Today’s moist and perfectly spiced high altitude carrot cake cupcakes are made with rich and nutty brown butter, and frosted with cream cheese buttercream. This is a high altitude tested carrot cake cupcake recipe that is so easy to make, and the cupcakes stay soft and moist for days. A perfect cupcake recipe for Easter!
Looking for more high altitude cupcake recipes? Don’t miss these Funfetti rainbow swirl cupcakes, chocolate coconut cupcakes, and chocolate truffle salted caramel cupcakes.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Easy to Make. The cupcake batter is simple to make, with just a bowl and whisk.
Moist and Soft. Even days after baking, these carrot cake cupcakes will still be so soft, moist and flavorful.
Brown Butter and Spices. The rich and nutty brown butter adds the most incredible flavor, complemented by warm spices.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
Cake
- Butter. The butter adds moisture, richness and flavor, while browning the butter first adds a wonderful nutty flavor that’s so good in carrot cake.
- Carrots. Be sure to peel the carrots first, before finely grating them with a box grater or food processor.
- Applesauce + Vegetable Oil. Keeps the cupcakes moist.
- Buttermilk. Adds moisture and acidity for a soft, tender texture.
- Sugar. Granulated sugar and brown sugar adds sweetness and moisture.
- Eggs. Add structure and richness.
- Vanilla Extract. Flavor.
- Flour. All-purpose flour gives the cupcakes structure and strength.
- Baking Powder. Leavens the batter so the cupcakes rise.
- Salt. Balances the sweetness.
- Spices. A blend of cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg adds warmth and coziness to this recipe.
Buttercream
- Cream Cheese + Butter. A combination of cream cheese and butter makes a more stable cream cheese frosting than if you were to use just cream cheese.
- Powdered Sugar. Sweetens and thickens the buttercream.
- Meringue Powder. Adds stability.
- Salt. Balances the sweetness.
- Vanilla. Use a good-quality vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract for the best flavor.
Instructions
Make the cupcakes.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F and line two standard-sized muffin pans with 18 paper liners.
TIP: If you only have one 12-cup pan, you can bake the cupcakes in batches, and let the batter rest at room temperature until you’re ready to bake the second batch. Scoop the batter into the pan without mixing it up again.
- Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium low heat. Continue cooking, swirling occasionally, until nutty brown solids form on the bottom of the pan. Immediately scrape the butter and the browned bits into a large mixing bowl and let cool for 5 minutes.
- Add the carrots, applesauce, oil, buttermilk, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla to the brown butter, and whisk until smooth.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and spices.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and whisk for 10-15 seconds until combined.
- Use a scant 1/4 cup measuring cup to fill the paper liners about 2/3 – 3/4 full. Bake the cupcakes on the center oven rack for about 17 minutes, until the tops spring back when gently touched.
- Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then gently transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
Make the cream cheese buttercream.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter for 1 minute until smooth.
- With the mixer on low, add the powdered sugar and the meringue powder, mixing until combined.
- Add the salt and vanilla; on medium high, whip for several minutes until light and fluffy – add a little more powdered sugar if the buttercream is too soft, or 1-2 tablespoons milk or cream if it’s too thick.
- Fit a piping bag with tip 1M, fill with the buttercream, and pipe swirls or rosettes on the cooled cupcakes.
Recipe Variations
- Coconut. I absolutely love coconut with carrot cake cupcakes, and I recommend using natural, unsweetened coconut flakes to top the buttercream. See these chocolate coconut cupcakes for an example.
- Easter Eggs. This recipe is perfect for Easter. Just nestle a few Cadbury mini eggs right on top of the buttercream for a pretty and easy decoration.
- Nuts. Pecans or walnuts are also great with carrot cake. You can add chopped nuts right into the cupcake batter, or sprinkle chopped toasted nuts on top of the buttercream.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common questions with cake making, so that you can be successful in your own baking! I also suggest reading these comprehensive posts on making Perfect American Buttercream, How to Stack, Fill, Crumb Coat and Frost Layer Cakes and How to Use Piping Bags.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does browning the butter do?
It adds a nutty, rich depth of flavor that’s just incredible in baked goods.
What can I use instead of buttermilk?
If you’re not able to find buttermilk, you can make your own sour milk. For every 1 cup of whole milk, stir in 1 tablespoon white distilled vinegar, then let sit for 10-15 minutes to curdle.
What tip did you use to pipe the buttercream rosettes?
Tip 1M.
Do carrot cake cupcakes need to be refrigerated?
Since there’s cream cheese in the buttercream, I recommend refrigerating the cupcakes overnight. However, it’s perfectly fine to let them sit out for several hours during the day, since cupcakes are best served at room temperature.
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High Altitude Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- Stand Mixer with Paddle Attachment
Ingredients
Cake
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 cup carrots, peeled and finely grated (4 1/2 ounces)
- ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup whole buttermilk, room temperature
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups + 2 tbsp all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
Buttercream
- 4 oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 2 ½ cups powdered sugar
- ½ tbsp meringue powder (optional)
- ⅛ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 F and line two standard-sized muffin pans with 18 paper liners.Note: If you only have one 12-cup pan, you can bake the cupcakes in batches, and let the batter rest at room temperature until you're ready to bake the second batch. Scoop the batter into the pan without mixing it up again.
- Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium low heat. Continue cooking, swirling occasionally, until nutty brown solids form on the bottom of the pan. Immediately scrape the butter and the browned bits into a large mixing bowl and let cool for 5 minutes.
- Add the carrots, applesauce, oil, buttermilk, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla to the brown butter, and whisk until smooth.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and spices.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and whisk for 10-15 seconds until combined.
- Use a scant 1/4 cup measuring cup to fill the paper liners about 2/3 – 3/4 full. Bake the cupcakes on the center oven rack for about 17 minutes, until the tops spring back when gently touched.
- Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then gently transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
Buttercream
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter for 1 minute until smooth.
- With the mixer on low, add the powdered sugar and the meringue powder, mixing until combined.
- Add the salt and vanilla; on medium high, whip for several minutes until light and fluffy – add a little more powdered sugar if the buttercream is too soft, or 1-2 tablespoons milk or cream if it's too thick.
- Fit a piping bag with tip 1M, fill with the buttercream, and pipe swirls or rosettes on the cooled cupcakes.
These were lighter than I expected – in color, texture and flavor. Toasted pecans sprinkled on the frosting are key. I will definitely make these again. The carrots make them “healthy”, right? Third recipe of yours that I have made and still 100% consistent – easy to follow, reliable results.
That’s so nice to hear. 🙂
I’m at 7200 ft. so I had to make a few tiny adjustments, but these turned out perfectly! Is there a good way to make the cake without milk? I have a friend who loves carrot cake but she is lactose intolerant.
I’m sure you could use non-dairy milk instead of the buttermilk and they’d still turn out great.
Do we need to get rid of any excess moisture in the carrots? (Squeeze in nutmilk bag?) thanks.
No.
Can I use Cake flour?
Made these for Easter brunch: ANOTHER stellar recipe! This is the 6th or 7th recipe of yours I’ve made, and I am always so impressed with how well they turn out. Thank you for letting us high-altitude bakers finally experience what sea-level bakers do: make a cake, precisely following the recipe with no modifications, and get excellent results. You rule!
I’m so glad you loved them, and thank you for your comment!