One of my Dad's favorite desserts is carrot cake. So, of course, I wanted to try making my own take of this classic, but in a fun form: cupcakes! (including a secret ingredient 🤫)

P.S. Thanks for the name Jess! 😊

This recipe makes 12 cupcakes

• Prep time: 30 minutes

• Baking time: 20 minutes

• Cooling time: 30 minutes

• Total time: 50 minutes (not including cooling time)

• Equipment needed: cupcake tray, cupcake liners, mixing bowls, electric mixer, measuring cups/spoons, box grater or food processor with shredding attachment

See *Notes for more important tips/clarifications

Some of my favorite desserts growing up were ones you wouldn't expect kids to typically love. I loved my Grandma’s chewy ginger cookies, lemon bars, pumpkin roll, and, you guessed it: carrot cake. You didn’t need to do much to convince me to dig into a slice (or, let’s be honest, 2!). 

I love the light crunch that the carrots give the cake and how the spices balance out the sweetness. Best of all, it has one of my absolute favorite things - cream cheese frosting! I couldn’t imagine eating a slice of carrot cake without it.

So, you wanna know what my (potentially sacrilegious) secret ingredient is?

Pumpkin pie spice.

Yes yes, I know what you may be thinking: it only belongs in pumpkin pie and other fall-y desserts. But c’mon! It’s the BEST. Why buy it just to use it once a year and then let it sit in the back of your spice cabinet, untouched and abandoned?

I thought this would be the perfect time to dust one off my favorite spice blends off and add some oomph to these cupcakes - and, I think I was right! Along with some cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger, the pumpkin pie spice gave these cupcakes the same warmth I feel eating my favorite fall desserts. My go-to pumpkin pie spice blend comes from Trader Joe’s. Trust me on this one, you won’t regret using it!

What else is there to say here? These cupcakes are moist, perfectly spiced and the frosting is creamy, light, and a little coconut-y from that tiny bit of coconut milk. Top them off with my maple candied pecans for some additional spice and crunch to really bring it all home. I’m pretty proud of this one - give these a try and let me know what you think!

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:

• 1 1/4 cups (156 grams) all-purpose flour

• 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar

• 1/2 cup (100 grams) light brown sugar

• 1 1/4 tsp baking powder

• 1/2 tsp baking soda

• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt

• 1 1/4 cup (2-3 oz or 160 grams) carrots, shredded. About 3 medium carrots

• 1/4 cup (about 31 grams) of the maple pecans, chopped (plus a little extra for topping)

• 2 eggs, room temperature

• 1/4 cup sour cream, room temperature

• 1/4 cup unsweetened full-fat coconut milk (or regular milk)

• 1/2 cup melted and slightly cooled virgin coconut oil (or another neutral oil like vegetable or canola)

• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

• Spices:

  • 1 1/4 tsp cinnamon

  • 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg

  • 1/4 tsp ginger

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 1 1/2 cups (180 grams) of powdered sugar, sifted

• 1/2 stick of unsalted butter (56.5 grams), softened at room temperature

• 1/2 block (4 oz or 113.5 grams) of brick-style cream cheese, softened at room temperature

• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or extract)

• 1-2 tbsp unsweetened full-fat coconut milk (or heavy cream)

• 1/8 tsp fine sea salt

For the Maple Candied Pecans:

• 3/4 cup pecan halves

• 1/2 tbsp light or dark brown sugar

• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

• 1/4 tsp fine sea salt

• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup

*Notes

• The maple pecans are totally optional but so worth it for that bit of extra crunch and spice! If you don’t want to make your own candied pecans you can just buy some from the store and chop them up.

• To make things easier, you can buy store-bought pre-shredded carrots if you’d like!

• I love the subtle coconut taste that the virgin coconut oil and coconut milk give the cupcakes, but feel free to sub the oil for another neutral oil like canola or vegetable oil. For the coconut milk substitute heavy cream or whole milk.

• Baking the cupcakes/making the frosting and pecans ahead of time:

  • The cupcakes: bake them the day before and frost them the next day. Just store the baked and cooled cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature overnight.

  • The Cream Cheese Frosting: make it ahead of time (up to 3 days before) and store it in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to frost. Be sure to take the frosting out of the fridge a little bit before you’re ready to frost so it has time to soften up. Stir well after it’s softened and you’re ready to go!

  • The Pecans: I’d definitely suggest making the pecans them ahead of time. Simply follow the directions below and store in the fridge until ready to use. They last for about 3 weeks in the fridge.

• I used this offset spatula to frost my cupcakes.

• Storing: Store the frosted cupcakes in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days

Process:

For the Spiced Carrot Pecan Cupcakes:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 °F and line a standard 12-cup cupcake tray with liners and set aside.

2. In a small to a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices until well combined. Set aside.

3. In a separate large mixing bowl, whisk the granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, sour cream, milk, oil and vanilla until fully combined. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and whisk until just combined, being careful not to overmix. Scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula if needed.

4. Last, fold in the grated carrots and maple candied pecans with a rubber spatula or large mixing spoon.

5. Scoop batter evenly into cupcake liners (it’s much easier if you use a cookie scoop) filling 3/4 of the way full and no more. Bake for 17-19 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Mine baked perfectly at 18 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack until room temperature before frosting, about 30 minutes. Frost and top with extra maple candied pecans and a dusting of cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice. Enjoy!

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

1. While the cupcakes bake, make the cream cheese frosting.

2. Using an electric mixer or stand mixer beat softened butter and sugar on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy, about 2-3 mins.

3. Add vanilla bean paste (or extract), salt, coconut milk and powdered sugar and starting on low speed and working up to medium high, beat another 2-3 minutes until well combined.

For the Maple Candied Pecans:

1. In a small bowl, whisk together brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. Add pecans and maple syrup and stir to coat.

2. Add the pecan mixture to a small pot on the stove and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Maintain the simmer for 15-20 mins, stirring often - every 1-2 mins. The mixture will start to become thick and the maple syrup will slowly begin to evaporate. Once most of the syrup has evaporated and you only see very small specs of liquid on the bottom, give the pecans a final good stir then spread out on a parchment or wax-paper lined baking sheet to cool. Chop them up using a chef’s knife or a food processor. You’ll definitely have some leftover for another use. I love adding them as a topping for overnight oats. They store great in the fridge in a ziplock bag or airtight container.