Mini Carrot Cupcakes With Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting

Up until recently, I kind of forgot that carrot cake existed. Ridiculous, I know, but carrot was never a flavor requested by my friends and family whenever I made them cupcakes.

And then my parents decided to buy a 10-pound bag of carrots right before they left for vacation. I was given 9 1/2 pounds of those carrots.

As a result, I made a bunch of carrot cupcakes, tweaked the recipe, made more cupcakes, and tweaked the recipe again and again. Hundreds of cupcakes later, I perfected my recipe. These are the greatest carrot cupcakes I have ever made, and hopefully you'll feel the same way after making them!

Step 1: Ingredients

For the cake:

4 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 stick), melted
1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
1/8 cup fresh orange juice
1 tablespoon orange zest
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
3 1/2 cups grated carrots
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

For the frosting:

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter, room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Step 2: Prep

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Grate the carrots by hand or with a food processor. I actually prefer grating the carrots by hand because finely grated carrots will result in a smoother batter. Plus, you get an awesome arm workout!

Step 3: Sift

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

Step 4: Whisk

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, brown sugar, butter, oil, orange juice, orange zest, and vanilla extract.

Step 5:

Fold the wet mixture into the dry ingredients until just incorporated.

Step 6: Add the Carrots

Add the carrots to the batter and mix until fully incorporated.

Step 7: Walnuts

Add the chopped walnuts to the batter. (This is optional, but I highly recommend it!)

Step 8:

Line mini cupcake tins with liners, and fill each liner about 2/3 full. Bake for 12 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Step 9: The Frosting

Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, combine cream cheese and butter until smooth. Slowly add the sifted powdered sugar. Once incorporated, add vanilla extract, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Mix until combined.