Carrot Cake Cupcakes and Jumbo Muffins

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So, I literally just posted my Carrot Cake recipe on here, but I would be remiss if I didn’t also include a post about my Carrot Cake Cupcakes and Jumbo Muffins. These are what I refer to as…portion control. You’ll understand what I mean after making my Carrot Cake, because one bite of that thing will morph you into an over-protective-cake-hoarder (I just made that up, but it sort of hits the mark–like, you’ll want to hide it in a closet somewhere that only YOU have access to). That being said, I just felt that a cake that good should have a cupcake counterpart. The only problem with the cupcake, however, was that it was too small (in my opinion), so I made it into jumbo muffins as well and now I’m sharing the results of both creations with all of you beautiful readers! I just love recipes that give everyone something that they love…don’t you?

Now, when I say that these are incredibly delicious, addicting, and irresistible, I am not lying! In fact, I actually lived on these for three days straight, and I’m not even embarrassed to say that, because they have carrots in them! Again, I will say…you’ll understand my disposition when you bite into one.

Full disclosure…this recipe is THE EXACT SAME recipe I use to make my Carrot Cake, prepared THE EXACT SAME way. The only difference is that the batter in this recipe is either baked into cupcakes or jumbo muffins (based on your preference, of course). If you’ve already read my Carrot Cake blog, please forgive the repetition you’ll read in this one, or just skip down to the recipe!

This recipe uses flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, Himalayan pink salt, vanilla extract, eggs, vegetable oil, and carrot baby food.

For the frosting, you are going to need butter, cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar and vanilla extract.

Cupcakes/Jumbo Muffins: To prepare your cupcakes or jumbo muffins, begin by preheating your oven to 350ºF. Prepare 2 (12-well) cupcake pans by lining them with tulip liners. If you’d rather make jumbo muffins, prepare three 3 (6-well) jumbo muffin pans by lining them with jumbo tulip liners; set aside. You can also make a combination of cupcakes and jumbo muffins, similar to what I did in the video below, if you’d prefer.

Next, in a large bowl, combine your flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, vanilla extract, eggs, vegetable oil and carrot baby food. With your hand mixer, beat on high until all ingredients are fully combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a silicone scraper to make sure all ingredients are completely incorporated. 

Cupcakes: If you’re making cupcakes, use a large cookie scoop to fill your tulip liners to about ¾ of the way full. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until your cupcakes spring back at the touch. Transfer your cupcakes to a cooling rack and allow them to cool completely before frosting. This recipe will make about 24-36 cupcakes, so you may have repeat this process depending on how many cupcake pans you have.

Jumbo Muffins: If you’re making jumbo muffins, use a #6 (4.66 oz.) food scoop to fill your tulip liners to about ¾ of the way full. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until your cupcakes spring back at the touch. Transfer your jumbo muffins to a cooling rack and allow them to cool completely before frosting. This recipe will make about 12-18 jumbo muffins, so you may have repeat this process depending on how many jumbo muffin pans you have.

Cream Cheese Frosting: While your cupcakes/jumbo muffins are cooling, make your frosting. To do this, add your butter to a large bowl. Using your electric hand mixer, beat your butter until just creamy. Add in your cream cheese and beat until just combined. It is important to beat your cream cheese only until it is just combined with your butter. Beating it too long will cause your frosting to become too soft and therefore it will melt off your cupcakes/jumbo muffins when you try to frost them (adding extra confectioners’ sugar after the cream cheese is too soft will only make the frosting softer). Mix in your vanilla, then add your confectioners’ sugar. Beat on high until your confectioners’ sugar is fully combined. DO NOT OVERMIX.

To Frost Cupcakes/Jumbo Muffins: Once your cupcakes/jumbo muffins have cooled completely, it’s time to frost them. To do this, fill a large piping bag (fitted with an Ateco 808 tip) with your cream cheese frosting. Position your tip over the center of your cupcake/jumbo muffin, squeeze the bag firmly to release your frosting and gently move the tip around in a small circle to spread your frosting out evenly. Using an icing spatula, smooth out the surface of your frosting. You can choose to leave the frosting plain or to decorate it to your preference. You will notice in the photos that I opted to pipe a mini carrot on the top of mine. I used my Buttercream Frosting for the carrot, as further mixing of my Cream Cheese Frosting to add food coloring would make it a bit too soft to keep its shape without running (please watch the video below if you want to see how I frosted and decorated my cupcakes/jumbo muffins.

Make sure to keep your Carrot Cake Cupcakes and Jumbo Muffins refrigerated for the best results…unless of course, these also morph you into an over-protective-cupcake-jumbo-muffin-hoarded, in which case, the closet is just fine! LOL!