Moist Carrot Cupcakes with Mascarpone Cream Frosting

Moist & fluffy carrot cupcakes topped with stabilized mascarpone whipped cream. Perfect for birthday parties, Easter and baby showers.

Jump to:

• Why You'll Love This Recipe
• What Is Carrot Cake?
• Ingredients & Substitutes
• Tips for Baking the Most Fluffiest Carrot Cupcakes
• How to Serve and Store Carrot Cupcakes
• Recipe

I created this carrot cupcake recipe to celebrate Bibi's second birthday. Because we were staying safe at home for her birthday, just the 3 of us, I decided to make a collection of little treats which could be packaged up into takeaway boxes that we gave to Bibi's friends who came to drop off presents. It's based on my fluffiest carrot cake roll except the baking steps in this recipe is a lot simpler, uses less ingredients and doesn't require any rolling of the cake. I love it for it's simplicity and how great it tastes! I think it's sophisticated enough for a bridal shower and fun enough for celebrating Easter. I hope you'll enjoy it too!

Why You'll Love This Recipe

• Moist & Fluffy - using cake flour and the tips below, this carrot cake will be moist and fluffy!
• Easy - cupcakes require minimal skill, just sift, stir and fold!
• Simple Ingredients - this recipe uses common ingredients that are available year round at every grocery store.
• Pipeable Whipped Cream - unlike regular un-stabilized whipped cream, the stabilized mascarpone whipped cream in this recipe is sturdy enough for piping designs. Lasts for days without deflating.

What Is Carrot Cake?

As the name implies, carrot cake contains carrots. Besides the carrot flavor, it can also have flavors of spice (ex. cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves) and nuts (ex. pecans, walnuts), depending on the recipe. Sometimes, other ingredients like shredded coconut, raisins and pineapples are added as a natural sweetener.

Sometimes carrot cake is sometimes mistakenly thought of as a healthy cake. Carrot cake contains carrots which is a vegetable that is high in fiber and contains important nutrients. Truth be told, if eaten alone, carrots are a healthy food but carrot cake usually contains sugar and fats which may not have any added benefits for your health. Treat it like any other cake and eat in moderation

Ingredients & Substitutes

Carrot Cupcakes - Dry Mix

• Cake flour - cake flour is a low protein flour which will help make this cupcake lighter and softer than if using all purpose flour. It usually has a protein content between 6-8% while pastry flour, also a lower protein flour, has a protein content between 8-9%. Grocery stores usually sell a combination of cake and pastry flour at 7-9% protein. It can be substituted with all-purpose flour but cake flour is preferable.
• Baking powder - leavening agent
• Baking soda - leavening agent
• Ground cinnamon - all of the spices added together can be replaced with the same amount of pumpkin pie spice.
• Ground ginger
• Ground nutmeg
• Sea salt - highlights the flavors in the cupcake, especially the sweet taste. It can be substituted with half the amount in table salt.

Carrot Cupcakes - Wet Mix

• Neutral oil - neutral tasting oil choices include: canola, avocado and grapeseed.
• Granulated sugar
• Brown sugar - Demerara brown sugar was used for this recipe. It has a more mellow molasses flavor than regular brown sugar. It can be substituted with granulated sugar.
• Eggs - large size
• Whole milk
• Vanilla extract - rounds out the flavors in the cupcakes.

Additional

• Carrots - pulverized just enough so that it is cross-shredded, do not over-pulverize until excess juices start to release from the carrots. The carrot flavor will become too over-powering.
• Pecan - finely chopped, it can be pulverized in the food processor. It can be substituted with walnuts but pecan adds a sweeter brighter flavor profile.
• Optional: raisins

Stabilized Mascarpone Whipped Cream Frosting

• Mascarpone cheese - it can usually found in the "gourmet" cheese section of the grocery store by the deli, sometimes away from where the regular cheese and yogurts are kept. The Tre Stelle brand was used in this recipe.
• Granulated sugar
• Heavy cream (36% M.F.) - has a milk fat content of at least 36%. It can be substituted with whipping cream (with minimum 30% milk fat) but heavy cream will produce an even more sturdy frosting. It needs to be completely chilled before whipping or else it won't whip up.
• Vanilla extract
• Gelatin powder, unflavored - the Knox brand was used in this recipe. It can usually be found in the baking aisle by the yeast.
• Water

Tips for Baking the Most Fluffiest Carrot Cupcakes

• Use cake flour instead of AP flour.
• Always sift cake flour to prevent clumps.
• Gently incorporate the dry-mix and wet ingredients together until no lumps of flour can be seen. Do not over mix as it will result in a tough cake.
• Pay attention to the cupcakes a couple minutes before it finishes baking to prevent over baking. Every oven is different and baking times vary according to how hot or cold each oven runs. Insert a skewer to test the doneness. If it pulls out clean and the center springs back, it's ready.
• For the mascarpone frosting, make sure the heavy cream, bowls and utensils are thoroughly chilled before whipping, otherwise, it won't whip well. For detailed instructions and more step-by-step pictures, see my dedicated post on stabilized mascarpone whipped cream.

How to Serve and Store Carrot Cupcakes

• Unfrosted and unfilled carrot cupcakes can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 days. They should be served immediately after that point.
• Filled or frosted cupcakes need to be placed in an airtight container in the fridge until serving. They will stay fresh for up to 3 days in the fridge.
• Keep frosted carrot cupcakes in the fridge until ready serve. Always observe proper food safety standards, let it sit at room temperature no longer than 2 hours.
• For Easter, carrot cupcakes can be decorated with homemade decorations like macaron bunnies, Easter eggs, seasonal sprinkles etc.