Carrot Cake Muffins

To me, carrot cake is one of those seasonal delicacies in the same category as that first golden loaf of zucchini bread in late summer, or that long-awaited apple cake of fall. There’s something about carrots and the spring holidays that just feels right, and I have to make a carrot cake “something” every year. This year, it’s these delicious, warmly spiced, generously frosted carrot cake muffins!

They came out just the way I wanted them to – the muffins are soft, fragrant and chocked full of carrot, walnuts, and shredded coconut. They’re not cloyingly sweet, either, so they make the perfect base for the rich, tangy and sweet cream cheese frosting. Leave off the frosting for a more wholesome breakfast treat, or call them cupcakes and bring them to a party, this versatile recipe does it all!

how to make carrot cake muffins easily in one bowl

I love a good one-bowl recipe. Not only is a more streamlined process that just makes baking feel easier, but there are fewer dishes to clean at the end, too! For baking recipes that don’t require creaming butter and sugar, you can follow the same basic steps:

1. Whisk together your wet ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
2. Add spices and leavening agents, whisking well to get them evenly dispersed.
3. Gently fold in the flour, stopping when there are still a few white streaks left in the batter
4. Finally, fold in any “add in’s.” Here we’re using shredded carrot, coconut, and walnuts, but this could also be chocolate chips, etc. Stop when the ingredients are just combined, over mixing can result in a tougher finished product..

my favorite way to make cream cheese frosting

Can you guess my favorite tool for making cream cheese frosting (and most frostings in general)? It’s the food processor! I discovered long ago that making frosting in the food processor is quick, easy, and ensures a totally smooth, lump-free frosting that often eluded me when making frosting in a stand mixer. I use the technique for these carrot cake muffins and other recipes like my Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting.

• Add the butter and the cream cheese to the bowl of a food processor, in pieces. One of the joys of using the food processor is that you don’t need these ingredients to be room temperature, just make sure they aren’t rock solid out of the fridge or freezer.
• Pulse to break up the pieces, and then process until smooth. Then add your powdered sugar and any flavorings (salt, vanilla, lemon juice). I add the powdered sugar about 1 cup at a time, blending in between each addition.
• That’s it! Perfectly smooth cream cheese frosting, without having to leave your cream cheese and butter out on the counter for hours.

so many ways to vary it up!

• Customize your add in’s. There are so many ways you could vary this carrot cake muffin recipe –
  • use a different kind of nut (like pecans) or leave them out entirely.
  • Add in raisins or golden raisins if you love them.
  • Or just use carrot and leave out everything else for a more even-textured muffin.
• If you’re going to serve them as cupcakes, try making some extra frosting and piping it on top for an extra-special presentation. If you’re going for a tall, piped-look I’d make double the frosting to make sure you have enough.
• Skip the frosting and sprinkle the cupcakes with a few crushed nuts before baking.
• Go nut-free, just leave them out.
• For gluten free carrot cake muffins use a good 1:1 gf baking mix. (Or make my Gluten Free Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting)

why we love these cupcake-muffin hybrids

These carrot cake muffins are based off of my classic carrot layer cake, which really is the perfect carrot cake, in my opinion. Richly spiced, moist, soft, and full of flavor, it’s everything you want when you’re craving that classic carrot cake experience! These little muffins are like a little personal sized carrot cake, complete with cream cheese frosting.