Carrot Cake Muffins

Carrot cake muffins are a frequent request from my husband. Decadent treats like funfetti cupcakes piled high with extra frosting or ooey-gooey cinnamon rolls are both a hard pass in his book when he’s looking to treat himself. Instead, his MO comes in the form of wonderfully spiced carrot cake muffins drizzled with just a touch of sweet and tangy cream cheese icing. If you also have a friend or family member who isn’t big on baking recipes that are overly sweet, this spring muffin recipe is just the ticket.

What makes this carrot cake muffins recipe such a crowd-pleaser is its endless versatility. These muffins are jam-packed with carrots and a trio of cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. They’re ultra-tender and supremely fluffy thanks to buttermilk. But beyond that, you can doctor up these muffins to your liking with mix-ins. Try shredded coconut, plump raisins or walnuts, or add a topping of brown sugar streusel or a drizzle of tangy cream cheese glaze.

Think of this carrot cake muffins recipe like a “choose your own adventure” book. The ending is guaranteed to be delicious, but the journey to your destination is yours to create.

Ingredients for Carrot Cake Muffins

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• Carrots: For the best results, don’t use pre-shredded carrots in carrot cake muffins or carrot cake. The carrots are often too coarse and will not become tender baking in the muffins. Instead, freshly grate your carrots.
• Dry ingredients: This carrot cake muffin recipe starts with a base not unlike other muffin recipes: a blend of all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
• Warm spices: A classic blend of cinnamon, ground ginger and nutmeg complements the sweet carrots and makes these muffins irresistibly flavorful and aromatic.
• Sugar: While some muffins use just granulated sugar, this recipe benefits from a combination of white and light brown sugar. The molasses flavor in the brown sugar marries wonderfully with the spices and also helps add extra moisture to the muffins.
• Eggs: Eggs are important for this carrot cake muffins recipe because they supply the batter with the necessary fat to make the muffins soft. Proteins from the eggs help give the muffins structure and stability as they bake.
• Vegetable oil: A small amount of vegetable oil in the batter helps make the carrot cake muffins ultra-moist. To make a slightly healthier muffin, you can try swapping in an equal amount of applesauce.
• Buttermilk: We love adding buttermilk to muffins, quick breads and cake recipes. It adds both extra fat to the batter for tenderness and a subtle tang for a unique flavor boost.
• Vanilla extract: Vanilla extract adds a little complexity and depth of flavor to these easy carrot muffins.
• Mix-ins: The definition of a perfect carrot cake is subjective, which is why so many versions of this beloved spring dessert recipe exist. We add 1/2 cup each of plump raisins and toasty chopped walnuts.
• Cream cheese glaze: Made with cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla extract and buttermilk, this simple glaze offers a subtly sweet and wonderfully tangy finish to these delightful carrot cake muffins.

Directions

Step 1: Combine the dry ingredients

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Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a muffin tin with paper liners and lightly grease with cooking spray. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger and nutmeg. Set aside.

Step 2: Mix the wet ingredients

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In a separate mixing bowl, combine the brown sugar, granulated sugar, vegetable oil, eggs, buttermilk and vanilla. Then, fold in the shredded carrots, raisins and walnuts until combined.

Step 3: Combine the wet and dry ingredients

Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, and stir until the flour is moistened and no dry patches remain. Do not overmix.

Step 4: Bake the muffins

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Divide the batter evenly, filling the 12 muffin cups about 3/4 full with batter. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until golden around the edges. Remove and let cool in the pan for five minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Editor’s Tip: The internal temperature of the muffins should register between 200° and 205°, and a toothpick should come out clean when inserted into the center of a muffin.

Step 5: Prepare the cream cheese glaze

For the glaze, use a handheld electric mixer to beat the cream cheese, vanilla and buttermilk until smooth, two to three minutes. Add the confectioners’ sugar and beat on your mixer’s lowest setting until the glaze is smooth and creamy, another two to three minutes. If the glaze is thicker than you’d like, add additional buttermilk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the desired consistency is reached.

