Carrot cake is one of those recipes where some people love it and others don’t like it at all. Well, today these carrot cake muffins deserve a class of their own. They’re soft, fluffy and perfectly moist with all the wonderful flavors of carrot cake, but in a convenient, easy-to-share muffin size. And spoiler alert: I am a carrot cake lover and will be enjoying these muffins all season long! Have fun adding your favorite carrot cake mixes like sweet raisins and walnuts, or you can keep it simple and save a little money. Either way, you are guaranteed to love these delicious carrot cake muffins.
To inspire these muffins, I used my zucchini muffins recipe, which I absolutely love. I adjusted the measurements and added a few additional spices to match the flavor profile of the carrot cake. The results were absolute Ahhh amazing! Here, you can find everything you need:
- Carrots: Carrots are of course the star of the show, so you’ll need about 3-4 large, whole, finely grated carrots for this recipe.
- All-purpose flour: All-purpose flour adds structure to the muffins. You can easily replace up to half of the flour with whole wheat flour without affecting the taste or texture too much.
- Baking powder baking powder: These are both leavening agents that make the muffins rise easier. Because of the added tartness of the applesauce, I use both.
- Eggs: Eggs to bind all muffin ingredients together.
- White granulated sugar and dark brown sugar: The combination of both sugars helps balance the sweetness, moisture, and texture of the muffins.
- applesauce and oil: The combination of cooking oil and applesauce keeps the muffins moist but not too oily, and you gain more flavor and moisture from the addition of the applesauce.
- Cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger: These are classic spices that are often found in carrot cake. We use the right amount of each to give these carrot cake muffins wonderful flavor!
- Vanilla: A touch of vanilla extract gives the carrot muffins a richer flavor.
- Golden raisins: The added raisins were honestly my favorite part of the muffins. They added a subtle sweetness and more texture to the muffins. If you have them on hand, you can use regular raisins instead of golden raisins.
- Turbinado sugar (optional): Sprinkle a pinch of turbinado sugar on each muffin total optional, but a very special treat. It gives each muffin a sweet and light crunch on the surface. If you don’t have turbinado sugar, don’t worry, these muffins taste delicious even without it.
How to grate your carrots
As mentioned above, you should definitely grate fresh whole carrots for this recipe. While it’s tempting to buy pre-grated matchstick carrots at the grocery store, they just aren’t moist enough for these muffins. In addition, they are not grated finely enough and do not mix well with the dough. Grating fresh carrots yourself is the solution!
In addition, most box graters are equipped with a coarse, medium and fine grater side. I tested these muffins with both medium and finely grated carrots. The finely grated carrots were the winner! They blended better into the dough and provided a little more moisture than the medium grated carrots.
- Do not over mix the dough! Over-mixing will cause the muffins to be dense instead of light and fluffy. Mix the dry and wet ingredients until just combined and there are no traces of dry flour left in the bowl.
- Oil your muffin tin really well. Even if you use a non-stick muffin tin, be sure to oil it well or use cupcake liners to prevent your muffins from sticking to the tin.
- You can stretch this dough slightly to make 12 regular size muffins. I wanted larger, bakery-style muffins, so I divided the batter into ten muffin wells.
- If you want even more carrot cake flavor, try adding some chopped walnuts, pecans, or shredded coconut to the batter. And if you really want to top these carrot muffins, top with some cream cheese frosting! 😉
How to Store Carrot Cake Muffins
Allow muffins to cool completely at room temperature before storing. You can store leftover carrot cake muffins in an airtight container or food storage bag in the refrigerator for 4-5 days. For longer storage, store in a freezer-safe storage bag for up to 3 months. Thaw frozen muffins at room temperature or in the microwave until warm, about 30 seconds.
Carrot cake muffins
These soft, fluffy and moist carrot cake muffins are full of delicious carrot cake flavor and are the perfect sweet treat any time of day!
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- 2 cups finely grated carrots (3-4 large carrots) ($0.57)
- 2 Big eggs ($0.33)
- 1/2 Cup dark brown sugar ($0.28)
- 1/2 Cup granulated sugar ($0.20)
- 1/3 Cup sweetened applesauce ($0.18)
- 1/2 Cup cooking oil ($0.32)
- 1 TL vanilla extract ($0.50)
- 1 1/2 cups All-purpose flour ($0.30)
- 1 TL baking powder ($0.06)
- 1/2 TL baking powder ($0.02)
- 1/2 TL Salt ($0.04)
- 1 TL Cinnamon ($0.10)
- 1/4 TL ground nutmeg ($0.05)
- 1/2 TL ground ginger ($0.05)
- 3/4 Cup golden raisins ($1.49)
- 1 tablespoon Turbochargers suck* ($0.06)
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Preheat the oven to 350°F. Wash, peel and grate the carrots using the small/fine holes of a kitchen grater. Set the grated carrots aside.
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In a large bowl, stir together the wet ingredients (eggs, dark brown sugar, granulated sugar, applesauce, oil, and vanilla extract) until well combined.
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Add the grated carrots to the bowl with the wet ingredients. Stir until everything is well mixed.
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In a separate bowl, stir together the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ground nutmeg and ground ginger) until well combined.
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Add the dry ingredients to the same bowl as the wet ingredients. Stir together until everything is well mixed. Be careful not to over mix at this point.
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Add the raisins to the bowl and fold them into the batter until just combined.
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Divide the dough into ten muffin cavities that have been greased or lined with baking paper. Optionally, sprinkle some turbinado sugar on each muffin.
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Bake the muffins for 20-22 minutes or until golden brown and puffed in the center. Let the muffins cool for about 5 minutes, then carefully loosen the edges with a knife and place the muffins on a wire rack to cool. Enjoy!
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*Adding a sprinkle of turbinado sugar on each muffin is optional, but gives the muffins an extra sweet crunch.
Portion: 1MuffinCalories: 314kcalCarbohydrates: 49GProtein: 4GFat: 12GSodium: 249mgFiber: 2G
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How to make carrot cake muffins – step by step photos
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Wash, peel and grate 2 cups finely grated carrots using the small/fine holes of a box grater. Set the grated carrots aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together 2 eggs, 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1/3 cup applesauce, 1/2 cup cooking oil and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract until well combined.
Add the grated carrots to the bowl with the wet ingredients. Stir until everything is well mixed.
In a separate bowl, whisk together 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg, and 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger until well blended is.
Add the dry ingredients to the same bowl as the wet ingredients. Stir together until everything is well mixed. Be careful not to over mix at this point.
Add 3/4 cup golden raisins to the bowl and fold into the batter until just combined.
Divide the batter between ten well-greased or lined muffin cups.
Optional: Divide 1 tablespoon of turbinado sugar and sprinkle some on each muffin.
Bake the muffins for 20-22 minutes or until golden brown and puffed in the center. Let the muffins cool for about 5 minutes, then carefully loosen the edges with a knife and place the muffins on a wire rack to cool. Enjoy!
