Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Soft, cinnamon-spiced carrot cupcakes with pineapple, coconut and walnuts, finished with tall cream-cheese frosting swirls and chopped walnuts. Batch yield: 12 frosted cupcakes, baked together in one 12-hole muffin tin. One serving: 1 frosted cupcake with walnut topping, approximately 105 g after baking and cooling. Approximately 157 minutes total: 30 minutes preparing the batter and preheating, 22 minutes oven time for one tray, 85 minutes cooling, and 20 minutes making frosting and decorating. Prep_minutes is the 135 minutes of non-oven elapsed time, including complete cooling. Active preparation totals 50 minutes. The 45-minute butter and cream-cheese softening period begins around minute 92 and overlaps the final 45 minutes of cooling, so it is not counted twice. No chilling is required before serving. Extra baking or cooling, if needed to meet the stated doneness and temperature cues, extends the total. Appliances: Oven; Electric hand mixer; Refrigerator. Equipment: 12-hole muffin tin with approximately 100 ml wells; 12 paper cupcake cases; Digital kitchen scales; Measuring jug; Measuring spoons; Mixing bowls; Vegetable peeler; Fine grater; Knife; Chopping board; Sieve; Whisk; Flexible spatula; Skewer; Wire cooling rack; Piping bag; Large star piping nozzle; Covered storage container. Allergens: Contains wheat flour, eggs, milk, butter, cream cheese and walnuts. Also contains coconut. Check packaged ingredients for additional allergen and cross-contact information. Storage: Refrigerate frosted cupcakes promptly in a covered container at 4°C/40°F or below and eat within 3 days. Limit cumulative room-temperature exposure of the cream-cheese frosting to 2 hours; the scheduled softening and decorating already use about 65 minutes, leaving no more than 55 additional minutes for serving and handling. In temperatures above 32°C/90°F, the total limit is 1 hour, so do not follow the room-temperature softening schedule in such heat. Unfrosted, completely cooled cupcakes keep airtight at room temperature for up to 2 days. Freeze unfrosted cupcakes, individually wrapped and sealed, for up to 2 months. Frosted cupcakes can also be frozen in a rigid airtight container for up to 1 month, although the frosting texture may soften slightly after thawing. Thaw covered in the refrigerator overnight.
135 min
Prep
22 min
Cook
12
Serves
401
Calories
Macros · per serving
4g protein
49g carbs
21g fat
Ingredients
For 12 servings
- 160 g Plain all-purpose flour
- 4 g Baking powder
- 2 g Bicarbonate of soda
- 2.5 g Ground cinnamon
- 1.5 g Fine salt
- 120 g Light brown sugar
- 2 whole eggs Large eggs
- 60 g Sunflower oil
- 30 ml Whole milk
- 3 ml White vinegar
- 120 g Carrot, peeled weight
- 100 g pineapple
- 10 g Unsweetened desiccated coconut
- 30 g Walnuts, roughly chopped, for the batter
- 180 g Full-fat block cream cheese
- 90 g Unsalted butter
- 300 g Icing sugar
- 2 ml Vanilla extract
- 25 g Walnuts, finely chopped, for topping
Instructions
- 1
Allow approximately 157 minutes from starting to finished cupcakes in a cool kitchen, around 20–22°C/68–72°F. Keep the cream cheese and butter refrigerated for now. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F conventional or 160°C/320°F fan. Line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases; use wells approximately 7 cm across the top, 3 cm deep and 100 ml in capacity.
- 2
During the first 30 minutes, peel and finely grate enough carrot to weigh 120 g. Peel, core and finely chop the pineapple, then weigh 100 g. Chop the two walnut portions separately. Mix the milk and vinegar in a small jug and leave for 5 minutes while measuring the remaining batter ingredients.
- 3
Whisk the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon and 1 g of the salt together in a bowl. In a second, larger bowl, whisk the eggs and brown sugar until evenly combined, then whisk in the oil and milk mixture. Stir in the carrot and pineapple.
- 4
Fold the dry ingredients into the wet mixture with a spatula just until the flour disappears. Fold in the coconut and 30 g of roughly chopped walnuts. The batter should be thick but spoonable; stop mixing once everything is evenly distributed.
- 5
Divide all the batter between the 12 cases, approximately 62 g per case, filling them about two-thirds full. Around minute 30, place the tin on the middle oven shelf. Bake all 12 cupcakes together for approximately 22 minutes, until the tops spring back gently and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out without wet batter. If necessary, bake a little longer to reach these cues.
- 6
At approximately minute 52, remove the tin from the oven. Leave the cupcakes in the tin for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack for another 80 minutes. They must be completely cool, including underneath, before frosting.
- 7
At approximately minute 92, which is 40 minutes after the cupcakes leave the oven, take the cream cheese and butter from the refrigerator. Cut the butter into small cubes and leave both ingredients to soften for 45 minutes during the remaining cupcake cooling time. The butter should dent easily but not look oily, and the cream cheese should remain cool rather than warm or runny.
- 8
At approximately minute 137, sift the icing sugar. Using an electric hand mixer, beat the softened butter for 2 minutes until smooth. Add the icing sugar in three additions on low speed; the mixture may initially look crumbly. Beat in the vanilla and remaining 0.5 g salt. Add the cream cheese in three portions and mix on low speed only until smooth and thick, scraping the bowl as needed. Avoid prolonged beating, which can loosen cream-cheese frosting.
- 9
Fit a piping bag with a large star nozzle. Divide the frosting evenly over the completely cooled cupcakes, approximately 48 g each, piping a tall swirl on each one. Sprinkle the 25 g finely chopped walnuts evenly over the swirls. Making the frosting and decorating should take about 20 minutes, finishing around minute 157.
- 10
Serve promptly or refrigerate immediately in a covered container. The cream cheese has already spent approximately 65 minutes out of refrigeration during softening and decorating; count that time toward its cumulative room-temperature allowance.
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