Thursday, November 17, 2011

Best Ever Carrot Cake Cupcakes


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
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Milk
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


A perfect dessert for Thanksgiving!

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32 comments:

  1. UnknownNovember 17, 2011 at 4:16 PM

    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 :]

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  2. cocoa and coconut November 17, 2011 at 5:12 PM

    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 :)

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  3. Charlotte + JadeNovember 18, 2011 at 8:29 AM

    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

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  4. graceNovember 20, 2011 at 12:38 AM

    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!

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  5. Lily CupcakesDecember 13, 2011 at 1:13 PM

    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?

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  6. AnonymousDecember 24, 2011 at 12:07 PM

    These look amazing! Yum I absolutely love carrot cake, and Christmas is the perfect season to indulge in these sweet treats.

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  7. AnonymousDecember 29, 2011 at 9:19 PM

    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!

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  8. RosaAugust 16, 2012 at 8:46 AM

    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

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  9. AnonymousSeptember 10, 2012 at 4:17 AM

    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. :)

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  10. UnknownNovember 11, 2012 at 8:25 PM

    how many does this recipe yield please? thanks!

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  11. Half BakedNovember 12, 2012 at 5:29 AM

    Monica,
    I got 2 dozen regular size cupcakes from this recipe.

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  12. AnonymousDecember 19, 2012 at 7:37 PM

    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!

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  13. Colleen D.March 30, 2013 at 12:57 PM

    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!

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  14. Half BakedMarch 30, 2013 at 3:46 PM

    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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  15. peedeeJuly 2, 2013 at 2:23 PM

    This recipe is very similar to mine, which has been a favorite for about 3 decades. I don't use applesauce (I DO use crushed pineapple) but am willing to try. My ONE complaint about my recipe is that it never "mounds" when making cupcakes the tops are always flat. I don't have the same problem with baking a carrot cake, with the same recipe. Any suggestions? I'd be willing to share my recipe if anyone is interested. Thanks.

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  16. AnonymousOctober 18, 2013 at 8:35 AM

    I make a lot of cupcakes and this is the only carrot cake recipe I use now. I must have tried a dozen different recipes before this one in my search for the best one, but my search ended when I found yours. Thank you so much for posting this.

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  17. PerlaApril 9, 2014 at 10:22 AM

    Hi,

    Instead of using vegetable oil, would it be possible to use butter and would that equal out to be the same?

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  18. Half BakedApril 9, 2014 at 11:35 AM

    Hi Perla,
    I haven't tried it but I think it would work. Butter has more liquid (from milk fat) so the cupcakes will be denser and possibly not quite as moist. You will need to melt the butter to use it for this recipe. Let me know if you liked the results with butter!

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  19. LJApril 14, 2014 at 7:58 PM

    Ever tried the recipe with coconut oil instead of veg oil? Would the amount bd the same?

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  20. LJApril 14, 2014 at 7:59 PM

    How about using coconut oil in place of the veg? Would the ratio be the same?

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  21. Half BakedApril 16, 2014 at 6:11 AM

    Hi LB, I have not tried it for this recipe but it would be a good substitute for the veg oil. You would need to melt the coconut oil and the amounts would be the same.

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  22. fireworks06April 18, 2014 at 9:48 AM

    Hi! Would the cooking temp and time change if I made it into a cake instead of cupcakes? What size of pan would I need?

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  23. MMBMay 17, 2014 at 9:35 AM

    Made these for my mom's birthday yesterday and the consensus was that they definitely deserve this title! So good! I made one "plain" batch and one with chopped walnuts and raisins (per the birthday girl's request). The nuts and raisins did work well with the recipe but I personally preferred the straight-up carrot. I used the full amount of sugar but agree with others that some could probably be cut - I think it's because the pineapple is also so sweet, they don't need quite as much as they otherwise would. Highly recommend this fantastic recipe! Don't know if this link will work but here is a pic of mine: http://instagram.com/p/oE9qJKDmnV/

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  24. AnonymousJune 16, 2014 at 8:13 AM

    OMG amazing! Thanks so much for this, they are heavenly! :)

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    Replies
    1. UnknownOctober 19, 2014 at 9:45 AM

      How much milk did you use in the frosting? When I look at recipe on computer, it just says milk. Thank you!

      Delete
  25. Half BakedOctober 19, 2014 at 4:00 PM

    Add milk a tablespoon at a time, if needed to get a smooth consistency.

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  26. UnknownOctober 20, 2014 at 5:00 AM

    Any idea how many calories per cupcake?

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  27. Half BakedOctober 20, 2014 at 5:19 AM

    @Anna No I have no idea. Sorry. There are some online calculators that you can put the ingredients in an it can give you a rough estimate.

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  28. UnknownNovember 28, 2014 at 6:10 AM

    This cake is awesomely overloaded with moist, sweet, tender goodness. It’s appropriate for breakfast too, right?

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  29. madzNovember 28, 2014 at 7:42 AM

    hi, what did you use for the applesauce? is it sweetened or unsweetened?

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  30. MadzNovember 28, 2014 at 7:46 AM

    hi. for the applesauce, is it sweetened or unsweetened?

    ReplyDelete
  31. MadzNovember 28, 2014 at 7:47 AM

    hi. for the applesauce, is it sweetened or unsweetened?

    ReplyDelete

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