Carrot cake cupcakes: moist and easy to make, with brown sugar, pineapple, and warm cinnamon. Top them with cream cheese frosting for a truly classic treat!
- 1 1/4 cups unsalted butter, softened (2 1/2 sticks)
- 1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar, loosely packed
- 3 eggs (large)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup cake flour
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg (or 10 to 12 microplane scratches of whole nutmeg)
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 cups finely grated carrots (from about 1/2 pound whole fresh carrots)
- 8 ounces crushed pineapple, drained
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, and line a cupcake pan with papers.
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Place the butter and brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer, and whip on medium-high speed (scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula occasionally) until pale and very fluffy (5 to 8 minutes).
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Mix in the eggs, one at a time, stopping to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula after each addition.
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Stir in the vanilla until well-blended.
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Stir in the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, cloves, nutmeg, and salt on medium-low speed, until just barely combined (there should still be streaks of flour).
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Fold in the carrots, pineapple, and walnuts, and transfer the batter to the prepared pans.
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Bake for 28 to 32 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the thickest part of a cupcakes comes out clean.
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Cool completely, then top with cream cheese frosting.
Recipe Video
For the cake version of this recipe, click here: Carrot Cake.