Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Super Moist Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting / The only carrot cake recipe you will ever need. These cupcakes are soooo good they will convert all of the carrot cake haters out there into carrot cake stans. With pumpkin puree, loads of cinnamon, and a touch of ginger -these carrot cake cupcakes are truly exceptional. I love adding walnuts to all my carrot cake recipes for a bit of added texture. Feel free to add a few crushed walnuts on top at the end to make beautiful cupcakes! But honestly the star of the show here is the frosting. I mean brown sugar.. cream cheese.. need I say more? It speaks for itself. Enjoy!!

Ingredients:

Cupcake Ingredients (yields 24 cupcakes):
-2 cups all purpose flour
-1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
-1 teaspoon baking powder
-3 teaspoons cinnamon
-1 teaspoon ground ginger
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-2/3 cup vegetable oil
-1/2 cup pumpkin puree* (see notes for substitutions)
-2/3 cup brown sugar
-1 cup granulated sugar
-4 large eggs (at room temperature)*
-2 teaspoons vanilla extract
-3 cups of fresh finely grated carrots (about 4 carrots)*
-2/3 cup finely chopped walnuts

Frosting Ingredients:
-16 ounces cream cheese (room temperature)
-8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
-1 and 1/2 cups of brown sugar
-3 cups of powdered sugar
-1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line 24 muffin tins with cupcake liners.
In a medium bowl combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ground ginger, and salt. Set aide
In a large bowl, whisk the vegetable oil, pumpkin puree, brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract until well combined.
Add half of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Fold to loosely combine. Then add the remainder of the dry ingredients to your mixture. Continue to fold until just combined. (Do not overmix!)
Add the carrots and walnuts. Fold to evenly combine
Scoop the batter evenly into cupcake liners. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
While the cupcakes are in the oven, prepare the frosting.
Place butter, cream cheese, and brown sugar in a stand mixer (or large bowl with handheld mixer). Beat ingredients at low to medium speech and gradually increase to high to combine until very smooth. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed to ensure the brown sugar is well incorporated and dissolves into the cream cheese.
Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time and whisk until light and fluffy. After all of the powdered sugar is added, beat the frosting on high speed for 1 minute. If the frosting becomes too soft, you can refrigerate the frosting first.
Allow cupcakes to cool completely before applying the frosting.
Transfer frosting to a pastry bag with desired tip for decorating. I used an open star decorating tip for these but feel free to play around! Feel free to add a few crushed/chopped walnuts on top. & Enjoy!

*Notes and Tips:

-I used pumpkin puree because it was what I had on hand at home and really enjoyed the flavor profile it added to these cupcakes. It also helps make these cupcakes very moist! Feel free to substitute the pumpkin puree with unsweetened applesauce or greek yogurt
-If you forget to set your eggs out ahead of time and you need room temperature eggs in a pinch –place them in a bowl of hot water and let them sit for a few minutes. Et voila! You have yourself room temperature eggs :)
-Grate 4 medium carrots to yield approximately 3 cups, loosely measured. Do not pack
-Do not drain/squeeze the carrots! You want to keep in allllll of the moisture for these cupcakes