Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting
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Decadent Carrot Cake Cupcakes made with pecans, pineapple, and raisins then topped off with fluffy cream cheese frosting with hints of fresh orange.
Nothing says spring like a delicious carrot cake. At the first sign of warmer weather I often start dreaming of all the desserts I can make with fresh fruits and vegetables and this is one of my favorites.
My original plan was to make a carrot cake but since I wanted to take them into work I thought cupcakes would be better so that people could just grab them and go and not have to worry about plates and forks.  It’s also easier to eat a cupcake on the go.
I’ve made several carrot cakes in my time and the ones that are loaded with goodies are always my favorite.  I like to add in nuts, raisins, and plenty of spices to give the carrot cake tons of flavor.
Melissa’s Produce sent me a box of produce and inside were tri-colored carrots and a pineapple. While I don’t normally put pineapple in my carrot cake I thought that would be a great addition. I also grabbed an orange out of the box to give the cream cheese frosting a bit of citrus flare.
Ingredients:
- flour
- baking soda
- baking powder
- salt
- cinnamon
- nutmeg
- butter
- sugar
- eggs
- carrots
- pecans
- fresh pineapple
- raisins
To make the cake I mixed together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a bowl.  I set that aside and got to work on the wet ingredients.
In a large bowl I creamed together the butter along with Dixie Crystals sugar.  Once it was light and fluffy I added in the eggs and beat them until the mixture was well combined.
Then I poured the flour mixture into the butter mixture and mixed well.  At this point the mixture is going to be fairly stiff. It will get more liquid with the addition of the fruit and carrots.
Fold in the carrots, pecans, pineapple, and raisins. Mix until just combined and then pour the mixture into cupcakes liners.  Fill 3/4 of the way full. I was able to make 16 cupcakes with this recipe.
Once the cupcakes are out of the oven let them cool completely. Then it’s time to make the frosting. I used a classic cream cheese frosting recipe using butter, cream cheese, Dixie Crystals powdered sugar, and vanilla then added in fresh mandarin orange juice.
I really liked the hint of orange in the frosting.  It’s very subtle but it works well with the carrots and pineapple in the cupcakes.
Pipe the frosting on and then sprinkle with spring sprinkles or simple green sprinkles. I actually combined two different types of spring sprinkles to get the look I wanted.
These cupcakes are amazing!  They are moist and filled with flavor of carrots, pineapple, and raisins with a crunch from the pecans and a nice orange tang from the cream cheese frosting.  My husband and I each enjoyed two of these delicious cupcakes and I’ll be making them again soon!
Try these other cupcake recipes:
Pro Tips and Substitutions:
- If you don’t have fresh pineapple you can use canned or just skip it all together.
- Substitute in walnuts for the pecans if you don’t have them or simply leave them out.
- Do not over mix this batter.  It’s best to fold in the carrots and fruit and not over mix or else the cupcakes will be too moist and will fall apart.
- While I used tri-colored carrots you can certainly use regular orange carrots in this recipe.
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Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- 1 c. flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 c. 1 stick butter
- 1 c. sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 c. tri-colored carrots grated
- 3/4 c. fresh pineapple chopped
- 1/3 c. raisins
- 1/2 c. pecans chopped
For the frosting:
- 6 oz. cream cheese softened
- 4 Tablespoon butter softened
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1-2 Tablespoons fresh squeezed orange juice
- 3 c. powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Line 16 muffin cups with cupcake liners and set aside.
- In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar.
- Add in the eggs and mix well to combine.
- Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix well. The mixture will be very thick.
- Fold in the carrots, pineapple, raisins, and pecans. Mix until just combined.
- Fill each muffin cup 3/4 of the way full.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and let cool 10 minutes.
- Remove the cupcakes from the pans and cool completely on a wire rack.
- To make the frosting place the cream cheese and butter in a large bowl and beat with a mixer on medium speed until creamy.
- Add in the vanilla and orange juice and beat until smooth.
- Add in the powdered sugar a half cup at a time, beating after each addition, until desired consistency is reached.
- Piped the cream cheese frosting onto the cupcakes and top with sprinkles if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Friday #SpringSweetsWeek Recipes
- Candied Kumquats by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
- Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
- Citrus Biscotti by Pook’s Pantry
- Citrus Rhubarb Custard Bars by Cheese Curd In Paradise
- Coconut Macaroons by Books n’ Cooks
- Creme Egg Cake by Palatable Pastime
- Easy Key Lime Mousse Tarts by Blogghetti
- Eclairs by House of Nash Eats
- Grapefruit Mint Julep by The Spiffy Cookie
- Key Lime Soufflé by Art of Natural Living
- Lemon Lime Macaron by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
- Lemon Raspberry Bundt Cake by The Carefree Kitchen
- Mini Lemon Sweet Tea Pound Cakes by Nik Snacks
- No-Cook Candied Kumquats by Shockingly Delicious
- Pineapple Cheesecake Shooters by Jen Around the World
- Rhubarb Cream Cheese Danish by Devour Dinner
- Rhubarb Lavender Crisp by Sweet Beginnings
- Walking Banana Pudding Dessert Bags by For the Love of Food
Thank you #SpringSweetsWeek Sponsors: Dixie Crystals, Door County Coffee & Tea Co., Circulon, Melissa’s Produce, Taylor and Colledge, and Nairn’s for providing the prizes free of charge.
Love the orange cream cheese frosting – such a fun twist on a classic spring dessert.
Thanks so much for hosting #SpringSweetsWeek – it was a blast, and now all I want to do is bake!
What a great little cupcake! Those sprinkles are adorable 🙂
I already think of carrot cake for spring but the sprinkles really celebrate spring!
Very cute, and those sprinkles remind me of past Spring Sweets Week!
That orange buttercream is the perfect topping for the carrot cake! So good!
Cute little cupcakes filled with so many yummy flavors