clean. Note that each oven is different. Start checking them at the 20-minute mark to see if they need more baking time.

To make the cream cheese frosting, whip the heavy cream to soft peaks with a hand mixer. Add the cream cheese and beat on high speed until fully smooth. Put in the vanilla and sift in half of the powdered sugar. Beat on high speed again until fully combined. Add the remaining powdered sugar and beat again until smooth.

To assemble the cupcakes, place the frosting in a piping bag fitted with your choice of a piping tip. (In the photos, I used Wilton 1M.) Decorate the carrot cupcakes as you like using cream eggs, bunny chocolates, carrots, etc.

P.S. If you want more sweet and savory recipes, I would love for you to check out my site at SpoonfulOfButter.com! You can also follow me on Instagram.

Easter Carrot Cupcakes With Cream Cheese Frosting

Prep 30 mins

Cook 25 mins

Total 55 mins

Yield 12 cupcakes

These cute carrot cake cupcakes are the perfect Easter treat. And they are as delicious and easy as they are festive!

Ingredients

For the carrot cupcakes:

1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (150 g) granulated white sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
2 large eggs, beaten
2/3 cup vegetable oil (I use canola oil)
1 1/2 cups (200 g) grated carrots
1 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

For the cream cheese frosting:

1/3 cup (80 g) heavy cream, cold
7 ounces (200 g ) cream cheese, cold and chopped into 1 inch cubes (I use Philadelphia, full fat)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon (65 g) powdered sugar/ confectioner's sugar

Instructions

1. PREPARATION. Preheat oven to 350F. If using a cupcake pan or muffin tin, fill them with cupcake liners. If using baking cups, place 12 baking cups on a small baking tray.

Gather and measure all the ingredients. You can place the flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in one bowl. Mix them well so they are evenly distributed.

2. MAKE THE CARROT CUPCAKE BATTER. In a separate bowl, combine the eggs and oil. Add in the carrots and walnuts. Mix until evenly combined. Add the flour mixture and stir until just combined. The lesser strokes, the better. Fill your baking cups or cupcake liners 2/3 full. I like to use an ice cream scoop here. Bake for 23-25 minutes or until a toothpick test comes clean. Note that each oven is different start checking them at 20-minute mark to see if they need more baking time.

Let the cupcakes completely cool before frosting them.

3. MAKE THE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING. Whip the heavy cream to soft peaks with a hand mixer. Add the cream cheese and beat on high speed until fully smooth. Put the vanilla and sift in half of the powdered sugar. Beat on high speed again until fully combined. Add the remaining powdered sugar and beat again until smooth.

4. ASSEMBLY. To assemble the cupcakes, place the frosting in a piping bag fitted with your choice of piping tip. (In the photos, I used Wilton 1M.) Decorate the carrot cupcakes as you like using cream eggs, bunny chocolates, carrots, etc.

Courses dessert

If you love cream cheese frosting a lot, double the recipe. It's so good, I promise!