Kortni’s Kitchen: Mini Carrot Cupcakes
I am vocal about how much I dislike cupcakes. It is simply a slice of cake; I have never understood the appeal. I can now say I like these mini carrot cupcakes. This is due to the carrot filling. I think it gives these mini cupcakes a great single bite of flavor. I was asked to cater these cupcakes for a women’s event called Diversi-Tea. I don’t think I would have ever made them if they hadn’t asked me to, which would have been a shame.
Kortni’s Kitchen: Mini Carrot Cupcakes
Ingredients: Cooking Classy
- 1 1/4 cups (178g) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 1/2 cups (195g) finely shredded carrots (from about 4 medium carrots)
- 2/3 cup (140g) granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup (78g) packed light-brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup (64g) unsweetened applesauce
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (120ml) vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup (82g) chopped pecans (optional)
Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 1/2 cup (112g) unsalted butter, softened
- 8 oz (226g) cream cheese, softened
- 3 1/2 cups (412g) powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Directions:
For the cupcakes:
Kortni’s Kitchen: Mini Carrot Cupcakes
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg for 30 seconds, set aside. Shred carrots as directed in notes below, set aside.
- As you can see from the ingredients list, there is a cups or grams option. I just got a scale, so I was excited to use it. If you have a scale, I advise you to use it.
- I used a small grater. If you have a zester, that would work also. You don’t want to shred the carrot too large, or you will be eating raw carrots and your cupcake will become crunchy. Especially with this small of a cupcake, you don’t want big carrot bites.
Kortni’s Kitchen: Mini Carrot Cupcakes
2. In a separate large mixing bowl, whisk together granulated sugar and brown sugar, then add eggs, and using an electric hand mixer, blend mixture on low speed 30 seconds, until slightly pale. Mix in applesauce and vanilla extract. With mixer running on low speed, slowly pour in vegetable oil and mix until combined, then mix 20 seconds longer. Mix in half of the dry ingredients, then pour the shredded carrots into the bowl with the remaining flour mixture and toss in flour mixture to coat carrots (they’ll clump together a bit, but that’s fine). Pour carrot mixture into the batter and blend until evenly combined.
Kortni’s Kitchen: Mini Carrot Cupcakes
- Applesauce is filled with sugar and other preservatives. Unless you have some on hand, I would advise you making your own. This is not as hard as it might sound. I simply peeled the apple and then grated it with a small grater or zester. This turns the apple into mush, which is exactly what applesauce is. If you want to do it the old fashioned way, then you want to cut the peeled apple into pieces and put them into a pot until you can blend them into mush. Either way, you want a mush consistency. I used Fuji apples, and 2 apples gave me a full cup.
Kortni’s Kitchen: Mini Carrot Cupcakes
3. Pour batter into paper-lined muffin cups, filling each cup about 3/4 full. Bake in preheated oven until toothpick inserted into center of cupcake comes out clean, about 19 – 21 minutes. Cool in muffin tin several minutes then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.
Kortni’s Kitchen: Mini Carrot Cupcakes
- I sprayed my mini cupcake pan with non-stick spray instead of lining it, which is cheaper. The size of your cupcake determines the time it will take to cook. Mine held roughly 1TBS of filling and took 10 minutes to cook.
Kortni’s Kitchen: Mini Carrot Cupcakes
For the frosting:
Kortni’s Kitchen: Mini Carrot Cupcakes
1. Using an electric mixer, whip together butter and cream cheese on medium-high speed until smooth and fluffy. Mix in vanilla extract. With mixer running on low speed, slowly add powdered sugar and beat until well-blended and smooth. If frosting is slightly runny, freeze several minutes then mix again and repeat if needed. Frost cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.
- This is a simple cream cheese frosting. A few things to make sure of: One, cream the butter and cream cheese before you add anything. I would sift the powder sugar into it so that there aren’t lumps.
Though these weren’t the only thing being served at this event, these mini cupcakes were a hit. Days later, people came up to me and told me how much they enjoyed them. I am happy to have been a part of this big event. Women praying for the nations. Women being empowered to look in their own backyard for diversity, not just overseas. Myanmar was just one of a dozen tables each with a different country. I personally know of a young woman who moved to Myanmar to build a school. This is just a small glimpse into how food can bring people together.
Kortni’s Kitchen: Mini Carrot Cupcakes
At the end of the day, these mini carrot cupcakes will be a new go-to cupcake. These are literal bites, which makes the cupcake idea appealing to me. But this is not about the size of the cupcake- it’s about the flavor of this recipe. These are one of the moistest cakes I have ever eaten. I got rave reviews from everyone who ate them.
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Kortni’s Kitchen: Mini Carrot Cupcakes
