Mini Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Brown Butter Frosting
Our new neighbors recently made a huge batch of cookies and shared a big plate with us, which we happily devoured while watching the super bowl with friends on Sunday. I made these mini carrot cake cupcakes with brown butter frosting for my kids’ school lunch treat this week and since I didn’t want to return an empty plate to the neighbors, I sent some of these little beauties home on it, which I hope they will enjoy. These cupcakes were super easy to throw together and the brown butter frosting is worth the extra effort. My kids both thought these mini carrot cake cupcakes with brown butter frosting were decadent, delicious, and paired well with an ice-cold glass of milk.
How to Make Mini Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Brown Butter Frosting
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place cupcake liners in the pans or coat them with cooking spray.
Make the cupcakes by combining the flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg, cloves, and salt together in a large bowl; whisk until well combined.
Combine the oil and carrots; mix well. Add the carrot mixture to the flour mixture. Add the beaten eggs and vanilla then mix until just combined.
Fill each cup 3/4 full. Side Note: I only had enough for 22 cupcakes.
Place the cupcake tins into the oven and bake 9-11 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean and the tops of the cupcakes are a bit springy.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
Make the brown butter frosting by heating a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the butter and cook, stirring frequently, until it starts to smell nutty and turns golden brown. Don’t burn it! Remove from the stove and pour into a glass bowl. Place into the refrigerator to harden.
Remove the brown butter from the refrigerator and allow it to come to room temperature. Place it into a large mixing bowl and beat with a mixer until creamy. Add the powdered sugar, heavy cream, vanilla, and salt; beat until fluffy and smooth.
Transfer frosting to a piping bag and frost the cupcakes. Sprinkle the tops with crushed pecans, if desired. Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator. Enjoy.
Ingredients
Carrot Cake Cupcakes:
- ½ cup flour
- ¼ cup + 2 tbsp white sugar
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- ⅛ tsp nutmeg
- ⅛ tsp cloves
- Pinch of salt
- ¾ cup carrots, finely shredded (2-3 carrots)
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- 1 large egg, well beaten
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract
Brown Butter Frosting:
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- Crushed pecans, if desired (for sprinkling on top of cupcakes after frosting)
Instructions
Carrot Cake Cupcakes:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place cupcake liners in the pans or coat them with cooking spray.
- Make the cupcakes by combining the flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg, cloves, and salt together in a large bowl; whisk until well combined.
- Combine the oil and carrots; mix well. Add the carrot mixture to the flour mixture. Add the beaten eggs and vanilla then mix until just combined.
- Fill each cup 3/4 full. Side Note: I only had enough for 22 cupcakes.
- Place the cupcake tins into the oven and bake 9-11 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean and the tops of the cupcakes are a bit springy.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
Brown Butter Frosting:
- Make the brown butter frosting by heating a small saucepan over medium-low heat.
- Add the butter and cook, stirring frequently, until it starts to smell nutty and turns golden brown. Don't burn it! Remove from the stove and pour into a glass bowl. Place into the refrigerator to harden.
- Remove the brown butter from the refrigerator and allow it to come to room temperature. Place it into a large mixing bowl and beat with a mixer until creamy. Add the powdered sugar, heavy cream, vanilla, and salt; beat until fluffy and smooth.
- Transfer frosting to a piping bag and frost the cupcakes. Sprinkle the tops with crushed pecans, if desired. Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator. Enjoy.
They look amazingly delicious! Love the pecan sprinkle atop.
We love carrot cake. Have to try it with your delicious looking brown butter frosting.
These sound heavenly! Can’t go wrong with either carrot cake OR brown butter.
i could seriously eat brown butter frosting all by itself, but carrot cakes are a perfectly suitable vehicle. 🙂
I love this recipe. I need to make mini cupcakes for our teen Sunday school snack and yours sounded the best. I also happen to love brown butter frosting which I can do ahead and not have to refrigerate the cupcakes (which you have to do with cream cheese frosting). I’ll let you know how they turned out. If the kids gobble them up than that’s a successful cupcake, right? I also like your ingredients because I have IBS and your ingredients seem IBS safe for me. lol.
Hi,
I made the mini carrot cupcakes for this mornings teen Sunday school snack time, and they were lovely. Moist, fluffy and carroty! I used almond milk because some of the Sunday school kids have lactose issues.
I didn’t make the brown butter frosting, but I did make a vanilla butter cream frosting and it was just delicious on top of the carrot cake base. I noticed that all the Sunday school kids had to compete with the staff who were right in there gobbling up those yummy little bites. (PS This recipe is safe for IBS folk who can tolerate AP flour. Yay!)
Joan,
Thanks for letting me know. I’m so glad they were a big hit! I’m sure your vanilla buttercream frosting was delicious on them.
-Pam