Step 6: Drizzle with the glaze and enjoy

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Using a fork or spoon, drizzle a generous amount of glaze over each of the cooled carrot cake muffins. Serve.

Editor’s Tip: If you choose to skip the glaze, try one of these other splendid ways to eat muffins, such as slicing them in half and spreading warm butter on each side.

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Carrot Cake Muffin Variations

• Make thicker frosting: For a cream cheese frosting or icing that is spreadable or pipable, reduce the amount of buttermilk in the glaze to 2 or 3 tablespoons.
• Try a sweeter glaze: If you like your bakery treats to be as sweet as possible, you can increase the amount of confectioners’ sugar in the glaze to 1 cup.
• Add coconut: Unsweetened or sweetened coconut would be a flavorful addition to the batter. If you prefer a sweet muffin, use sweetened coconut, and for a less sweet muffin, use unsweetened. Just don’t use flaked coconut, as the pieces will be too large for the muffins.
• Use a buttermilk alternative: If you don’t have access to buttermilk, you can try making homemade buttermilk. Or, swap in whole milk for the glaze and in the muffin batter.
• Prep a streusel topper: You can give these muffins a bakery-quality appearance and taste with a simple crumb topping. In a small bowl, mix 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup light brown sugar, 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Add 1/4 cup softened, unsalted butter and then use a fork to cream the mixture until a sticky, stiff dough forms. Chill in the refrigerator until you’re ready to crumble the mixture over each muffin before baking.

How to Store Carrot Cake Muffins

One important tip for storing baked goods is that desserts with cream cheese frosting need to be refrigerated. Therefore, carrot cake muffins topped with a cream cheese glaze should be kept in an airtight food storage container in the fridge, while muffins without glaze may be stored at room temperature.

How long do carrot cake muffins last?

Stored at room temperature, unglazed carrot muffins will stay fresh for four or five days. Muffins expel moisture after they are baked (which is why the tops often become sticky). Line your container with a paper towel under the muffins to help absorb any moisture to prolong their shelf life and preserve their texture. If refrigerated, carrot cake muffins will last for about a week.

Can you freeze carrot cake muffins?

Yes! As with many of our best muffin recipes, these carrot muffins freeze beautifully. Freeze the muffins by wrapping them individually in storage wrap or foil. Or, keep them in a freezer-safe, zip-top food storage bag. The muffins will stay fresh for up to three months. Defrost them completely in the refrigerator before enjoying. If the muffins are not glazed, you may also thaw them at room temperature.

Carrot Cake Muffin Tips

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What’s the best way to grate carrots for carrot cake?

The best way to shred carrots for carrot cake muffins is by using a box grater. Using the finer side to shred the carrots is recommended, but you can use the coarser grater if you would like larger pieces of carrot in the muffins. Another tool I love for grating a lot of carrots for muffins is the KitchenAid fresh prep shredder, which attaches directly to your stand mixer and makes grating carrots and cheese a total breeze.

How do you prevent dense, heavy carrot cake muffins?

Nobody likes a dense or heavy muffin. This atrocity is typically caused by overmixing the muffin batter, which causes the gluten in the flour to become overdeveloped. Another common cause for dense muffins is not measuring the flour or leavening agents accurately. For instance, accidentally adding too much flour will cause muffins to be dense. Adding too little baking soda or baking powder will cause the muffins to rise insufficiently.

How full should you fill the muffin cups?

How full you should fill a muffin pan will vary between recipes. While some muffin tin recipes recommend filling a pan only 1/2 full or perhaps 2/3 full, you can be a little more generous with this carrot cake muffin recipe. In fact, don’t be afraid to fill your muffin cups almost to the top—closer to 3/4 full. Doing so will help this particular muffin recipe achieve a higher rise and that bakery-style domed muffin top.