Soft & Fluffy Carrot Cake Muffins Recipe
These carrot cake muffins are soft, moist, and warmly spiced with cinnamon, packed with freshly grated carrots, and finished with an optional cream cheese glaze. Easy to mix in one bowl, they bake in under 25 minutes and stay tender for days—perfect for breakfast or snacking.
Ingredients
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Fine salt
- Ground cinnamon
- Ground nutmeg optional
- Ground ginger optional
- Brown sugar
- Granulated sugar
- Eggs
- Neutral oil avocado, canola, or vegetable
- Unsweetened applesauce optional for extra moisture
- Vanilla extract
- Finely grated carrots
- Chopped walnuts or pecans optional
- Raisins optional
- Cream cheese optional topping
- Powdered sugar optional topping
- Milk or lemon juice optional topping
- Vanilla extract optional topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Line a muffin tin with paper liners or grease it well.
- In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and any optional spices.
- In a second bowl, whisk brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, oil, applesauce (if using), and vanilla until smooth.
- Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients just until combined—stop as soon as you don’t see dry flour.
- Fold in the grated carrots and any add-ins (nuts/raisins).
- Divide batter evenly into the muffin cups, filling each about ¾ full.
- Bake for 18–22 minutes, or until the tops spring back lightly and a toothpick comes out clean (a few moist crumbs are fine).
- Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer muffins to a rack to cool completely.
- If adding cream cheese glaze, beat cream cheese until smooth, mix in powdered sugar and vanilla, then thin with a splash of milk or lemon juice until drizzle-able. Spoon or drizzle over cooled muffins.
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