Carrot Walnut Cupcakes with Maple Frosting
Our carrot walnut cupcakes are soft, tender, with finely grated carrots, warm cinnamon, chopped walnuts, and maple cream cheese frosting.
Servings: 24 Cupcakes
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 2 ½ cups carrots, peeled, finely grated
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- ¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¾ cup whole milk plain Greek yogurt
- 1 cup walnuts, chopped
Maple Frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon maple extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 3 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line a cupcake tin with liners.
Cupcakes
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugars and oil. Mix until fully incorporated.
- Now, add in the eggs and vanilla extract. Whisk until combined.
- Add in the Greek yogurt and grated carrots. Mix until fully combined.
- Pour dry ingredients into wet ingredients and fold until fully incorporated.
- Fold in the walnuts.
- Evenly pour batter into cupcake liners, ¾ full.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and let cool completely before frosting.
Maple Frosting
- In a medium sized mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy.
- Add maple extract and beat until combined.
- Next, add in the powdered sugar and salt.
- Beat until combined and smooth.
- Once cupcakes have fully cooled, pipe the maple frosting on each cupcake and sprinkle with cinnamon, if desired.
Notes
- Grate the carrots finely: Finely grated carrots blend into the batter better and help create soft, moist cupcakes.
- Don't skip peeling the carrots: Freshly peeled carrots give you the best texture and flavor.
- Don't overmix the batter: Once you add the dry ingredients, fold just until everything is incorporated. Overmixing can make the cupcakes dense.
- Use softened cream cheese and butter: This is the easiest way to get smooth, creamy frosting without lumps.
- Don't overfill the liners: Filling them about ¾ full gives the cupcakes enough room to rise without overflowing.
- Let the cupcakes cool completely: Cream cheese frosting doesn't belong on warm cupcakes. Let them cool completely first.
- Check with a toothpick: Start checking around the 20-minute mark. When a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, they're ready.
- Chop the walnuts fairly small: Smaller walnut pieces distribute nicely throughout the batter and make each bite easier to enjoy.
- Add the frosting after cooling: For the prettiest piped frosting, make sure the cupcakes are completely cool.