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Fluffy Carrot Cake Muffins

If you love classic carrot cake but want something quicker and easier, these Fluffy Carrot Cake Muffins are going to be your new favorite bake. They're incredibly soft, perfectly spiced, packed with fresh carrots, and topped with a creamy homemade cream cheese frosting.
These Carrot Cake Muffins are perfect for Easter as you can decorate them according to different holiday seasons. You can add easter eggs on top of the frosting. I added chopped hazelnuts on mine for that extra crunch and flavor.
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Prep Time 35 minutes
Cook Time 18 minutes
Total Time 53 minutes
Servings: 12 people
Course: Breakfast, Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 299
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

For the Carrot Cake Muffins:
  • 2 Cups All-purpose flour (250g)
  • 2 tsp Baking powder
  • 1 tsp Baking soda
  • 1 1/2 tsp Ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp Salt
  • 3/4 Cup Canola or vegetable oil (180ml)
  • 4 large Eggs
  • 1 1/2 Cups Brown sugar (300g) packed
  • 1/2 Cup Granulated sugar (100g)
  • 1/2 Cup Applesauce (125g) unsweetened
  • 1 tsp Vanilla extract or vanilla sugar
  • 3 Cups Grated carrots (300g) lightly packed
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
  • 1 package Cream cheese (250g) Room temperature
  • 1/2 Cup Butter (115g) unsalted
  • 2 Cups Powdered sugar (240g)
  • 1 tsp Vanilla extract or vanilla sugar

Equipment

  • 1 Hand mixer
  • 1 Muffin liners

Method
 

  1. How to Make the Carrot Cake Muffins:
  2. Preheat & Prepare: Preheat oven to 350F (175C). Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper muffins liners.
  3. Mix Dry Ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
  4. Mix Wet Ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk granulated sugar, brown sugar, applesauce, oil, eggs and vanilla sugar/extract until smooth.
  5. Add the carrots: Add the grated carrots to the wet ingredients and stir to combine. Adding them at this point will ensure that they are fully incorporated into our batter and prevent you from over mixing it later on.
  6. Combine: Fold dry ingredients into wet ingredients until just combined. Do not overmix.
  7. Bake: Fill muffin liners about 3/4 full. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool completely before frosting.
How to Make the Cream Cheese Frosting:
  1. Make sure the cream cheese is at room temperature this will make it way easier to beat. Beat until smooth with an electric mixer or stand mixer, then add the butter and continue mixing until well combined. If you only have salted butter on hand you can use it as well.
  2. Mix the powdered sugar and vanilla sugar/extract. Scraping down the sides of your mixing bowl to ensure that all of the frosting is incorporated.
How to Decorate The Muffins:
  1. Place the piping tip inside the piping bag. If you don't have a piping bag, you can use a zip-block plastic bag and snip the corner.
  2. Spoon frosting into the bag.
  3. Hold the piping bag straight above the muffin, starting from the center of the muffin working yourself outwards. Which will create beautiful roses.
  4. Sprinkle with toasted walnuts, pecans, or chocolate easter eggs depending on season.

Notes

Frequently Asked Questions:
  • Does the Carrot Cake Muffins need to be refrigerated? - Yes, to prevent frosting from melting, you can keep the muffins in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days.
  • Can you freeze carrot cake muffins? - Absolutely, I suggest keeping the carrot cake muffins in an airtight container when freezing.
  • Can I add nuts or raisins to the dough? Of course, chopped walnuts or pecans would be great for this recipe. If you love raisins, you may add 1/2 cup into the dough.
  • Can I use this recipe for a carrot cake instead of muffins?
    Absolutely, simply use two 9-inch round cake pans and line the bottom of each pan with parchment paper circles. Pour the batter evenly between the 2 pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes.
  • Can I substitute the applesauce? - Yes you can, you may substitute it with plain greek yogurt or sour cream. Or 8-ounce can of drained pineapples work great as well.