A few years ago I made some cupcakes for a friend and somehow that turned into a full time job! These days I make a lot of cupcakes. I'm always on the lookout for new ideas or improvements on old recipes. I had been using a carrot cake cupcake recipe from a well known cupcake cookbook, (that shall remain nameless) and it was good. Adequate...tasty enough but nothing to write home about. Earlier this week I was asked to make some carrot cake cupcakes so I started Googling recipes and came across this one. The name grabbed me right away, The Best Ever Carrot Cake Cupcakes. That was exactly what I wanted. Not just it's an okay, tastes pretty good, carrot cupcake but The Best EVER! With pineapple and applesauce in the batter, I knew these would be a super moist cupcake. I decided to top them with a cinnamon cream cheese frosting. Guess what?? These really are The Best Ever carrot cake cupcakes.
I may still look to perfect other cupcake recipes but my search for the perfect carrot cake cupcake is over.
Best Ever Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Ingredients:
4 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup apple sauce
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 8-oz. can of crushed pineapple, well drained
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Small pinch of ground cloves
3 cups grated carrots
1 cup chopped pecans
For Frosting:
1/2 cup butter, softened
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
4 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, apple sauce, sugars, pineapple and 2 teaspoons vanilla. Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and small pinch of ground cloves. Stir in carrots. Fold in pecan. Line a muffin tin with cupcake wrappers. Fill each liner 3/4 full. Bake in the preheated oven for 18-20 min. Let cupcakes cool completely. While cooling, prepare frosting.
Frosting:
In a medium bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, vanilla and cinnamon. Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Add milk a tablespoon at a time, if needed to get a smooth consistency. Top with the toasted chopped pecans.
4 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup apple sauce
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 8-oz. can of crushed pineapple, well drained
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Small pinch of ground cloves
3 cups grated carrots
1 cup chopped pecans
For Frosting:
1/2 cup butter, softened
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
4 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Milk
Toasted pecans, chopped (optional for garnish)
Toasted pecans, chopped (optional for garnish)
Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, apple sauce, sugars, pineapple and 2 teaspoons vanilla. Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and small pinch of ground cloves. Stir in carrots. Fold in pecan. Line a muffin tin with cupcake wrappers. Fill each liner 3/4 full. Bake in the preheated oven for 18-20 min. Let cupcakes cool completely. While cooling, prepare frosting.
Frosting:
In a medium bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, vanilla and cinnamon. Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Add milk a tablespoon at a time, if needed to get a smooth consistency. Top with the toasted chopped pecans.
Source: Paula Deen for Smithfield
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| A perfect dessert for Thanksgiving! |
14 comments:
Awesome! Carrot cake is always a favorite flavor!! I'm working on some cake recipes, so I am going to have to try this one out! Thanks for sharing :]
I've always hunted around for the best carrot cake recipe too. So glad to hear you found yours! Im definitely going to be trying this. I bet it tastes good because theres 2 whole cups of sugar in there! Wow! The applesauce and juice would make it moist..I can see why this would be the best :)
Wow, these sound incredible! I have a weakness for carrot cake but never seem to be able to make it quite well enough. Will have to try these! :-)
Charlotte @ fashionwaffle.blogspot.com
high praise, though i've never really met a carrot cake cupcake that i didn't like. something about the spices and the moistness from the carrot makes them no-fail!
Amazing! I love carrot cake and I'm obsessed with cupcakes! I need to take on this recipe, soon. Once I'm more experienced, maybe?
These look amazing! Yum I absolutely love carrot cake, and Christmas is the perfect season to indulge in these sweet treats.
Best ever is right!! These cupcakes are the best! Thank you , thank you , Thank you!! I followed your recipe to a t (one exception , I had to omit the nuts , my husband and son are allergic). Omg I could eat the whole batch :)
Thank you for posting! I'm a follower of your blog!
So delicious! At the last minute we couldn't locate our cupcake tray and baked it in a sheet pan instead for about 25 minutes. It was a huge hit with everyone
Thank you for this awesome recipe! I tried it out using half the recommended amount of sugar in the batter and only a quarter of the sugar in the frosting and the cupcakes turned out PERFECT. :)
how many does this recipe yield please? thanks!
Monica,
I got 2 dozen regular size cupcakes from this recipe.
Amazing carrot cake recipe! I made it for the first time and it is so moist and perfect, not too sweet, just like carrot cake should be! I cut down to half of the sugar in the recipe however, but it is still great! This is the recipe I will use from now on... Thanks a lot!
Hi! I am going to try these for Easter. Would you recommend making them the morning of? If i make them tonight, should i leave at room temp or refrigerate? Thanks!
It's fine to make them tonight. They will stay moist for several days. I refrigerated mine in an airtight container. They would probably be fine for a day at room temp but I usually err on the side of cation when it comes to refrigeration!
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